Men’s pro volleyball report: Busy week ahead for Champions League, CEV play
This is Blair Lambert’s VolleyballMag.com weekly men’s professional volleyball report, featuring Americans around the world and foreigners who played for NCAA programs. Got a note about a player or a comment for Blair? Email him at blairlambert2@gmail.com
Wednesday marks the start of a busy week in international men’s volleyball. The action includes the Champions League quarterfinals, CEV Cup semifinals and CEV Challenge Cup final.
Cody Kessel and the Berlin Recycling Volleys start their quarterfinal series at home against Itas Trentino.
Micah Ma’a and Halkbank Ankara knocked ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle out of the tournament and ended its run of Champions League titles at three. The Turkish club will face Aleksandar Nikolov and Lube Civitanova in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals.
Matt Anderson’s Ziraat Bankasi will face CV Guagas from Spain. Ziraat was the top-performing team in the group stage of the tournament.
The other quarterfinal match has Gas Sales Piacenza playing Poland’s top team, Jastrzębski Węgiel.
CEV Cup
TJ DeFalco and Asseco Resovia Rzeszów face red-hot Fenerbahce in the semifinals. Fenerbahce is coming off of a domestic league match sweep of Ziraat Bankasi.
The other semifinal series pits Arkas Izmir against Gage Worsley, Blake Leeson, Matt Knigge, Matt Slivinsky, and SVG Lüneburg.
CEV Challenge Cup
Projekt Warsaw is in the final against Vero Volley Monza. Taylor Averill will suit up for Warsaw, but has not seen much meaningful action lately for Poland’s third-place team.
Poland
De Falco had 15 kills, three blocks and an ace, but Asseco Resovia Rzeszów lost to Bogdanka LUK Lublin in the quarterfinals of the Polish Cup.
ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle snapped a three-match by sweeping Cerrad Czarni Radom. Erik Shoji was the MVP with nine digs, 56 percent positive and 36 percent perfect passes.
Josh Tuaniga started the fourth set for Indykpol AZS Olsztyn and set the team to a .200 attack efficiency in a four-set win over Resovia. DeFalco had 13 kills, a block and an ace.
Jake Hanes had 10 kills, two aces, a block for KGHM Cuprum Lubin in a defeat to Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie.
Italy
Gabi Garcia had 12 kills, a block, an ace for Pallavolo Padova in a five-set victory over Famitalia Catania. Davide Gardini contributed 10 kills, two block and an ace.
Padova then got swept by Sir Susa Vim Perugia as Garcia had four kills but four errors. Gardini led Padova with seven kills and two aces.
Nikolov came off the bench in the third and fourth sets for Lube Civitanova, who lost to Itas Trentino in four. He two kills on five errorless attacks.
Nikolov started the first two sets against Cisterna Volley, but was replaced after having five kills and four attack errors. Civitanova went on to win the next three sets.
Jeff Jendryk had eight kills, hit .538, and had a block, and an ace for Gioella Prisma Taranto in a five-set defeat to Valsa Group Modena. Kyle Russell started the fifth set and had four kills.
Taranto pulled off a five-set win over Gas Sales Piacenza with Jendryk scoring on four kills. Russell started the last three sets and had six kills and two aces.
Russia
Micah Christenson had a block and set Zenit Kazan to a .545 hitting percentage in a sweep of Kuzbass Kemerovo.
Japan
The Panasonic Panthers split two matches against the Nagoya Wolfdogs. Thomas Jaeschke had nine kills and three aces in a five-set win on Saturday, though he came out in the third set. He did not have any meaningful time in Sunday’s match, a five-set loss.
China
Max Holt hit .600 on his way to seven kills, two blocks and an ace for Beijing in a four-set win against Fujian.
Türkiye
Ziraat Bankasi reached the semifinals of the Turkish Cup as Matt Anderson had nine kills, four blocks and an ace in a sweep of Spor Toto.
Micah Ma’a set Halkbank Ankara to a .542 attack efficiency in addition to putting away three kills in a sweep of Brand Group Alanya Bld. in the Turkish Cup quarterfinals.
Ma’a had five kills, two aces and a block in a sweep of Kusgoz Izmir Vinc Akkus Bld. and his team hit .507.
