Europeans Abroad: Europeans to star in V. League’s Final Four
News
European volleyball players are spread all over the world during the 2022-2023 club season, playing big roles in their teams. Many of them are currently away from the continent, competing in some of the top leagues on the planet, and we’ll help you follow their journeys by providing periodic updates on how they’re doing.
Japan
Six European players will be involved in the Final Round of the Japanese V. League as their teams secured a spot in the men’s and women’s Final Four, which will begin next weekend in the Asian country.
Polish world champion Bartosz Kurek has helped his team Wolfdogs Nagoya finish the regular season in first place with 26 wins in 36 matches. The Wolfdogs had a win and a loss against the Toray Arrows on the final weekend of the regular season, with Kurek appearing in only the first encounter, when he tallied 27 points in a 3-1 win.
Russian Olympic champion Dmitriy Muserskiy and defending champions Suntory Sunbirds advanced in second place, with 25 victories. As the team entered the weekend already guaranteed in the Final Four, the star opposite was rested on both matches against the Panasonic Panthers.
The Panthers, by the way, are the third men’s team with a European player to qualify for the Final Four after their back-to-back straight-set victories against the Sunbirds which made them rank third with 24 wins. Polish star outside hitter Michał Kubiak scored 19 points across both matches against the Sunbirds.
The second-best scorer in the women’s league, Azeri outside hitter Jana Kulan pushed the Toray Arrows to finish in first place in the regular season with 26 victories. The Arrows lost their last regular season match in the tie-breaker to the Saitama Ageo Medics and Kulan produced 18 points.
The team of Serbian world champion outside hitter Sara Lozo, who fired 22 points in that encounter, the Ageo Medics finished second with 24 wins and will also compete in the Final Four. With Lozo preserved, they fell to the NEC Red Rockets in the last match of the regular season.
Belgian outside hitter Lise van Hecke will be the third European woman to appear in the Final Four in Japan. The European star had a strong performance in a 3-1 win over the Kurobe Acqua Fairies on Sunday, registering 25 points and helping her team Hisamitsu Springs rank third in the standings with 24 victories.
Brazil
Polish star opposite Malvina Smarzek continues to regain her form with Osasco São Cristovão Saúde after going through a minor knee procedure and helped her team secure their 16th victory in the season by downing Fluminense in straight sets on Friday.
Smarzek had a scary moment on the second set, when she slipped and went to the ground, having to be assisted by her team’s medical staff and receive treatment on the sidelines. The Polish, however, returned to the court later and ended the match with nine points, the third most in the team.
Korea
The playoffs of the Korean V-League began and two Europeans are involved in the postseason in the country, which reunited only the three top teams of the regular season.
Dutch outside hitter Thijs Ter Horst came up big for his team Suwon KEPCO Vixtorm as they defeated the Seoul Woori Card 3-1 in a play-in match on Wednesday. The European star led his team with 27 points.
KEPCO then started their best-of-three semifinal series with the Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers on Friday and, despite 17 points from their Dutch star, were downed 3-2 on the road. The next two matches will be played on Monday and Tuesday and the winners will face the Incheon Korean Air Jumbos in the final.
The women’s V. League will have Bosnian opposite Jelena Mladenović and her team Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders facing Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass in the final. While the Pink Spiders advanced directly as the regular season winners, Gimcheon prevailed in a best-of-three semifinal series against Suwon Hyundai E&C Hillstate.