International women: Lanier, Conegliano start strong; Stivrins plays for Firenze, Stevenson-Hall shines
In a nice twist for USA volleyball, much of our focus on the pros the past week has been domestically with the start of Athletes Unlimited.
While 44 pros, mostly Americans, are playing AU, the majority of top players are back with their pro teams as seasons have begun.
Here’s the first of our weekly reports.
Italy
The defending champions, Imoco Conegliano, opened with a sweep of Trentino, and that included Khalia Lanier, who played for the USA in Volleyball Nations League. Lanier, the former USC star, had seven kills and an ace in her Conegliano debut. Veteran Madi Bugg, the setter from Stanford, had a block and an ace. The other two Americans Kelsey Cook and Kathryn Plummer, did not play. On the opposing side, Carly DeHoog (Washington) led Trentino with 10 kills and an ace. Plummer’s teammate on the 2019 NCAA-title team,Madeleine Gates, made her A1 debut and had six kills, three blocks and an ace.
Audriana Fitzmorris, who won three NCAA crowns with Plummer and was in Greece last year, had three aces as she made her debut in A1 as Bergamo triumphed over Casalmaggiore in five sets.
Scandicci swept Firenze. USA middle Haleigh Washington was absent, but former Nebraska star middle Lauren Stivrins made her debut for Firenze and had four kills and a block. Stivrins was hurt in the last Athletes Unlimited season in 2022 and couldn’t play last year after signing with Firenze.
Milano crushed Busto Arsizio and Kara Bajema (Washington) had seven points in her Milano debut. T’ara Ceasar (Florida) was a sub for Busto Arsizio. Ceasar missed the 2022/2023 season due to an ACL tear sustained while playing for her Polish team. Dana Rettke (Wisconsin), who was a big part of the USA’s effort to clinch an Olympic bid, did not play.
Happy Milano
Yet another Washington product, Courtney Schwan, helped Roma beat Vallefoglia in five. She had nine kills, two blocks and an ace.
Anna Stevenson-Hall
Anna Stevenson-Hall, the second-year pro from Louisville, was named MVP as Cuneo beat Pinerolo as they stormed back to win the fifth set. She had 13 kills (hitting .765) and a block. Nebraska’s Madi Kubik made her debut with Cuneo and had six points.
Avery Skinner, the former Kentucky and Baylor standout who played with the USA in VNL, made her debut with Chieri. Novara won 25-20, 29-27, 27-25 but Skinner led Chieri with 13 kills (.407) and a block. Madi Kingdon Rishel, the Arizona product who has been with the national team but tried her hand on the beach this summer, added three kills.
Turkey
Play began with the Turkish Cup in a league that boasts plenty of USA standouts.
Group A: Kuzeyboru swept PTT and Sarah Parsons (Minnesota), who had been Japan, had eight kills and a block. Payton Caffrey (Florida State) made her debut for PTT as a substitute, contributing two kills and an ace.
Kuzeyboru then secured a spot in the final round by defeating Nilufer as Parsons had 13 kills, two blocks and an ace.
PTT was eliminated when it was swept by Nilufer. Caffrey was the second top scorer with 11 kills (.500).
Group B: SigortaShop battled to a 25-12, 23-25, 25-20, 25-27, 15-4 win over Cukurova as former Minnesota star Stephanie Samedy had 18 kills, a block and an ace for SigortaShop, while Texas-ex Micaya White added nine kills and three aces. Russian Marina Markova (who played at Syracuse and finished last year at Florida) had a sensational debut with 36 kills, three blocks, and two aces.
Galatasaray beat SigortaShop in a five-set battle. Danielle Cuttino, the Purdue product who played VNL, led Galatasaray with 17 kills, two blocks, and an ace. Texas great Logan Eggleston contributed 11 kills and two aces. Samedy had 12 kills, while White had 17 kills, two aces and a block. Markova led with 22 kills, four aces, and a block.
Galatasaray was eliminated by Cukurova (25-17, 25-12, 25-19). Cuttino was held to four kills. Eggleston added nine kills and an ace. Heather Gneiting(BYU) played set and had three kils.
Group C: Sariyer swept Besiktas and Penn State’s Simone Lee made her team debut with 15 kills, two aces and a block.
Sariyer started a winning streak by defeating Karayollari in four sets. Lee had eight kills, two blocks and two aces.
