Europeans Abroad: Kurek beats Urnaut twice in Japan

European volleyball players are spread all over the world during the 2023-2024 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

The weekend round of the Japanese Men’s V. League opposed two of the biggest stars of European volleyball and Polish national team captain Bartosz Kurek was on the winning side of it, leading his team Wolfdogs Nagoya to a pair of wins over Slovenian national team captain Tine Urnaut and his JTEKT Stings.

The first duel, held on Saturday, had Kurek score 17 points (15 kills, two blocks) and lead the Wolfdogs to a 3-0 win – Urnaut was the match’s top scorer with 19 (18 kills, one block).

On Sunday, the encounter repeated and again the Wolfdogs triumphed in straight sets. Kurek led all scorers, improving his production to 24 points (20 kills, three blocks, one ace), while Urnaut was again the most productive player in his team, tallying 14 points, all in kills.

In the women’s league, two European players had perfect weekends, getting a pair of wins and helping their teams move up in the standings of the 2023-2024 season.

Belgian opposite Lise Van Hecke was a key player for her team Toyota Auto Body Queenseis as they got a 3-1 win over the PFU Blue Cats on Saturday and a five-set victory against the Toray Arrows on Sunday. The European star got 22 points (19 kills, three blocks) in the first match and another 13 (12 kills, one block) in the second.

Serbian outside hitter Sara Lozo also got to celebrate twice as her team Saitama Ageo Medics swept the Arrows on Saturday and got another three-set win against the Blue Cats the next day. A 2022 world champion, the 26-year-old Lozo sat out of the first match but saw the court on Sunday, delivering 12 points (11 kills, one block).

China

Turkish superstar Melissa Vargas and her team Tianjin Bohai Bank will have a chance to defend the Chinese title and will attempt to win the country’s national league for a fifth-straight season after they triumphed in their semifinal series against the Jiangsu Zenith Steel by winning the second match on Tuesday.

Vargas, who’s recovering from a shoulder injury, will now have nine days to get back on the court on time for the finals, which will start on January 23. Tianjin’s opponents will be Shanghai Bright Ubest, who eliminated the Beijing BAIC Motor of Russian Anna Lazareva and Serbian Katarina Lazović in the second semifinal.

Argentina

Estonian outside hitter Kevin Saar helped his team UPCN Voley have a productive week in the fourth leg of the Argentinean men’s league as the 27-year-old player featured in the two matches played by the nine-time national champions in Lomas de Zamora.

Saar delivered seven points (all in kills) on Friday, when UPCN swept Monteros Voley Club, and repeated the output with six kills and one block on Saturday, when his team dominated Banfield also in straight sets. UPCN are second in the standings with 24 points, trailing only defending champions Ciudad Voley.