Weekend Review: Everything you missed and should know

Continental club tournaments were trending this past weekend in international volleyball, with events taking place in South America and Asia. While Brazil’s Sada Cruzeiro continued to dominate the Men’s Club South American Championship, Qatar’s Al Rayyan became the first champions of the recently-created West Asia Men’s Club Volleyball Championship.

It was also a big weekend in Italy, with the SuperLega Credem Banca starting its playoffs and seeing Sir Safety Susa Perugia, Itas Trentino, Valsa Group Modena and WithU Verona all pick up wins in the first leg of their quarterfinal series. Among the women, defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano claimed another big win, downing second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci on the road.

There was a lot of activity in beach volleyball too, with Spain's Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira and USA’s Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss being crowned as the first champions of a Beach Pro Tour Challenge event in 2023 following their victory in La Paz, Mexico. The Futures season also began in Mount Maunganui Beach, New Zealand, with the home duo of Shaunna Polley/Alice Zeimann and China’s Ha Likejiang/Wu Jiaxin claiming the women’s and men’s titles.

Here's a summary of the most important results of the weekend:

Volleyball

Sada Cruzeiro claim ninth South American title

Brazilian giants Sada Cruzeiro claimed their ninth overall and seventh-straight victory at the Men’s Club South American Championship, taking the title of the 2023 edition of the tournament in Araguari, Brazil. In the gold medal match, Sada topped Brazilian rivals Itambé Minas 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17) – both teams are guaranteed in the 2023 Men’s Club World Championship. Cuban outside hitter Miguel Ángel López was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Read the South American Volleyball Confederation recap for the event.

Perugia, Trentino, Modena and Verona in advantage in the Italian League

The SuperLega Credem Banca playoffs started this past weekend and Sir Safety Susa Perugia, Itas Trentino, Valsa Group Modena and WithU Verona got a head start in their best-of-five series against Allianz Milano, Vero Volley Monza, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and Cucine Lube Civitanova, respectively. The second-leg matches for all four series will be played on Wednesday. Check all the details in our recap.

Conegliano win Lega Femminille derby

Defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano are as comfortable as ever at the top of the standings of Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile after they won this weekend’s Italian League derby, dominating second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci to a 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 20-25, 25-20) road victory. Swedish star opposite was in excellent form during the encounter, leading Conegliano’s offence with 24 points. Here's our weekly recap.

Al Rayyan victorious on first West Asia Club Championship

Qatari powerhouse Al Rayyan are the winners of the first edition of the West Asia Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, which was played in Jordan. Al Rayyan were the best among the nine teams from seven different countries that appeared in the tournament, winning all seven matches they played at the tournament. Here’s what the Asian Volleyball Confederation had about the event.

Beach Volleyball

Herrera/Gavira and Kloth/Nuss dominate La Paz Challenge

Spanish veterans Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira and Americans Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss dominated the first Challenge event of the 2023 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, winning gold in La Paz, Mexico. The Europeans returned to the top of the podium for the first time since 2018 with a dramatic three-set (21-17, 15-21, 15-12) win over Dutch Stefan Boermans and Yorick De Groot in the final. Kloth and Nuss, who won their third Beach Pro Tour event in a year, won the all-American gold medal match against Savvy Simo and Toni Rodriguez in two sets (21-16, 21-13). Find out more about the victory of the Spanish and the triumph of the Americans.

New Zealand and China succeed in Mount Maunganui Beach

The first Beach Pro Tour Futures event of the season was held in Mount Maunganui Beach, New Zealand, and the home crowd got to see the victory of a home team, with Shaunna Polley and Alice Zeimanm taking the women’s title after their two-set (21-14, 21-12) victory over compatriots Olivia MacDonald and Julia Tilley. China’s Ha Likejiang and Wu Jiaxin prevented a New Zealander sweep by topping the home team of Sam O’Dea/Ben O’Dea also in two sets (21-17, 21-13). Find out all the details in our article.

Brandie/Melissa & Crabb/Sander prevail at AVP Miami

Beach Pro Tour regulars Brandie Wilkerson/Melissa Humana-Paredes and Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander won the season-opening event of the American AVP, which was played this weekend in Miami. The Canadians secured the women’s title by overcoming USA’s Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles in two sets (21-16, 24-22) in the final in Florida while the Taylors topped the new team of Chase Budinger and Miles Evans 2-0 (21-14, 21-19) in the men’s gold medal match. Read all about it on VolleyballMag.com.