Ziraat was swept by second-place Fenerbahce despite that Anderson had 16 kills, two blocks and an ace while hitting .448.
France
Joe Worsley set first-place Chaumont to a .354 attack efficiency and had a block in a win over Arago de Sete. Michael Marshman hit .529 with 10 kills, two blocks and an ace. The other middle, Dan McDonnell, hit .800 with eight kills and an ace.
Daniel Wetter had four kills and two blocks for Paris in a four-set win over Plessis-Robinson..
Kyle Ensing had nine kills, a block and an ace for Saint Nazaire in a sweep of Poitiers. Jordan Ewert finished with seven kills and a block.
Germany
Joel Schneidmiller only played the fourth set, but had nine kills on 13 swings as WWK Volleys Herrsching beat TSV Haching Munich. Munich’s Austin Matautia had seven kills, two blocks and an ace.
Gage Worsley passed 67 percent positively and 22 percent perfectly for SVG Lüneburg, which swept SWD powervolleys Duren. Blake Leeson had three kills on three attempts and had a block and an ace.
Ian Parish hit .833 on his way to five kills and a block for FT 1844 Freiburg in a loss to Helios Grizzlys Giesen. JT Hatch was used as a passing sub for Giesen in the second and third sets.
Argentina
Brandon Rattray led UPCN with 23 kills and a block in a four-set win over Club Obras de San Juan. Matt Hilling, a new addition to the club, started the first two sets and had four kills.
The two teams played two days later with UPCN winning in five as Rattray led again, this time with with 21 kills and a block. Hilling started the last two sets and had six kills and a block.
Austria
Tim McIntosh and Hypo Tirol beat TSV Raiffeisen Hartberg in four sets as McIntosh passed 80 percent positively and perfectly.
Greece
Ryan Coenen contributed eight kills, a block and an ace for A.O. Kalamata ‘80 in a loss to AONS Milon. Matt West had an ace and set the team to a .226 hitting percentage.
Cameron Keen set Athlos Orestiadas to a .296 hitting percentage in five-set loss to Pigasos Polichnis. Keen also finished with a kill and completed 18 serves with no errors.
Corey Chavers was used as a substitute for A.O. Foinikas Sirou and had one kill on one attempt in a straight-sets defeat to Panathinaikos.
Czech Republic
Tommy Carmody had four kills, four blocks and two aces for CEZ Karlovarsko in a four-set win over Odolena Voda. Spencer Olivier started the second set for Karlovarsko, putting away two kills.
Mark Olsen had three kills and hit .600 with a block but VK Ostravawas swept by Benátky n. J.
Finland
Michael Michelau had 14 kills and an ace as Savo Volley pulled off a five-set upset of Hurrikaani Loimaa. Troy Gooch passed 67 percent positively and perfectly for Loimaa. Greg Petty produced 23 kills, two blocks, and an ace. Daenan Gymiah hit .785 without an error while posting 11 kills and two blocks.
Colin Lovejoy had three kills and a block for Kyky-Betset, which beat the Vantaa Ducks in four sets.
Michelau had four kills and three errors as Savo was swept by Akaa Volley. He bounced back with 17 kills and three blocks in a five-set victory over Kokkolan Tiikerit.
Petty had 20 kills, three aces and a block as Hurrikaani Loimaa beat Karelian Hurmos in four. Gyimah finished with six kills on nine attempts with no errors and three blocks. Gooch passed 56 percent positively and 25 percent perfectly.
Serbia
Jaylen Jasper turned in a 16-kill, two-ace, and one-block performance for Spartak Subotica in a victory over Borac Starcevo.
Switzerland
Chênois Genève Volleyball was swept by Volley Amriswil last weekend with James Noris scoring from two aces and a block. Dennis Del Valle passed 75 percent positively and 65 percent perfectly.
Netherlands
Cole Bogner set Nova Tech Lycurgus to a .227 hitting percentage in another loss to Active Living Orion. Cole Gillis had 17 kills, two blocks and an ace.
Romania
Brett Wildman started the first set and was used as a substitute in the others as CSA Steaua Bucuresti lost to CS Stiinta Explorari Baia Mare in four. Wildman had a kill but hit negative to go with an ace.
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