Europeans Abroad: Kuznetsova and Rabadzhieva take silver in Brazil

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.

Brazil

Russian outside hitter Sofya Kuznetsova and Bulgarian veteran Dobriana Rabadzhieva claimed the silver medal of the Brazilian Women’s Superliga, which came to an end on Sunday.

In the final, held in a single match, her team Dentil Praia Clube faced in-state rivals Gerdau Minas and lost 3-1, making it to the podium for an eight-straight season, with two golds, five silver and one bronze.

Kuznetsova, who led Praia’s offense in the final with 17 points, was also the Superliga top scorer, with 499 points, and made it to the tournament’s Dream Team as one of the best outside hitters.

Qatar

With several European players spread among the four competitors, the Men’s Qatar Cup started this week, with the semifinal round.

One of the two series is already decided as Al Rayyan S.C. of Serbians Miloš Stevanović, Nikola Vasić and Edin Musabegović and Estonian Oliver Venno defeated Qatar S.C. of Russians Evgenii Tiurin and Denis Kochnev and Montenegrins Marko Joksimovic and Andrija Joksimović twice to advance.

The other series, involving Al Arabi S.C. of Hungarian Krisztián Pádár, Russian Aleksey Spiridonov and Montenegrin Bojan Djukić and Police Union of Russian Maxim Zhigalov, Bulgarian Borislav Georgiev, Austrian Paul Buchegger and Montenegrin Marko Vukašinović, is tied with one win for each side. 

USA

Bulgarian opposite Emiliya Dimitrova had a busy and excellent week in the American Pro Volleyball Federation, scoring 49 points and leading her team Grand Rapids Rise to a pair of victories in three matches over the course of five days.

The Rise opened the week on Tuesday, when they dropped their only match in the period, falling to league leaders Atlanta Vibe 3-1 on the road – Dimitrova was her team’s second-best scorer in the encounter with 14 points.

Back at home on Thursday, the team topped the Orlando Valkyries also in four sets, with the Bulgarian delivering a match-high 22 points. The week ended for the Rise on Saturday with another four-setter, as they traveled again to face the Vegas Thrill and triumphed with 13 points scored by Dimitrova.