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
All of the pools of the group stage of the CEV Champions League have been set, but Tim McIntosh and hypo Tirol Innsburck of Austria were eliminated after going 2-1 in Pool V. Hypo Tirol was looking to reach the group stage for the first time since the preliminary rounds were added in 2017.
Hypo Tirol beat Partizan Beograd, lost to CV Guagas and beat Budva as McIntosh passed 40 percent positive. His team plays Volley Hassrode Leuven of Belgium in the CEV Cup when that tournament resumes on November 21.
Italy
Gabi Garcia turned in his best performance of the season so far for Pallavolo Padova in a five-set win over Cisterna Volley.. The opposite who spent the last two seasons with Lube Civitanova hit .552 on his way to 24 kills and three aces. All three of those figures were match-highs.
Jeff Jendryk led Gioella Prisma Taranto in scoring, but unfortunately the middle blocker had only three kills, two blocks and an ace as Vero Volley Monza swept. Kyle Russell started at opposite but had just three kills while hitting -.091 before being replaced in the second set. Taranto is the only team left in the SuperLega that has not won.
Rana Verona defeated Farmitalian Catania, the second match Francesco Sani started at outside hitter. The rookie from UC Irvine finished with 11 kills and an ace. Rok Mozic had 30 points for Verona.
Poland
TJ Defalco had 11 kills, two blocks, and three aces for Asseco Resovia Rzeszów in a loss to Jastrzębski Węgiel and it was the first match that DeFalco was in the lineup alongside Stephen Boyer, an Olympic gold medalist for France. Boyer led Resovia with 20 points.
Jake Hanes and Cuprum Lubin had a tough loss to Projekt Warsaw. Hanes hit an astounding .636 in the first two sets but was limping and had to leave the match after getting seven kills and an ace.
DeFalco and Resovia pulled off an impressive 32-30, 25-17, 25-16 win against ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, but reports said that DeFalco injured his thumb and would not be used. He played just a bit in the first set, earning a kill on two attempts.
ZAKSA was dealing with injury woes of its own. Dave Smith and Bartosz Bednorz were on the bench with minor ailments. Both played…
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