Weekend Review: Everything you missed and should know

The start of the international volleyball season is quickly approaching and, with that, the club season continues to wrap up around the world. This week, continental tournaments were in the spotlight.

The CEV Champions League crowned its 2022-2023 champions on Saturday, in Turin, Italy, and Türkiye’s VakifBank Istanbul and Poland’s Grupa Azoty ‘Zaksa’ Kędzierzyn-Koźle were both able to retain the titles they won last season.

In Asia, Japan’s Suntory Sunbirds won the continent’s club tournament for the first time, becoming the first Japanese side to do so. Africa also held its continental event, which had Tunisia’s Mouloudia SB as the champions.

The week also marked the conclusion of the season in Italy, with the winners in both genders emerging after the five-match Finals series. Itas Trentino triumphed in the SuperLega Credem Banca while Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano continue as the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile champions for a fifth-straight season.

On the sand, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour was in Madrid for a women-only Futures tournament that was won by the home team of Liliana Fernández/Paula Soria. Continental events were also held in Europe and South America, this one with implications for this year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship.

Take a look at our summary and find out all you need about the last happenings:

Volleyball

VakifBank and Zaksa secure CEV Champions League titles

The titles of the women’s and men’s CEV Champions League did not switch hands in 2022-2023 and defending champions VakifBank Istanbul of Türkiye and Grupa Azoty ‘Zaksa’ Kędzierzyn-Koźle of Poland successfully defended their victories from last season on Saturday. VakifBank counted on 40 points from Italian star Paola Egonu to defeat Turkish rivals Eczacibasi Dynavit 3-1 (27-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17). Zaksa, who won the tournament for a third-straight time, also had familiar opponents in the final, overcoming fellow Polish Jastrzębski Węgiel in the tie-breaker (26-28, 25-22, 25-14, 28-30, 15-12) with 23 points from outside hitter Bartosz Bednorz. CEV has the recaps and all the info on the SuperFinals, which were held in Turin, Italy.

Sunbirds victorious at Asian Club Championship

Japanese giants Suntory Sunbirds won the Asian Men’s Club Championship for the first time on Sunday, in Manama, Bahrein. The team of Japan’s national team players Masaki Oya and Kenya Fujinaka, which became the first side from their country to win the event, overcame Indonesia’s Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi in four sets (28-26, 25-23, 23-25, 25-17) in the tournament’s final on Sunday. Qatar’s Police Sports Team finished third. Here’s AVC’s recap of the tournament.

Mouloudia SB at the top of African Club Championship

Tunisia’s Mouloudia SB were the winners of the African Men’s Club Championship, which was held in Kelibia, in their country. The team triumphed in the tournament for the first time with a 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-12) victory over Egypt’s Zamalek on Sunday. Algeria’s JSC Ouled Adouane finished in third place.

Trentino regain Italian Scudetto after eight years

Itas Trentino’s eight-year wait for an Italian title came to an end on Wednesday, when they topped Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) in the fifth and last match of the SuperLega Credem Banca Finals to claim their fifth title and celebrate their first victory since 2014-2015. Bulgarian opposite Matey Kaziyski, who was present in each of the team’s five titles, lift the trophy as Trentino’s captain and also took home the Most Valuable Player award following his 13-point performance. Know all about it in our match report.

Imoco successfully defend Lega title

Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano came from behind, but managed to secure a comeback and beat Vero Volley Milano 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-21) to win the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile Finals and claim their fifth-straight and sixth overall Italian Scudetto on Monday. Canadian outside hitter Alexa Gray had a massive role in Imoco’s comeback, coming off the bench to produce 25 points and help her team secure the win. Here’s our recap on Imoco’s victory.

Beach Volleyball

Liliana and Paula win at home at Madrid Futures

The home team of Liliana Fernández and Paula Soria pleased the home fans by taking the title of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event held in Madrid this week. The Spanish ended a perfect campaign of five victories with a sweep (21-15, 22-20) of Ukrainians Diana Lunina and Tetiana Lazarenko in the gold medal match on Sunday. Swiss Muriel Bossart and Shana Zobrist took bronze. Here’s the CEV recap of the event.

Brazil and Chile triumph at South American Tour Finals

The South American Beach Volleyball Tour came to an end on Sunday, with the conclusion of the Finals event, in Uberlândia, Brazil. The home country celebrated the women’s season title with the two-set (21-14, 21-15) victory of veterans Bárbara Seixas and Carol Salgado over Paraguay’s Michelle Valiente and Erika Bobadilla in the gold medal match. Among the men, Brazilians Andre Loyola and George Wanderley won the Finals event, but their 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 21-19) final win over Marco and Esteban Grimalt wasn’t enough to take the season title from Chile. Here’s our recap on the event and its implications in the upcoming FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship.

The Netherlands and Poland advance in CEV Nations Cup

The Netherlands and Poland became the first countries to secure their spots in the 2023 CEV Beach Volleyball Nations Cup Finals among the women by winning their pools this week. Playing at home in Apeldoorn between Wednesday and Thursday, the Dutch team formed by Raïsa Schoon/Katja Stam and Emi van Driel/Brecht Piersma overcame competition from Cyprus, Estonia, Northern Ireland and Slovenia to win Pool C. The Scottish city of Ayr welcomed Pool F over the weekend, when Poland, represented by Jagoda Gruszczyńska/Aleksandra Wachowicz and Katarzyna Kociołek/Marta Łodej, topped the hosts, Czechia and Belgium. Check the CEV website for the events’ recaps.

Cheng/Hughes and Benesh/Partain dominate AVP Huntington Beach

Beach Pro Tour regulars Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes and Andy Benesh/Miles Partain succeeded in the AVP Huntington Beach, winning the third tournament of the American season on Sunday. Cheng and Hughes secured the women’s title with a two-set (21-18, 21-18) victory over Julia Scoles and Betsi Flint while Benesh and Partain prevailed in the three-set (20-22, 21-11, 15-12) men’s gold medal match against Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk.