Women’s pro volleyball report: Milano, VakifBank stay atop Champions League

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

Champions League

A Milano-VakifBank battle is next.

VakifBank (4-1) stayed in the hunt to win Pool A by sweeping Mulhouse (0-5) as Jordan Thompson had 10 kills, Ali Frantti added eight kills and two aces, while Chiaka Ogbogu finished with nine kills (hitting .615) and a block. Jaali Winters had 11 kills (.526) for Mulhouse. Annayka Legros finished with seven kills, one block and an ace.

Milano (5-0) swept Stara Pazova (1-5) to stay a game ahead of VakifBank as Dana Rettke had a match-high five blocks and eight kills. Kara Bajema had seven kills, three blocks and an ace. 

Scandicci (5-0) remained unbeaten in Pool B by sweeping Plovdiv (1-4). Haleigh Washington had three kills, a block and an ace, while Ciara DeBell led Plovdiv with 11 kills.

Taylor Bannister had 11 kills and an ace but Vasas (0-5) lost to Eczacibasi (4-1) in four.

Danille Harbin was the MVP with 19 kills and a block as Potsdam (3-2) earned a vital win in Pool C by beating Budowlani Lodz (2-3). Breland Morrissette had a team-high three aces and a kill and a block. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 50% positive reception. Mac May finished with eight kills and three aces for Lodz.

Conegliano (5-0) clinched the top spot in Pool D by sweeping Beveren as Kathryn Plummer had 10 kills (.692) and an ace and Khalia Lanier added four kills, three aces and a block.

Krystal Rivers was named MVP as Stuttgart (2-3) beat Rzeszow (3-2) in five. Rivers led all players with 26 kills and a block. Kayla Haneline provided a boost off of the bench with six kills in as many attacks and a block.

CEV Cup

Beziers fell in the first match of the playoff round in five to Crvena Zvezda. Beziers’ Claire Hoffman and Taylor Fricano had 17 kills and two blocks each, Serena Gray added five kills and three blocks, and setter Ella May Powell had three kills.

Dresdner needed five sets to beat NUC Viteos as Grace Frohling led with 14 kills and three blocks. Tia Jimerson had eight kills and five blocks. Madeline Haynes of NUC Viteos was the top scorer with 17 kills, three aces and a block. Tia Scambray added 16 kills and three aces, Tessa Grubbs had 12 kills, and Jasmine Gross had nine kills and an ace.

Avery Skinner powered Chieri past Chemik Police in four with 16 kills (.484) and a block. Madison Kingdon added five kills.

Levallois Paris SC rounded out the first match of the playoff round with a sweep of Mladost Zagreb as Emily Thater led with eight kills (.727), five blocks and an ace.

CEV Challenge Cup

Wiesbaden swept PAOK in the first match of the quarterfinal series. Jaidyn Blanchfield had nine kills, one block, and an ace and Rachel Anderson added three kills, two aces and a block. PAOK’s Kash Williams had eight kills and a block.

Taylor Mims had 18 kills, two blocks and an ace as Nantes beat Greek titan Panathinaikos in four. Jaelyn Keene had 13 kills (.765), two blocks and an ace. Sherridan Atkinson led Panathinaikos with 16 kills and an ace.

Italy

Simone Lee had 20 kills, a block and an ace as Casalmaggiore (3-12) finally ended its losing streak by beating Trentino (1-15) in five sets. Setter Micha Hancock added a kill . Trentino’s Madeleine Gates had 10 kills, four blocks and two aces and Carly DeHoog had 11 kills and two blocks.

Milano (15-1) swept Scandicci (13-3) in the most anticipated matchup of the weekend. as Rettke had five kills (.667), while Washington provided a boost off of the bench for Scandicci with four kills.

Plummer had 16 kills, three aces and a block as Conegliano (16-0) needed to save a match point and beat Chieri (9-7) in five sets. Lanier added 15 kills and two aces. Kelsey Robinson-Cook was credited with 67% positive reception as a back-row substitute. Kingdon had six kills and a block for Chieri and Skinner added four kills in a substitute role.

Kendall Kipp made her pro debut with her team down two sets and had 14 kills (.355) and a block as Firenze (8-8) beat Bergamo (3-13), 18-16 in the fith.

Cuneo (5-11) was blocked 23 times and lost to Vallefoglia (8-8) in four. Madi Kubik had two kills for Cuneo and Anna Stevenson-Hall had kill.

Türkiye

Thompson had 16 kills, three aces and two blocks and Frantti had 16 kills and two aces as VakifBank (14-1) won its fourth league match in a row, beating Besiktas (5-10). 

Aydin’s (4-11) slump continued in a four-set loss to Cukurova (4-11). Aydin setter Lauren Carlini had three kills and a block.

