This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. Most of the players are former NCAA standouts:
Play in Turkey has stopped because of the earthquake. As best as we can tell all American volleyball players are OK.
The Turkish Volleyball Federation had this statement:
“All national and international activities due to the earthquake that affected Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Kilis, Gaziantep, Adana, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Adıyaman and Şanlıurfa and many other cities; In addition, international club activities have been postponed until further notice.
“May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş and was felt in the surrounding cities; Our condolences to their families and our nation, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”
Chiaka Ogbogu is one of the many Americans playing in Turkey. The VakifBank star Tweeted last week, “Thank you to everyone that has checked up on me! I am okay. Please keep all those affected in Southern Turkey in your thoughts. My heart goes out to this beautiful country and all its people. Please also keep an eye out for ways to help!”
And she added, “I also think of Syria. A country that was also affected by this earthquake. A country that has endured so much pain, especially in recent years. My heart goes out to all those affected in Syria!”
Wisconsin libero Gulce Guctekin, who is from Turkey, had the following Instagram post:
Champions League
Imoco Conegliano finished the group stage unbeaten by sweeping Rzeszow 25-20, 25-17, 25-16) Kathryn Plummer was Conegliano’s second top scorer with 13 kills (hitting .684) and an ace. Kelsey Cook added six kills. Conegliano is in the quarterfinal round as the top seed in Group A.
Milano topped Group B by beating Volero Le Cannet 23-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-15. Dana Rettke led with 10 kills (.600), three blocks and an ace. Rettke had blocks to end sets two and three. Jordan Thompson had eight kills and an ace while Jordan Larson chipped in two kills and two blocks. Milano is also in the quarterfinal round as the top seed in its group.
Alba Blaj beat Prometey 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 25-16 to claim third place in the group as Kaitlyn Hord had five kills (.625) and a match-high four blocks in her first Champions League start. Hord and Alba Blaj will join the CEV Cup in the quarterfinal round after finishing third in Group B.
Stuttgart won a Champions League group for the first time ever by sweping La Laguna 25-8, 25-16, 25-15. Simone Lee led with nine kills and a block while coming off of the bench. Krystal Rivers had five kills and a block while playing two sets. Alexis Hart also came off the bench to chip in five kills and two aces. Stuttgart won Group D to advance to the quarterfinals.
CEV Cup
Olympiacos advanced to the quarterfinals by eliminating Liberec 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18. Jaali Winters had nine kills and played the first two sets for Olympiacos, which only needed to win two sets to advance. Olympiacos will face Targoviste of Romania in the next round.
Scandicci sent Schwerin home 25-19, 29-27, 25-19 as Haleigh Washington had seven kills (.600), one block and an ace. Lindsey Ruddins led Schwerin with 17 kills (.368) and two aces. Scandicci will play Potsdam in the quarterfinals.
Challenge Cup
Suhl advanced to the semifinals after beating Prostejov 25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 25-20 after only needing to win two sets to advance. Danielle Harbin had seven kills (.500) in the first two sets for Suhl. Julia Brown added five kills and two blocks. Jenna Ewert set the first two sets and added a kill and an ace.
Chieri advanced to the semifinals after fending off Sliedrecht 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15. Brionne Butler had six kills, two aces and one block in three sets played.
Porto was eliminated in the quarterfinals after failing to win in fewer than five sets despite beating Jedinstvo 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 15-8. Kyra Holt had 25 kills and three blocks and Tia Jimerson added nine kills (.600) and five blocks.
Italy
Milano (14-4) won its second match in a row in the league by sweeping Macerata 25-14, 25-23, 25-21. Larson had seven kills and a block, Thompson came off the bench and contributed four kills in her brief appearance, and Rettke did not play. Symone Abbott had nine kills off the bench for Macerata (2-16). Claire Chaussee had one kill in her brief appearance.
Bergamo (9-9) upset Novara (14-4) 25-21, 25-20, 14-25, 25-19. Khalia Lanier was named MVP as top scorer with 23 kills (.500). McKenzie Adams had five kills for Novara.
Conegliano powered past Cuneo 25-19, 25-21, 25-14. Plummer was MVP with 14 kills (.379) and a block, Cook added nine kills and an ace, and Stephanie Samedy had one kill in her substitute appearance. Anna Stevenson-Hall led Cuneo with nine kills (.643), two aces and a block. Dani Drews was limited to four kills as Cuneo fell to 6-12.
Carli Lloyd led Busto Arsizio (8-10) past Vallefoglia 25-18, 27-25, 25-12 and was named MVP as her team hit .337.. Lloyd had two kills and two blocks. Annie Drews led Vallefoglia (7-11) with 10 kills and a block. Micha Hancock had three kills and an ace.
Perugia swept Casalmaggiore (9-9) 25-18, 25-20, 25-22 to earn one of the most eye-turning victories of the weekend. Ali Frantti led Casalmaggiore with 11 kills, one block and an ace. Lauren Carlini had one kill while setting the first two sets).
