Women’s pro volleyball: Cook, Plummer, Imoco Conegliano win FIVB Club; 24 kills for Mims in France

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

FIVB Club World Championship

In the championship match, Imoco Conegliano claimed its second Club World Championship title by beating VakifBank 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21.

Kelsey Cook was named Best Outside Hitter after having seven kills, two blocks and an ace. Kathryn Plummer had 10 kills, a block and an ace. Chiaka Ogbogu of VakifBank was named Best Middle Blocker and had four kills and a block. Kara Bajema came off the bench and had two kills for VakifBank.

In the semifinals, Imoco Conegliano defeated Brazil’s Gerdau Minas 25-12, 25-17, 25-21 as Cook had seven kills, hit .700 and made no errors. Plummer did not play.

Vakifbank swept Eczacibasi 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 as Ogbogu had eight kills (.583) and three blocks for Vakifbank, including the match winner. Bajema did not play.

France

Beziers recovered from a slow start to beat Saint Raphael 22-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-17. Avery Skinner had 12 kills, a block and an ace. Blake Mohler added four kills and two blocks. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 60% positive reception. Madison Lilley contributed a match-high two aces, two kills and a block as Beziers (7-5) won its third match in a row.

TFOC fell to Mulhouse 25-27, 25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 18-16. Taylor Fricano led TFOC (8-4) with 17 kills, two blocks and an ace. Shannon Scully added 16 kills and two blocks. Kendall White was credited with 75% positive reception.

Nantes stayed atop the standings by beating Cannes (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15). Taylor Mims was named MVP as she had 24 kills (.407). Jaelyn Keene added seven kills, two aces, and a block for Nantes (11-1). Claire Felix had nine kills and a block for Cannes. Carli Synder added nine kills while Madeleine Gates had six kills, a block and an ace. Jenna Gray had two aces and a kill as Cannes (7-5) lost its second match in a row.

J12 – LAF
NEPTUNES 3⃣-1⃣ RC CANNES
(25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15)

Nantes déroule le tapis rouge !
https://t.co/nGEaYuH3j5@LNVofficiel @FFvolley @CEVolleyball @neptunes_volley @rccannes pic.twitter.com/IRWmvYb7hw

— Les Neptunes de Nantes Volley-Ball (@neptunes_volley) December 17, 2022

Paris SC set aside Venelles 25-14, 25-18, 24-26, 27-25. Emily Thater was the second top scorer for Paris SC (10-2) with 10 kills (.500), a match-high six blocks and an ace. Katelyn Evans had 12 kills, two blocks and an ace for Venelles (6-6). Samantha Drechsel chipped in two kills in a brief appearance.

Italy

Novara dispatched Vallefoglia 25-16, 25-19, 25-18. Micha Hancock had two kills for Vallefoglia, while Merete Lutz came off the bench to add one.

Bergamo lost to Scandicci 25-15, 25-15, 15-25, 25-18. Khalia Lanier led Bergamo (6-6) with 17 kills, two blocks and an ace. Haleigh Washington did not play for Scandicci (9-3), which won its third in a row.

Milano swept Firenze 25-19, 27-25, 25-21. Jordan Larson had a team-high 11 kills (.417) in her first league start of the season for Milano (10-2). Larson was also credited with 80% positive reception. Rhamat Alhassan had two kills and a block for Firenze (4-8).

Busto Arsizio handed Cuneo its third loss in a row as the Butterflies won 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-22. Carli Lloyd set for Busto Arsizio (5-7), but did not record any points. Anna Stevenson-Hall had three blocks and a kill for Cuneo (5-7). Dani Drews added one kill in a substitute appearance.

Chieri bounced back to sweep Perugia 25-19, 25-16, 25-18. Brionne Butler did not play for Chieri (8-4). Stephanie Samedy had eight kills for Perugia. Tori Dilfer set for Perugia (2-10), but left in the third set with an injury.

Türkiye

THY swept Ilbank 25-17, 25-13, 25-9. Madi Kingdon had 13 kills with no errors (.520) as THY (9-2) moved into second place..

Nilufer fell victim to the reverse sweep by Cukurova 26-28, 24-26, 25-20, 25-18, 26-24. Sherridan Atkinson was top scorer for Nilufer (6-5) with 16 kills, two blocks and an ace.

SigortaShop fell to Fenerbahce to end the weekend 25-13, 18-25, 25-12, 25-16. Kelsie Payne was top scorer for SigortaShop (3-8) with 10 kills and three blocks.

Japan

Sarah Wilhite-Parsons and the NEC Red Rockets claimed the Empress Cup title by beating Toray 25-14, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23. Stats were unavailable.

Germany

Ashley Evans was named MVP as she led Aachen past Vilsbiburg 25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 14-25, 15-6. Evans had four kills, three aces and a block as her team hit .311. Aachen (5-3) won its fourth match in a row to jump into sixth place in the standings.

Shorthanded Stuttgart bounced back from a surprising first set to beat Erfurt 25-27, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19. Simone Lee was the top scorer with 20 kills, three blocks, and three aces. Lee was named MVP. Krystal Rivers was absent again for Stuttgart (7-1).

Greece

Panathinaikos extended Markopoulo’s losing streak 25-21, 25-12, 24-26, 24-26, 15-13. Adora Anae had 13 kills and a match-high four aces for Panathinaikos (8-2). Audriana Fitzmorris led all scorers with 27 kills (.393) and two blocks for Markopoulo (4-6).

Olympiacos cruised past AO Lamias 25-13, 25-18, 25-12. Jaali Winters played the first two sets for Olympiacos (8-2), contributing six kills and an ace.

PAOK (10-0) continued as the league’s only unbeaten team by defeating AO Thiras 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-21. Payton Caffrey had nine kills, a block, and an ace for PAOK.

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