International women: Bajema leads Rzeszow; Drews, Robinson big in Japan; Stevenson, Plummer, Lanier sparkle

There are hundreds of American women playing professional volleyball internationally. Our weekly report tracks many of them. Almost all in this report are former NCAA stars:

Champions League

In the first knockout match of this year’s Champions League, Rzeszow pulled off perhaps the biggest upset when it beat Vakifbank 13-25, 29-27, 19-25, 29-27, 15-13. Kara Bajema was Rzeszow’s top scorer with 20 points, 18 kills (hitting .224) and two blocks. In the fifth set as she had five kills in as many attempts. For Vakifbank, Michelle Barstch-Hackley had 12 kills (hitting .188), three blocks, and an ace. Teammate Chiaka Ogbogu finished with six kills (.231), four blocks, and two aces.

Imoco Conegliano spoiled Jordan Larson’s Champions League debut as it swept Monza 25-21, 25-21, 25-19. Kathryn Plummer had 10 kills (.304) and two aces while also having one of the best passing matches of her career, passing 56% positive on 25 receptions. Megan Courtney-Lush came on as a substitute twice, but had no stats. For Monza, Larson was the top scorer with 16 points on 14 kills (.429), ablock, and an ace. Dana Rettke had four kills (.333) and a block.

The return matches are this week. Vakifbank will try to rebound against Rzeszow on Wednesday, while Imoco will look to advance against Monza on Thursday.

Japan

Annie Drews and JT Marvelous had split results this past weekend. In the first match, JT Marvelous had one of its poorest performances of the season and was swept by Toray 25-19, 25-22, 25-20. Drews had 16 kills (.438), one block, and an ace. JT Marvelous bounced back to beat PFU 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22. Drews had 25 kills (.362) and one block in the victory. JT Marvelous (21-5) holds a narrow lead on first place over Toray (19-6).

Kelsey Robinson’s monstrous performances continued this weekend as Toyota Autobody Queenseis split its matches. Queenseis started the weekend by sweeping Hitachi Rivale 25-22, 26-24, 25-15. Robinson had 23 kills (.435) and two blocks. Hannah Tapp had five kills (.235) and three blocks for Hitachi. Queenseis then fell to Denso 25-20, 25-21, 25-20. Robinson finished with 19 kills (.425) and a block. Queenseis is 7-22 and in 10th place. Hitachi Rivale is 12-16, in seventh.

Hisamitsu won its only match of the week 25-22, 23-25, 33-31, 25-12 over Ageo. Foluke Akinradewo-Gunderson had 22 kills (.600), three blocks, and an ace. Hisamitsu Springs remains in the hunt for the final playoff place, sitting in fourth at 17-7.

Turkey

THY cruised and swept a short-handed Sariyer 25-21, 25-17, 25-15. Lauren Carlini had three kills (1.000) for THY as her team hit .392. Madi Kingdon-Rishel came off the bench to contribute five kills (.500). Tori Dixon did not play. THY stays in fourth place at 18-5.

Aydin, behind a career day from Anna Stevenson, swept Bolu 25-14, 25-14, 25-16. Stevenson was top scorer with 18 points on 11 kills (.733), six blocks, and an ace. Aydin (10-13) jumped into the final playoff spot in eighth place after its second straight win.

Vakifbank clashed with titan Galatasaray and came away with a 25-17, 25-23, 25-16 victory. Michelle Barstch-Hackley had six kills (.111) and a block while being the match’s top passer. She had 29 receptions, passing 62% positively. Chiaka Ogbogu did not play. Vakifbank improved to 21-2, still in first place.

Italy

Bergamo got a massive result in its relegation battle, beating Firenze 26-24, 25-20, 27-29, 19-25, 16-14. Bergamo had match point in set 3, but could not convert, but then rebounded from deficits of 3-8 and 9-12 in set 5 to win on Khalia Lanier’s kill. Lanier finished with 22 kills (.255) and two aces. This was a rescheduled match from when Mac May was not with the team, so she could not play.

