International volleyball: Tia Scambray named Swiss MVP as NUC Viteos takes playoff lead

This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. The women’s professional seasons are winding down around the world and, as leagues finish, many players are heading home to prepare for the busy summer ahead (Volleyball Nations League and the Olympics). Plenty of American are still deep into their playoffs, especially in Italy where six-time defending-champion Imoco Conegliano plays Scandicci in the finals:

Switzerland

NUC Viteos opened the Swiss League finals series by sweeping Dudingen. Tessa Grubbs led with 16 kills, four aces and three blocks. Former Washington star Tia Scambray, named MVP for the league, added 10 kills, three blocks and ace. Madeline Haynes had seven kills. Jasmine Gross finished with four kills, a block and an ace.

Italy 

Scandicci advanced to the Italian League finals for the first time in team history beating Milano 2-0. However, neither Haleigh Washington nor Lindsey Ruddins played. Dana Rettke came off the bench for Milano and had five kills and two blocks.

Conegliano bounced back from its only defeat of the year and swept Novara to make its sixth finals in a row. Kathryn Plummer had 14 kills (hitting .523) and a block and Kelsey Robinson Cook added 11 kills and a block. Novara’s Markina Markova, a Russian who played at Florida, had 13 kills, a block and an ace.

Previously unbeaten Conegliano lost in five sets Novara in the second match of their best-of-five.Plummer was Conegliano’s second-top scorer with 16 kills, three blocks and two aces. Robinson Cook had 11 kills and a block, while Markova led Novara with 22 kills, three aces, and a block.

Türkiye

VakifBank claimed third place by sweeping THY for a second time in the best-of-three series. Ali Frantti finished with 13 kills (.500) and an ace. Chiaka Ogbogu added three blocks and a kill and then bid farewell to VakifBank, her club for the past three seasons. VakifBank won nine tournament titles in that time. 

In VakifBank’s first sweep, Frantti had seven kills, three blocks and an ace and Ogbogu had five kills and three blocks. Jordan Thompson was out with an injury.

Kuzyeboru and Galatasaray have a deciding match remaining.

Kuzyeboru started the series for fifth place with a five-set win as Sarah Parsons had 22 kills and four blocks. Logan Eggleston led Galatasaray with 24 kills and two blocks. Danielle Cuttino chipped in four kills as a substitute.

Galatasaray evened the series with a five-set win as Eggleston had 19 kills and four blocks. Cuttino filled in at middle blockerand had 13 kills and three blocks. Parsons had 18 kills and an ace.

Muratpasa finished eighth after being swept twice by Nilufer. In the first match, Stephanie Samedy had six kills and a block and Micaya White had seven kills and an ace. Samedy had seven kills but White did not play in the finale.

Brazil

Top seeded SESC RJ was upset twice and elminated by Praia Clube in the semifinals. 

Praia Clube won in five in the first match. Roni Jones-Perry led SESC RJ with 17 kills and five blocks.

SESC RJ was bounced in the second match in four sets. Jones-Perry led her team with 14 kills and three blocks.

Minas upset Osasco in the other semifinal to make the final for the fifth year in a row.

In the first match, Minas setter Jenna Gray had three kills and an ace. Osasco’s. Brionne Butler had five kills, four blocks and two aces and Callie Schwarzenbach added two kills and a block.

Minas won the next match in four again. Gray had a kill and a block. Butler had a team-high five blocks for Osasco to go along with eight kills. Schwarzenbach had nine kills and three blocks.

Germany

Defending-champion Stuttgart fell to Schwerin in five sets in the first match of the best-of-five finals series. Krystal Rivers had eight kills for Stuttgart and Kayla Haneline came off the bench to finish with three kills. Alexis Hart added three kills and a block as a substitute.

France

Nancy’s season came to an end when it lost to Volero Le Cannet in the fifth match of their quarterfinal series. Katelyn Evans led Nancy with 22 kills and a block. Haylie Bennett had 15 kills and three blocks. Breana Runnels added 10 kills, while Shayla Hoeft finished with five kills, two blocks and two aces. Setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres had a kill and two aces.

Mulhouse upset higher-seeded Levallois Paris SC in their first semifinal match, a best-of-three. Carly Snyder was MVP after leading Mulhouse with 24 kills (.416) and three blocks. Annayka Legros had 11 kills and two blocks, while Jaali Winters had four kills and one block. Iowa State alum and LOVB signee Candelaria Herrera of Argentina led Paris with 12 kills and six blocks.

Nantes then opened its semifinal series with defending-champion Volero Le Cannet with a four-set victory. Taylor Mims led with 13 kills, four blocks and one ace. Jaelyn Keene added nine kills, three blocks and an ace.

Finland 

Polkky Kuusamo claimed its third Finnish league title in a row after defeating LP Kangasala in their best-of-seven series that included plenty of Americans. In the final match, Madeline Palmer led Polkky Kuusamo with 19 kills. Carlyle Nusbaum followed with 10 kills, one block and an ace. Amiya Jones added five blocks, five aces, and three kills. Makenzie Harris chipped in two kills as a substitute. Cortney VanLiew did not play.

Puerto Rico

Santurce began the best-of-seven finals series with a four-set win over Manati as McKenzie Adams led with 20 kills and two blocks. Setter Carli Lloyd had four kills, three blocks and one ace. Manati’s Zoe Weatherington had 21 kills, a block and an ace. Claudia Dillion chipped in three kills and two blocks.

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