Firenze swept Chieri 25-16, 25-14, 26-24. Brionne Butler had two kills and two blocks off of the bench in the third set for Chieri (12-6).
France
Beziers bounced back from last week’s defeat by beating Chamalieres 25-16, 26-28, 25-21, 25-18. Avery Skinner was top scorer with 16 kills (.393). Blake Mohler added six kills and a block. Madison Lilley set for Beziers (13-6) and chipped in a match-high three aces. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 74% positive reception.
Venelles wonits third match in a row by sweeping Nancy 25-18, 25-11, 25-20. Samantha Drechsel was the top scorer for Venelles (10-9) with 14 kills (.461) and two aces. Setter August Raskie had a kill and an ace. Annayka Legros had five kills while Shayla Hoeft had four kills and an ace for Nancy (7-12).
TFOC (14-5) easily swept France 2024 25-12, 25-16, 25-13. Taylor Fricano led with eight kills, two aces and a block. Shannon Scully added seven kills, two aces and a block. Kendall White did not play.
Cannes (10-9) pulled off the reverse sweep against Marcq en Barouel 19-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-11. Carli Snyder was MVP with 19 kills and two blocks. Claire Felix had seven kills and two blocks while fellow middle blocker Madeleine Gates had seven kills, one block, and an ace. Jenna Gray had a block while setting the first two sets for Cannes.
Mulhouse took down league-leadering Nantes 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18) Taylor Mims led a shorthanded Nantes (16-3), which was missing its starting setter and middle blocker, with 18 kills, two blocks, and an ace. Jaelyn Keene had six kills, a block and an ace for Nantes.
Germany
Aachen (8-6) easily swept Neuwied 25-14, 25-18, 25-17 as Ashley Evans set Aachen to hit .360 and added a match-high three blocks and an ace.
Schwerin (12-3) bounced back from last week’s defeat to beat Suhl in 25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21. Ruddins had five kills, a block and an ace in her two-set appearance. Brown led Suhl (3-11) with 17 kills and an ace. Harbin added 16 kills. Ewert set for Suhl and contributed one kill and an ace.
Stuttgart (13-1) swept Munster 10th win in a row (25-20, 25-19, 27-25). Krystal Rivers was named MVP with 20 kills (.417) and an ace. Simone Lee came off the bench to have seven kills (.545). Zoe Fleck was credited with 64% positive reception for Munster (7-8).
Puerto Rico
Naranjito began the week with a 25-19, 25-18, 25-23 sweep of Ponce as Lindsey Vander Weide had seven kills and an ace. Taylor Sandbothe added five kills, two blocks and an ace. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres set for Naranjito and contributed three kills and a block. Nia Robinson led Ponce with 15 kills and an ace. Newly signed Eleanor Holthaus had 10 kills and Jhenna Gabriel set and had six digs.
Santurce handed Naranjito its first defeat 25-22, 29-27, 25-19 as Gina Mancuso had 10 kills, two blocks, and an ace and. Madi Kubik added five kills. Vander Weide had 12 kills for Naranjito. Sandbothe added two kills, two blocks, and an ace while Ka’aha’aina-Torres had a kill, a bloc and an ace.
Caguas overcame Manati in a back-and-forth encounter 27-25, 24-26, 25-19, 21-25, 15-9. Kashauna Williams was the top scorer for Caguas with 16 kills and an ace. Kayla Caffey added six kills and three blocks. Selesia Elisaia set for Caguas and had four blocks and two kills. Callie Schwarzenbach was Manati’s second top scorer with eight kills, a match-high six blocks and two aces. Gloria Mutiri chipped in 11 kills and a block. Setter Mackenzi Welsh had five kills.
Corozal ended the week with a 20-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-13 comeback win over Juncos. Adanna Rollins was the second top scorer for Corozal with 16 kills and a block. Ronika Stone added eight kills and two blocks. Tori Dilfer set for Corozal and contributed three kills and one block. Naya Gros was the second top scorer for Juncos with 11 kills and a match-high four blocks. Setter Natalie Hayward had four kills and three blocks. Sabrina Starks added three kills, a block and an ace.
Brazil
SESC-RJ fell to Fluminense 25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 18-25, 15-10. Roni Jones-Perry had 17 kills and an ace for SESC-RJ. SESC-RJ (8-7) fell to fifth place.
Greece
PAOK (15-1) escaped Markopoulo in a tight, exciting five-setter 23-25, 28-26, 23-25, 27-25, 16-14. Payton Caffrey had 17 kills, two blocks, and two aces. Becca Latham led Markopoulo (6-10) with 26 kills, three aces, and a block. Audriana Fitzmorris added 15 kills, three blocks and an ace.
Thetis (8-8) pulled off the reverse sweep over Thiras 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-10. Leah Hardeman was the top scorer with 16 kills and three blocks. Mariena Hayden had 12 kills, a match-high four aces and two blocks.
Panathinaikos (12-4) fell to AEK 25-23, 11-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11 to end the week. Adora Anae had 17 kills and a block.