Sariyer then advanced with a sweep of Aydin as Lee led all scorers with 24 points on 19 kills (.750), three aces, and two blocks.
Germany
Stuttgart needed a 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 17-15 comeback to beat Wiesbaden as veteran Krystal Rivers (Alabama) led with 24 kills and four blocks. Alexis Hart (Minnesota) added three kills and an ace. Kayla Haneline (Northern Iowa) made her debut with reigning champs and had seven kills and four blocks. Jaidyn Blanchfield (also UNI) led Wiesbaden 10 points. Temple alum Izabella Rapacz finished with 16 kills and two blocks.
Potsdam trailed in every set but came away with the sweep over Dresdner. USA libero Justine Wong-Orantes (Nebraska), who played all summer with the national team, including when it clinched the 2024 Paris Olympic bid, returned to the German league with Potsdam and was credited with 50% positive reception. Breland Morrissette (Georgia Tech) had a kill and a block. Tia Jimerson (Ohio) was named MVP for Dresdner as she had nine kills, three blocks, and an ace in her debut. Grace Frohling (San Diego) led Dresdner with 11 kills and four blocks.
Tia Jimerson, left, of Dresen and Potsdam’s Rodica Buterez/Volleyball Bundesliga, Denis Trapp
Gabby Goddard (USD) was named MVP for Aachen in a loss to perennial title contender Schwerin. She had three kills, five blocks and an ace.
Suhl routed Munster and Jacksonville State alum and German Lena Kindermann led with 20 kills (.485), two aces and a block. Julia Brown (NC State) followed with 10 kills, four aces and three blocks. Jenny Mosser (UCLA, Kansas) had six kills, two aces and a block. Zoe Fleck, the former UCLA and Texas NCAA champ who played for the USA in the Pan Am Games, was named MVP for Munster and was credited with 56% positive reception. Jenna Ewert (Colorado, Texas) set for Munster and had one block. Gloria Mutiri (Oregon) had three kills.
France
Nancy swept France 2024 and Katelyn Evans (West Virginia) contributed 10 kills in just two sets. Haylie Bennett (Oregon State) was named MVP as she had 11 kills and two blocks. Shayla Hoeft (Nevada, Portland) played two sets and had eight points. Breanna Runnels (Colorada State, Tennessee) marked her French league debut with six kills and three blocks. Setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (Utah, Texas) had two blocks and an ace.
Nantes, looking to bounce back from its disappointing postseason, started with a sweep over Venelles. Taylor Mims (Washington State) and Jaelyn Keene (Illinois State) led Nantes with 12 points apiece. Mims had nine kills, two blocks and an ace and Keene finished with eight kills (.615), three blocks and an ace.
Mulhouse began their season by sweeping the defending champions, Volero Le Cannet (25-21, 25-22, 25-21). Carli Snyder (Florida) was named MVP for Mulhouse as she had 14 kills (.500). Jaali Winters (Creighton) added six kills and an ace in her return to France. Annayka Legros, the former Coastal Carolina standout who had a breakout season last year for Nancy, finished with five kills, two blocks and an ace.
Cannes squeaked out a fifth set victory to avoid losing to Chamalieres for the first time (23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 15-10). Madelyn Robinson (BYU, Utah) led Cannes with 13 kills and three aces. Leah Meyer (Duke, Kentucky) had eight kills (.727), two blocks and two aces. Kari Zumach (Creighton) led a heavily American-influenced Chamalieres with 16 kills. Hannah Clayton (Iowa) added four kills and a block. Sabrina Starks (Pittsburgh) finished with four kills, one block and an ace. Maggie Speaks (NC State) set and had a kill. Courtney Buzzerio (Iowa, Pittsburgh) played briefly as a substitute.
Brazil
Callie Schwarzenbach (Nebraska) helped Osasco win its first title of the year, the Paulista (state) championship, beating Pinheiros in the finals series. Texas-ex Brionne Butler is on the team.
Roni Jones-Perry (BYU) is set for her second season with SESC-RJ in Brazil. Last season, Jones-Perry played a crucial role in helping SESC-RJ reach the semifinals.
Jenna Gray (Stanford) and Annie Mitchem (Hawai’i) are embarking on their first venture in South America, both joining Minas. Minas, among the most successful clubs in Brazil, secured a second-place finish last season after being the three-time defending champion.
