Europeans Abroad: Muserskiy takes Sunbirds to V-League Final

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

Defending champions Suntory Sunbirds are the first team guaranteed in the Final of the Japanese Men’s V-League and Russian star opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy played a big role in the team’s success in the opening weekend of the Final Four.

The second-best team in the regular season, the Sunbirds entered the Final Four with two bonus points and they built from it in their first two matches, collecting a pair of five-set wins to get to the top of the standings with six points and claim the first spot in the Final. The Nagoya Wolfdogs (seven points, one win) and the Panasonic Panthers (five points, one win) will clash next weekend for the second berth in the Final – although they can both surpass the Sunbirds in points, one of them won’t be able to match the defending champions two victories.

On Saturday, the Sunbirds had a big 3-2 (31-29, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-9) victory over the Panthers, with Muserskiy tallying 38 points (35 kills, two blocks, one ace). On Sunday, the team again succeed in the tie-breaker (26-28, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 20-18), this time against the Wolfdogs, with the Russian producing an impressive 43 points (39 kills, four aces).

The duel for the second spot in the V-League Final will feature an encounter between former Polish international teammates between Wolfdogs’ opposite Bartosz Kurek, who tallied 63 points across two matches this weekend, and Panthers’ Michał Kubiak, who had 17 points after getting on the court only once.

In the Women’s V-League, the Toray Arrows are the first team guaranteed in the Final. The best team in the regular season, they entered the Final Four with three bonus points and added six more to it with a pair of sweeps led by Azeri outside hitter Jana Kulan.

The Arrows topped the NEC Red Rockets 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) on Saturday with 23 points (all in kills) from Kulan and repeated the three-set (25-23, 27-25, 25-12) triumph on Sunday against the Saitama Ageo Medics with the Azeri star delivering 18 points in kills.

The second-placed Ageo Medics (four points, one win), who had Serbian outside hitter Sara Lozo producing 34 points in two matches this weekend, and the third-placed Red Rockets (three points, one win) will play each other next weekend with the winners earning the right to face the Arrows in the Final.

Brazil

The quarterfinals of the Brazilian Women’s Superliga began this week and the two Europeans involved in it had different results in the first match of their best-of-three series.

Playing on the road, regular season winners Dentil Praia Clube dropped the opening set against Barueri Volleyball Club, but counted on a stellar performance from Dutch outside hitter Anne Buijs to win 3-1 on Thursday. The European star was used as an opposite and produced a match-high 24 points, leading Praia’s comeback.

On Friday, Polish star Malwina Smarzek and her team Osasco São Cristovão Saúde were upset by Esporte Clube Pinheiros, falling on the tie-breaker on the road. Smarzek started the match and left the court with 11 points (eight kills, three blocks).

Praia will play their second-leg match on Monday, with Osasco getting on the court again on Tuesday.

Korea

Bosnian opposite Jelena Mladenović and her team Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders let the title of the 2022-2023 Korean V-League slip through their hands, settling for silver after falling to Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass in the country’s National League Finals.

The Pink Spiders won the first two matches of the series and had three opportunities to secure a third victory that would give them the title, but lost three consecutive times to Gimcheon and finished second.

In her first season in the country, Mladenović was one of the stars of the Pink Spiders, producing 135 points during the final series. The Bosnian was also the third-best scorer during the regular season, with 821 points.