Women’s pro volleyball: Champions League; CEV Cup; big weeks for Kingdom, Eggleston, Cuttino

This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. Most of the players are former NCAA standouts:

CEV Champions League

Imoco Conegliano got off to a fast start and and swept Mulhouse 25-15, 25-19, 25-20. Kelsey Cook led with 11 kills and an ace for Conegliano. Kathryn Plummer had two kills in a substitute appearance.

Milano bounced back from being upset last week by sweeping Alba Blaj 25-16, 25-18, 25-16. Jordan Thompson was the top scorer and MVP with 17 kills (hitting .500), five blocks and an ace. Jordan Larson added seven kills while Dana Rettke had three kills, two aces, and a block.

Novara overpowered Crvena Zvezda 25-17, 25-15, 25-22. McKenzie Adams had seven kills (.412), three blocks and two aces.

Potsdam earned the upset win of the week by upending VakifBank 19-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-10. Chiaka Ogbogu was limited to five kills and two blocks for VakifBank. Kara Bajema had seven kills, two blocks and two aces in the defeat.

CEV Cup

Olympiacos advanced to the next round by beating KP Brno 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 22-25, 15-7. Jaali Winters played the first four sets and had eight kills and an ace.

Scandicci knocked Mladost out of the competition 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-15. Haleigh Washington did not play.

Schwerin also advanced by beating Bekescsaba 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 29-31, 15-12. Schwerin only needed to win two sets to advance. Lindsey Ruddins played in both of those sets and contributed seven kills (.375) and a block for Schwerin, who will face Scandicci in the next round.

Busto Arsizio eliminated Maribor 25-11, 25-14, 25-17. Carli Lloyd had two kills and two blocks for Busto Arsizio.

THY swept TFOC to advance 25-14, 25-20, 25-22. Madi Kingdon had six kills and one block in the first two sets for THY. Taylor Fricano led TFOC with 10 kills while Shannon Scully added five. Kendall White was credited with 57% positive reception. THY will face Busto Arsizio next.

CEV Challenge Cup

Suhl advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Haifa 19-25, 25-8, 25-20, 25-12. Danielle Harbin had nine kills, a block and an ace for Suhl while Jenna Ewert added an ace. Briana Holman contributed seven kills and a block for Haifa. Suhl will face off against Prostejov (CZE) in the next round.

Chieri only needed to win two sets to advance to the quarterfinals and won in five over Panathinaikos 25-14, 20-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-10. Brionne Butler did not play for Chieri. Adora Anae had 13 kills, three blocks, and an ace for Panathinaikos. Chieri faces Sliedrecht Sport (NED) in the quarterfinals.

Porto needed a golden set to advance. It lost Rapd Bucharest 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-12 but won the golden set 15-11 to make the quarterfinals. Kyra Holt was the leading scorer again as she had 27 kills and an ace. Tia Jimerson added 12 kills, a match-high eight blocks, and an ace for Porto. Porto will play Jedinstvo (SRB) in the next round.

Italy

Conegliano maintained its grip on first by beating Vallefoglia 25-27, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20. Plummer had 11 kills and a block. Cook made a brief appearance as a substitute. Stephanie Samedy made her Conegliano debut and had two kills. Annie Drews led Vallefoglia with 16 kills and a block. Micha Hancock added three kills.

Busto Arsizio swept Perugia 25-17, 25-14, 25-19. Lloyd had two kills while leading her team to hit .360.

Novara won a back-and-forth encounter with Scandicci 30-32, 27-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-8. McKenzie Adams had 14 kills (.351), two aces and a block for Novara. Washington had five kills (.500) and four blocks for Scandicci.

Casalmaggiore handed Cuneo its third loss in a row 26-24, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22. Ali Frantti was named MVP with 22 kills, two blocks and two aces for Casalmaggiore (9-7). Lauren Carlini chipped in three kills. Anna Stevenson-Hall had four kills and a block for Cuneo (6-10).

Milano was upset yet again, this time to Bergamo 14-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 16-14. Khalia Lanier had 15 kills and an ace for Bergamo (7-9). Thompson and Larson both had eight kills and two aces for Monza (12-4). Dana Rettke came off the bench to add eight kills (.667).

Chieri eased by Macerata 25-12, 25-18, 25-22. Butler did not appear for Chieri. Claire Chaussee came off the bench for Macerata and had seven kills (.583).

Firenze pulled off the reverse sweep to avoid an upset against Pinerolo 20-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23, 17-15. Rhamat Alhassan came off the bench to have eight kills (.636) and a team-high five blocks for Firenze (6-10).

