Europeans Abroad: Villena begins the season on fire in Korea

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.

Korea

Spanish opposite Andrés Villena had a huge start in the Korean V-League, registering 74 points across the two matches his team Uijeongbu KB Insurance Stars played in the second week of the country’s league.

If his 23 points (21 kills, two blocks) weren’t enough to help his team in a three-set loss to the Seoul Woori Card on Saturday, his impressive 51 points (41 kills, five blocks, five aces) on Tuesday propelled the Stars to a five-set victory against the Suwon KEPCO Vixtorm.

Villena faced European players in both encounters, meeting Slovenian outside hitter Matej Kök on Saturday (he scored 17 points for Woori Card) and Dutch outside hitter Thijs Ter Horst on Tuesday (the outside hitter had 27 points in the encounter).

In the women’s league, the two European players in action led their team’s scoring efforts, to different outcomes. If Bosnian opposite Jelena Mladenović helped her team Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders sweep the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank on Sunday with 27 points, Serbian opposite Vanja Bukilić saw her 32 points not be enough for her team Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass overcome the same opponents on Thursday, falling in five sets.

Japan

The Japanese men’s V. League had ten men’s matches in the second week of the season and some European players were among the individual standouts of the weekend.

Hungarian opposite Krisztián Pádár was pivotal as his team Toray Arrows topped the Voreas Hokkaido twice. He tallied 19 points on Saturday, when the Arrows triumphed 3-1, and delivered another 27 on Sunday, when his team registered another four-set victory.

Russian Olympic champion opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy also had a productive weekend, with 57 points scored across two matches, but only got to celebrate one win. On Saturday, he scored 27 points and saw defending champions Suntory Sunbirds fall to the JT Thunder Hiroshima 3-1, but on Sunday he improved his production to 30 and helped the Sunbirds get a sweep against the same opponents.

Slovenian national team captain Tine Urnaut had a similarly productive weekend as his team JTEKT Stings split wins with the Wolfdogs Nagoya. Urnaut scored 11 points in a 3-0 loss on Saturday and led the Stings to a sweep on Sunday with another 19.

The women’s V. League began this weekend and, despite solid performances, the two European players who were on the court couldn’t help their teams win. Serbian outside hitter Sara Lozo scored 40 points across the two matches of the weekend with the Saitama Ageo Medics but saw her team fall 3-1 to the Hisamitsu Springs on Saturday and 3-0 to the JT Marvelous on Sunday.

Belgian opposite Lise Van Hecke and her Toyota Auto Body Queenseis had an even rougher weekend, being swept by Marvelous on Saturday and the Springs on Sunday. The European player produced 19 points across both matches.

USA

German opposite Saskia Hippe continues in action in the American Athletes Unlimited Volleyball League, which is currently in the third of its five-week season.

The league is played in a different format, with players earning individual points according to their performances and actions on the court. Ahead of Sunday’s matches, Hippe led her team for the week with 344 points and ranked fifth among all players in the league. The German is currently in ninth place in season points.