This is Blair Lambert’s VolleyballMag.com weekly men’s professional volleyball report, featuring Americans around the world. Got a note about a player or a comment for Blair? Email him at blairlambert2@gmail.com
As the holidays approach, some leagues are about to go on hiatus until 2023 and some leagues have already started their breaks. Last week marked the end of CEV competitions until the second week of January.
The Polish PlusLiga has matches but none this weekend. The German Cup semifinal matches are taking place Wednesday (today), but there are no Bundesliga matches this weekend.
The Russian Cup traditionally concludes right around Christmas, and this year is no exception. Micah Christenson and Zenit Kazan will face Belogorie Belgorod on December 24 and will play in the final on Christmas if they win.
The Italian SuperLega is off this weekend. Lube Civitanova will make up a match against Siena Wednesday and then there will be a full slate of Boxing Day matches similar to the schedule of soccer’s English Premier League.
CEV Champions League
Gabi Garcia and Lube Civitanova swept Yours VB 25-23, 25-13, 25-17 to stay on top of Pool C after four matches. Garcia was a serving sub in the first two sets. Alex Nikolov finished with nine kills (.388) and an ace.
ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Kozle remained in second place of Pool D with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-21 win over Decospan VT Menen of Belgium. Dave Smith scored on five kills (.571), two blocks and two aces. Erik Shoji passed 52 percent positively and 33 percent perfectly.
CEV Cup
SVG Lüneburg eliminated Lycurgus with a 25-22, 25-17, 25-20 win in the second leg. No stats were available. Lüneburg will play Modena in the quarterfinals.
Michael Michelau and David Kisiel were knocked out of the tournament when Savo Volley fell 25-15, 28-30, 25-18, 25-21 to C.S. Arcada Galati. Michelau led Savo with 12 kills, two blocks and an ace. Kisiel scored on nine kills (.353) and a block.
CEV Challenge Cup
Dennis Del Valle passed 53 percent positively and 47 percent perfectly for AJ Fonte Bastardo in a 25-17, 22-25, 25-11, 25-13 win over SC Duo Tartu to advance to the quarterfinals. Ryan Manoogian received three serves with a 67-percent positive pass rate.
Poland: The PlusLiga announced its all-league teams for the first half of the season. TJ DeFalco made first team and Taylor Averil and Erik Shoji were on the second team.
Jake Hanes scored 27 points for BBTS Bielsko-Biała in…
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