Claire Felix (UCLA) is making her return to Brazil after three seasons in France with RC Cannes, joining Fluminense. Felix previously played with Curitiba during the COVID-shortened season.
Japan
Annie Drews, the star USA opposite from Purdue, is set to return to Japan after playing half of last season in Italy, rejoining JT Marvelous. Drewsled JT Marvelous to the Japanese league final for three consecutive years, but the team faced a disappointing fifth-place finish last year.
Dani Drews (the Utah star, no relation) will join NEC Red Rockets. NEC surprised everyone with a title win last year, and Drews, played in Poland and then Athletes Unlimited in 2022, is set to contribute to the team’s title defense.
McKenzie Adams (Virginia, UTSA) is joining Hisamitsu Springs for her first season in Japan. Hana Okuhara, a Japanese-American graduate of California Baptist will also make her debut season with Hisamitsu Springs.
Around the World
We’ll have reports as the season goes on, but here is a list of other Americans and their teams:
Korea
Daejeon JungKwanJang Red Sparks: Gia Milana (Baylor)
AI Peppers: Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani (Texas)
Greece
AO Markopoulo: Becca Latham (Denver)
ASP Thetis: Amber Olson (UCF), Mariena Hayden (UNLV)
Ilisiakos: Brianna Kadiku (Oklahoma)
Panathinaikos: Sherridan Atkinson (Purdue)
PAOK: Kash Williams (Penn State)
Pefkon: Alli Cudworth (Ashland)
Poland
Budowlani Lodz: Mac May (UCLA)
UNI Opole: elan McCall (UCLA)
Romania
Dinamo Bucharest: Naya Gros (Michigan State, Minnesota)
CSM București: Ashley Evans (Purdue)
Hungary
Vasas: Taylor Bannister (LSU)
MAV Elore: Maia Dvoracek (Cal Poly)
Portugal
Clube Kairos: Ashley Watkins (Montana), Hannah Ammerman (Colorado at Colorado Springs), Lia Mosher (New Mexico State)
CS Madeira: Jada Stackhouse (Cornell)
FC Porto: Lauren Matthews (Western Kentucky), Kyra Holt (Washington State), Lauren Page (Oregon), Taylor Sandbothe (Ohio State)
SC Braga: Alyssa Enneking (Oklahoma), Karrington Jones (Texas Tech)
Sporting Clube: Lauren Matias (UC Davis)
Switzerland
Geneve: Anezka Szabo (Kansas), Kennedy Warren (Houston), Jody Larson (Wichita State)
Pfeffingen: Mita Uiato (Hawaii), Cara McKenzie (Gonzaga)
Cheseaux: Maia Rackel (UAB), Lauren Harrison (Baylor)
Glaronia: Mariah Mandelbaum (Fresno Pacific)
Schaffhausen: Lindsay Flory (LSU), Jacqui Armer (Indiana)
NUC Viteos: Tessa Grubbs (Tennessee), Madeline Haynes (Cal), Tia Scambray (Washington), Jasmine Gross (USC)
Dudingen: Carinne Gebhardt (North Florida)
Spain
Menorca: Alexandra Davenport (Chattanooga)
La Laguna: Shealyn McNamara (Rutgers)
Alcobendas: Avie Niece (Washington), Gabriele Horman (Quinnipiac)
Cajasol: Crystal Burk (South Dakota State), Grace Turner (Virginia), Anna Walsh (TCU)
Cuesta Piedra: Olivia Finckel (Towson)
Finland
Arctic Volley: Taylor Horsfall (Texas A&M-CC)
JymyVolley: Jada Burse (Arizona State), Shaylen Larson-Piper (Vanguard)
LiigaPloki: Emma Ellis (Purdue)
LP Vampula: Cheyenne Jones (Coastal Carolina), Kate Brennan (Boston College)
Polkky Kussamo: Carlyle Nusbaum (Lipscomb), Madeline Palmer (Radford), Cortney VanLiew (Florida Gulf Coast), Amiya Jones (Iowa)
Puijo Volley: Piper Matsumoto (Southern Miss)
Sweden
Orebro: Natalie Hayward (Tennessee)
Goteborg: Hanah Blume (San Jose State)
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