Women’s pro report: Dani, Annie Drews come up big in Japan; Samedy wins in Türkiye
Kelsey Robinson Cook attacks for Conegliano as Haleigh Washington and Lindsey Ruddins put up the block for Scandicci/Filippo Rubin, LVF
This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. Most of the players are former NCAA standouts:
Japan
It was all Drews.
Dani Drews had 19 kills and a block as the NEC Red Rockets beat Queenseis.
JT Marvelous won the fifth set 17-15 over Denso. Annie Drews led with 28 kills and two blocks.
JT Marvelous won the battle of recent champions by sweeping defending-champion NEC as Annie Drews had 15 kills and four blocks for JT Marvelous and Dani Drews led NEC with 12 kills and two blocks.
Hisamitsu Springs split. First it fell to Hitachi Rivale in five sets as McKenzie Adams had 19 kills and three blocks. She had 14 kills and two aces in a five-set win over Kurobe.
Italy
Firenze opened the week with a five-set win over Roma. Lauren Stivrins played two sets for Firenze, adding four kills and three blocks. Courtney Schwan had a kill for Roma as a substitute.
Avery Skinner looks on as Madi Kingdon passes for Chieri against Vallefoglia/LVF photo
Chieri beat Vallefoglia and Avery Skinner was Chieri’s second-top scorer with 11 kills, two blocks and an ace. Madi Kingdon had seven kills and two aces.
Cuneo upset Casalmaggiore. Anna Stevenson-Hall had six kills and an ace in the upset. Micha Hancock set for Casalmaggiore and had a match-high three aces along with two kills. Breana Edwards came off the bench and contributed three kills and a block.
Conegliano beat Scandicci in four sets. Kelsey Robinson Cook had 14 kills and an ace and Khalia Lanier added 10 kills. Lindsey Ruddins appeared as a substitute at opposite for Scandicci and had nine kills and a block. Haleigh Washington also subbed in and had two blocks and a kill.
Dana Rettke and Kara Bajema paced Milano in a four-set win over Bergamo. Bajema had six kills, three blocks and two aces, and Rettke had nine kills and a block.
In the second round of matches, Scandicci (4-2) bounced back and swept Trentino. Ruddins led with 12 kills and four blocks. Washington had 10 kills, three blocks and an ace. Carly DeHoog led Trentino (0-6) with nine kills and an ace.
Chieri (3-2) swept Pinerolo as Skinner had 15 kills, a block and an ace. Kingdon added six kills, two blocks and an ace and was MVP.
Conegliano (5-0) beat Milano and Robinson Cook was named MVP for having 14 kills, two blocks and an ace for Conegliano (5-0). Kathryn Plummer returned from concussion protocol to have 10 kills, two blocks and an ace. Rettke came off the bench to add four kills for Milano (4-1). Bajema also appeared as a substitute, having three kills.
Casalmaggiore (2-4) ended with a dominant sweep over Firenze (3-3). Edwards was second top scorer for Casalmaggiore’s with nine kills and an ace. Hancock added three kills and an ace. Stivrins was one bright spot for Firenze, with eight kills and a block.
Novara swept Cuneo (3-3). Stevenson-Hall was limited to two blocks and a kill. Madi Kubik added two kills as a substitute.
Türkiye
Stephanie Samedy had 16 kills for Muratpasa in a sweep of PTT. Micaya White added four kills and two blocks. Payton Caffrey had one kill as a substitute for PTT.
Jordan Thompson came off the bench to help VakifBank beat Nilufer in four sets. Thompson had 12 kills and an ace as she started the final two sets. Chiaka Ogbogu had nine kills and a match-high five blocks.
Galatasaray struggled to a four-set loss to THY. Danielle Cuttino led Galatasaray with 18 kills and a block. Heather Gneiting had three blocks and two kills. Logan Eggleston added one kill as a substitute.
Heather Gneiting attacks for Galatasaray against THY/TVF photo
Simone Lee and Sariyer held on to beat Cukurova in five sets. Lee was the top scorer with 23 kills and two blocks.
Aydin got its first victory as it swept Karayollari. Setter Lauren Carlini had two blocks and an ace.
In the second round of the week, Cuttino’s best match of the season was not enough for Galatasaray (2-4) to beat Fenerbahce. Cuttino led Galatasaray with 23 kills, three blocks and an ace. Gneiting had three kills, one block, and an ace. Eggleston had two kills as a substitute.
PTT (2-4) fell to Nilufer in a back-and-forth five-setter. Caffrey had 18 kills, a block and an ace.
VakifBank (7-0) swept Sariyer (2-4). Ali Frantti led with 13 kills, three blocks and an ace. Thompson added eight kills (hitting .571), four aces and a block. Lee, playing only one set, had four kills for Sariyer.
Sarah Parsons led Kuzeyboru (4-2) to a sweep of Cukurova. with 18 kills (.469) and two blocks.
Muratpasa (4-2) got a big win over THY in four as Samedy had 12 kills, a block and an ace. White added 12 kills and an ace.
Aydin (1-5) fell in a close three-set encounter with Besiktas. Carlini had a kill, a block and an ace.
Brazil
Jenna Gray and Annie Mitchem helped Minas win its first trophy of the season by beating Praia Clube in the Brazilian Super Cup. Gray set the entire match for Minas while Mitchem appeared as a substitute.
France
Courtney Buzzerio had her best match of the season as Chamalieres (2-4) beat Venelles. Buzzerio had 16 kills and five blocks, Sabrina Starks followed with four blocks and four kills.
Nancy (4-2) beat Beziers. Katelyn Evans, the league’s leading scorer, had 20 kills (.441), five aces and two blocks. Haylie Bennett added 10 kills and a block. Breana Runnels had four kills. Shayla Hoeft had eight kills and an ace. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres was named MVP for Nancy after the setter had three kills and three blocks. Serena Gray continued to lead Beziers as she had 13 kills and four blocks. Claire Hoffman had 10 kills, a block and an ace in her return from injury. Taylor Fricano was limited to five kills and a block. Ella May Powell set for Beziers (3-2) and added a kill and an ace.
Nantes avoided an upset by beating Cannes in five sets. Taylor Mims led Nantes (4-1) with 16 kills and a block. Madelyn Robinson had 10 kills and two blocks for Cannes (2-4).
Levallois-Paris cruised to a straight-set win over the development France 2024 team. Emily Thater started two sets for Paris (5-1), having six kills in six attacks and a block.
Poland
Budowlani Lodz (4-1) got swept by MKS Kalisz. Mac May led Lodz with 10 kills and two aces.
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