Europeans Abroad: Ter Horst pushes KEPCO to back-to-back wins in Korea
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.
Korea
Dutch outside hitter Thijs Ter Horst was in the spotlight in a big week for his team Suwon KEPCO Vixtorm in the Korean V-League as he helped his side win a pair of matches and solidify its spot in fourth place in the country’s national league.
KEPCO started the week with a strong three-set (25-21, 25-20, 25-22) victory against second-placed Hyundai Capital on the road on Friday, with Ter Horst firing 16 points (14 kills, one block, one ace).
The Dutch was even stronger on Sunday, when KEPCO returned home to face fifth-placed OK Financial Group, and left the court with impressive 27 points (23 kills, one block, three aces) in his team’s 3-1 triumph (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-21).
Ter Horst is having immense success in his first season in the V-League as he currently sits in first place in the league’s scoring chart with 882 points.
The women’s schedule in Korea brought a duel between the two Europeans that compete in the league, with leaders Incheon Heungkuk Life Spiders and fourth-placed Daejeon Ginseng Group clashing on Saturday.
With 27 points (24 kills, three blocks) from Bosnian opposite Jelena Mladenović, the Pink Spiders took a straight-set (25-16, 29-27, 25-22) victory over the Daejeon Ginseng Group, which benefited from 17 points (15 kills, one block, one ace) from Hungarian opposite Elizabet Inneh-Varga.
Both Europeans are in the top three of the V-League scoring charts, with Inneh-Varga leading and on the verge of reaching 1,000 points (she's currently at 984) and Mladenović coming in third place with 798.
Indonesia
Three European players will be in action in the Indonesian Women’s Proliga Gran Final after Bandung BJB Tandamata and Jakarta Pertamina Fastrom claimed the two spots in the two-leg series that will determine the country’s national champions next weekend.
Having Turkish opposite Ceren Kapucu as one of their main players, Bandung maintained first place in the country’s Final Four until the end, with two more victories this week, ending their campaign with five triumphs and one loss.
On Thursday, they defeated Gresik Pretokimia 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) with Capucu producing a match-high 20 points. On Sunday, in a warm-up for the Grand Final, they topped Pertamina 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 14-25, 25-23) with the Turkish delivering 19 points.
Pertamina entered that match with their spot in the Grand Final already secured with three wins and three losses and rested some of their key players, including Ukrainian Oleksandra Bytsenko and Serbian Marija Zelenović. The outside hitter duo, however, played a big role in the team’s 3-1 (25-27, 25-23, 25-18, 25-18) win over Jakarta BIN on Friday, with Zelenović tallying 16 points and Bytsenko adding 12.
Brazil (Beach)
Two French beach volleyball duos took part in the first stop of the Brazilian Beach Volleyball Tour this week as preparation for the start of their Beach Pro Tour season and both returned home with silverware.
Julien Lyneel, a longtime French volleyball national team member, and Rémi Bassereau won the Tour’s Open division (the second-highest level) event, topping the home team of Gabriel Santiago and Felipe Alves in straight sets (21-16, 21-16). Among the women, Alexia Richard and Lézana Placette finished in second place, falling to locals Giulia Gavio and Natasha Valente in the tie-breaker (21-13, 13-21, 13-15).