Chieri finally ended its losing streak by beating Perugia 25-20, 22-25, 25-6, 25-17. Rhamat Alhassan had eight kills (.538) and four blocks for Chieri. Ali Frantti did not play.

Monza never found its footing and was upset by Firenze 26-24, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 16-14. Larson played three sets, as the players on court were changed frequently. Larson finished with eight kills (.200), one block, and an ace. Rettke started but left during set 1 after having two hitting errors. Monza fell to 17-6 and into third place.

Imoco Congeliano cruised to 25-14, 25-18, 25-18 sweep of Perugia. Plummer had 14 kills for Imoco, hitting .417, while adding two blocks. Courtney-Lush returned to the starting lineup where she had eight kills, hitting .471. Imoco improved to 19-3 and jumped into second place with 54 points.

Busto Arsizio swept Trentino 25-17, 25-22, 25-21. Jordyn Poulter was still sidelined with the undisclosed injury she sustained last week. Busto Arsizio improved to 15-8.

Novara fought off a spirited Vallefoglia challenge, winning 28-26, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23. Haleigh Washington came off the bench for Novara to add three kills (.091) and two blocks. Micha Hancock had two aces as she led Novara to hit .250. Sonja Newcombe had 10 kills (.242) for Vallefoglia. Novara has not lost in the league since December and is 19-2.

Chieri won its second match in a row, beating Bergamo 26-24, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18. Frantti came off the bench to have nine kills (.250). Alhassan added seven kills (.285) and three blocks. Lanier had eight kills (.069) and three aces for Bergamo. May returned to action with nine kills (.063) and two blocks. Chieri improved to 12-10, while Bergamo fell to 6-16.

Germany

Stuttgart faced off against Suhl twice this week in league action. In the first match, Stuttgart swept 25-17, 25-21, 29-27. T’Ara Ceasar was top scorer with 16 points as she had 15 kills (.242) and an ace. Simone Lee and Krystal Rivers did not play. For Suhl, Danielle Harbin was the top scorer with 13 points. In the rematch, Stuttgart pulled off a reverse sweep to win 28-30, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-13. Lee led Stuttgart with 17 points as she had 12 kills (-.021) and five blocks. Ceasar had 14 kills (.314) and a block. Harbin led all scorers with 27 kills (.246), three blocks, and two aces in the defeat. Stuttgart preserved its unbeaten season so far at 19-0. Suhl fell to 11-9 and is in fifth place.

Schwerin eased by Aachen 25-15, 25-16, 25-20. Lindsay Ruddins was top scorer with 19 points. Ruddins finished with 14 kills (.400), three blocks, and two aces. Symone Speech contributed seven kills (.357). Stephanie Samedy had one kill in a brief substitute appearance. This was Schwerin’s sixth consecutive league win as it improved to 14-5.

Potsdam got revenge against Wiesbaden after last week’s upset, and won 25-13, 14-25, 25-20, 25-17. Madison Lilley and Lauren Page did not play for Potsdam. Justine Wong-Orantes was the top passer, receiving 32 serves while passing 56% positive. Potsdam (15-5) jumped into second place. Wiesbaden fell to 9-10, but remains in a playoff position in seventh.

Poland

This was the week of Kara Bajema. Bajema powered Rzeszow to a 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-16 win over Radom and finished as top scorer and MVP. She had 23 kills (.475) and three blocks. She also had one of her best receiving matches, receiving 41 error-less serves while passing 44% positive. Rzeszow (20-1) won its 12th in a row.

Brazil

In a clash of top teams, Minas came out on top over Osasco 25-11, 29-27, 16-25, 25-20. Danielle Cuttino was top scorer for Minas with 18 points on 17 kills (.424) and a block. For Osasco, Rachael Adams had six kills (.333), two blocks, and an ace. Minas bounced back from losing last week to move to 17-4 and is in second place. Osasco (15-6) falls into fourth.

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VBM Staff