Muratpasa (7-8) was swept by Nilufer (7-8) for its third loss in four matches. Micaya White had nine kills and a block for Muratpasa. Stephanie Samedy had two kills.

Kuzeyboru (10-5) got 10 kills and two aces from Sarah Parsons but lost to THY (9-6) in four.

Logan Eggleston led with 11 kills, four aces and a block and Danielle Cuttino had nine kills, two aces, and a block as Galatasaray (8-7) continued its winning ways by sweeping Sariyer (4-11). 

PTT (5-10) beat Karayollari (1-14) in five as Payton Caffrey contributed eight kills and two blocks as a sub and San Diego product Merve Tanyel added four blocks, three kills and two aces.

Japan

JT Marvelous opened its weekend with a four-set win over Kurobe as Annie Drews had 13 kills and a block.

Dani Drews had 11 kills and three blocks as NEC Red Rockets needed four sets to beat Denso.

Then the Drews played in a clash between the top two teams in the league, JT Marvelous (15-0) beat NEC Red Rockets (12-3) in four as Annie Drews finished with 13 kills again in a reserve role. Dani Drews was limited to three kills and two blocks for NEC.

McKenzie Adams and Hisamitsu Springs (12-3) won twice, first with a four-set win over Okayama as Adams had 16 kills, three blocks and an ace. Hisamitsu Springs beat Aramare in four as Adams was the top scorer with 19 kills and two blocks.

Brazil

Roni Jones-Perry had 16 kills (.519) and an ace as SESC RJ (10-1) stayed atop the league by beating Brasilia.

Osasco beat rival Praia Clube in four sets as Brionne Butler had a match-high five blocks to go along with six kills and an ace. Callie Schwarzenbach added eight kills (.538) and two blocks.

Osasco (8-3) then won its third in a row by beating Bluvolei to end the first half of the season. Schwarzenbach had seven kills (.545) and a block and Butler had five kills and three blocks.

Setter Jenna Gray returned to action for the first time in 2024 as Minas (8-3) fell to archival Praia Clube (8-3) in five. Gray had two blocks, her first appearance for Minas since getting hurt in December. Annie Michtem added a kill.

Germany

Jenny Mosser had 18 kills, four blocks and three aces as Suhl (8-6) upset Dresdner (11-3) in five sets. Julia Brown added 15 kills. Jimerson had 12 kills and two blocks for Dresdner and Frohling contributed 10 kills, two aces and a block.

Aachen (4-10) won for the third time in four matches as it beat Vilsbiburg in five as Gabby Goddard had five kills and three blocks. Serena Bruin came on as a sub for Vilsbiburg and contributed three blocks and two kills.

Stuttgart (13-1) cruised past Neuwied (0-15) in one of the most uneven matches of the season. Alexis Hart led Stuttgart with 12 kills (.474), two blocks and an ace and Kayla Haneline added six kills, two blocks, and an ace.

Munster (4-10) lost to second-place Schwerin (12-2) in four. Gloria Mutiri had 12 kills and a block for Munster. Jenna Ewert set for three sets. Zoe Fleck was named silver MVP and was credited with 50% positive reception.

Potsdam (9-6) swept Wiesbaden (5-9). Harbin had a match-high four aces to go along with six kills and two blocks fand Morrissette finished with four blocks, two kills, and an ace. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 25% positive reception, on just four attempts.

France

Beziers (10-4) won its sixth in a row, beating France 2024 (0-14). Molly Lohman was named MVP with three kills, two blocks and two aces. Gray finished with seven kills, two blocks, and two aces. Hoffman was top scorer with 13 kills (.667) and five aces. Fricano chipped in five kills, three aces and two blocks. Powell added three kills and a block.

Taylor Mims had 17 kills (.485), two blocks and two aces as Nantes (13-1) swept Cannes (6-9). Keene finished with eight kills (.583), four aces and two blocks. Madelyn Robinson had 12 kills and one block for Cannes.

Nancy (11-4), which had lost two in a row, swept Quimper (1-14). Haylie Bennett had eight kills (.471) with no errors and three blocks. Katelyn Evans had 10 kills while Shayla Hoeft finished with three kills and two blocks. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres set for Nancy and finished with two kills and a block.

Mulhouse (11-4) slipped down to fourth place when it was upset by TFOC (9-6) in five sets. Annayka despite Legros’ 17 kills (.667) and seven blocks. Winters had 10 kills and two blocks.

Paris SC (12-3) won its fifth in a row by beating defending champions Volero Le Cannet (8-6) in five. Thater had five kills, three blocks and an ace.

Chamaerlies (6-9) ended the week by losing to Venelles (4-11) in four sets. Sabrina Starks led Chamalieres with five kills and five blocks. Courtney Buzzerio had six kills, a block and an ace and Kari Zumach added two kills.

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