Turkey

Aydin handed Kuzeyboru its seventh loss in a row 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20. Annie Mitchem had 11 kills, two blocks and an ace for Kuzeyboru (5-10).

Logan Eggleston powered Galatasaray past Cukurova 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23 with 22 kills (.375), two aces and a block as the top scorer. Galatasaray (10-5) moved into fourth and in a playoff position.

Fenerbahce overpowered Nilufer 25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-18. Sherridan Atkinson led Nilufer (9-6) with 10 kills and a match-high seven blocks. Brooke Nuneviller came off the bench to add three kills.

Kingdon’s career match was not enough as THY fell to first place and undefeated Eczacibasi 32-30, 27-29, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13. Kingdon had 29 kills (.455) and three blocks for THY (10-5).

VakifBank ended the week with a sweep over SigortaShop 27-25, 25-16, 25-15. Bajema had nine kills, two blocks, and two aces for VakifBank (14-1). Ogbogu did not play. Kelsie Payne had nine kills and an ace for SigortaShop (3-12). Marin Grote added four kills in her professional debut.

Japan

Danielle Cuttino powered Toyota Autobody Queenseis to a weekend sweep of Himeji. In the first match, Queenseis won 25-22, 25-16, 25-21 and Cuttino was the top scorer with 18 kills (.486), four blocks and an ace. In the second match, Queenseis won 19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 15-9 and Cuttino fired off 31 kills (.443), six blocks and and ace.

JT Marvelous narrowly escaped the weekend with a sweep of Hitachi Rivale. JT Marvelous won the first match 25-17, 25-20, 25-20. Karsta Lowe had an errorless 18 kills (.545), two blocks and an ace for JT Marvelous. Hannah Tapp came off the bench for Hitachi and contributed two kills and a block. JT Marvelous roared back from a fifth set deficit to complete the series sweep 25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 15-25, 18-16. Lowe had 16 kills and a block. Tapp had 15 kills and a match-high six blocks.

France

Cannes swept France 2024 25-20, 25-17, 25-23. Claire Felix had nine kills (.750) and two blocks for Cannes. Madeleine Gates added four kills and a match-high four aces. Carli Snyder had five kills after only appearing in the first set. Jenna Gray did not play for Cannes (9-7).

TFOC won its fourth in a row by sweeping Nancy 25-23, 25-22, 25-22. Fricano had six kills, two blocks, and an ace for TFOC (12-4). Scully added eight kills and an ace while Kendall White was credited with 25% positive reception. Annayka Legros’ career night was not enough for Nancy (7-9). Legros had 19 kills (.818) and three aces. Lauren Page added three kills.

Beziers won its seventh in a row by beating Venelles 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18. Avery Skinner had 16 kills (.407) and a block for Beziers. Blake Mohler added six kills and two blocks. Madison Lilley was named MVP with two kills as Beziers hit .345. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 57% positive reception. Samantha Drechsel had 11 kills for Venelles (7-9). August Raskie added three kills and a block.

Nantes maintained first place by sweeping Marcq en Barouel 25-20, 25-18, 29-27. Taylor Mims had 15 kills (.423), three blocks and an ace for Nantes (14-2)

Germany

Stuttgart won its seventh league match in a row by beating Wiesbaden 25-18, 25-18, 31-33, 25-14. Krystal Rivers was the top scorer and MVP with 22 kills and four blocks. Simone Lee had 12 kills and two blocks while playing the first three sets for Stuttgart (12-1).

Dresden snapped its losing streak by sweeping Suhl 25-13, 25-20, 25-21. Kayla Haneline had five kills and five blocks for Dresden (8-5). Harbin had 14 kills and a block for Suhl (4-9), while Jenna Ewert added two kills.

Schwerin won its fifth league match in a row by sweeping Aachen 25-18, 25-18, 25-21. Ruddins had 11 kills for Schwerin (11-2). Ashley Evans came off the bench to contribute a block and a kill for Aachen (7-6).

Brazil

Roni Jones-Perry powered SESC-RJ (7-6) to a win over previously undefeated Praia Clube 25-20, 25-27, 25-21, 25-23. Jones-Perry was named MVP after having 20 kills, three blocks, and two aces.

Greece

PAOK remained in first place by sweeping ASP Thetis 25-21, 25-17, 25-18. Payton Caffrey was the top scorer with 14 kills, two blocks and two aces for PAOK (12-1). Mariena Hayden had six kills, three blocks, and an ace for Thetis (6-7).

Markopoulo (8-5) ended its eight-match losing streak by beating Ilisiakos 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-10. Becca Latham was the top scorer with 22 kills, two blocks, and an ace. Teammate Audriana Fitzmorris had 13 kills, three blocks and an ace.

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