The club volleyball season remains in the spotlight for another week with some exciting and important matches set to take place in the national leagues of Italy, India, Brazil and Japan over the next seven days. The CEV Champions League playoffs also continue to progress at full pace.
What's On: Your guide to the week
The week of February 13-19 in volleyball and beach volleyball
Published 11:12, 13 Feb 2023
In beach volleyball, South America remains active with the third stop on the continent’s tour taking place from Friday to Sunday in Malargüe, Argentina.
Here are the highlights of the week for you to follow:
Monday
Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile: Savino Del Bene Scandicci vs. Wash4Green Pinerolo – 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC)
A lone match of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile is set to open the week’s calendar, with Savino Del Bene Scandicci and Wash4Green Pinerolo meeting in the final duel of this week's Italian League action. With four wins in their last five matches, Scandicci will attempt to hold on to their joint second place in the standings while Pinerolo, who are 13th and winless in five matches, need all three points to increase their chances of avoiding relegation.
Tuesday
CEV Champions League: Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle vs. Aluron Warta Zawiercie – 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC)
The CEV Champions League will see two more teams advance to the quarterfinals of the men’s tournament, with the all-Polish duo between defending champions Grupa Azoty ‘Zaksa’ Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Aluron Warta Zawiercie featuring as the most exciting of the day. Zaksa were dominant in the first leg of the Round of 16, beating Zawierie 3-0 on the road, and will have the opportunity to progress in front of their home fans. The other match of the day will reunite Germany’s VfB Friedrichshafen and France’s Tours VB.
Wednesday
Rupay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23: Hyderabad Black Hawks vs. Kochi Blue Spikers – 19:00 local time (13:30 UTC)
The second slate of matches in the Rupay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 begins with a duel between the Hyderabad Black Hawks, who host the round in Hyderabad, and the Kochi Blue Spikers. Will Australian international Trent O’Dea lead the Black Hawks to victory?
Thursday
Brazilian Women’s Superliga: Dentil Praia Clube vs. Gerdau Minas – 21:30 local time (Friday, 00:30 UTC)
Two of the top teams in the Brazilian Superliga, Dentil Praia Clube and Gerdau Minas, who both took part in last year’s Women’s Club World Champs, will meet again this week. Praia sit at the top of the standings in the country’s league with 40 points while Minas are third with 31. When the teams met in the first leg of the season, Praia won in five sets.
Friday
South American Beach Volleyball Tour - Malargüe (Argentina)
The South American Beach Volleyball Tour remains in Argentina for another week with the competition moving from San Juan, the host city of the second stop of the season, to Malargüe. Chilean cousins Marco and Esteban Grimalt, who recently appeared in a Beach Pro Tour Elite16 event in Doha, headline the men’s entry list, which also features Brazilian world champion Evandro Goncalves and his new partner Arthur Lanci. The women’s tournament features Paraguayans Michelle Valiente and Erika Bobadilla, who represented their country at last year’s FIVB World Championship, and Argentinean Tokyo Olympian Fernanda Pereyra and temporary partner Cecilia Peralta among the top teams.
Saturday
Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile: Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri vs. Igor Gorgonzola Novara – 20:00 local time (19:00 UTC)
Two teams in great form in the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile, Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri and Igor Gorgonzola Novara will face each other in an encounter that could determine which of the two will have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Chieri, who have won five of their last six Lega matches, are only two points (41 to 39) behind the fourth-placed Novara, who won seven of their last eight Italian League matches. The teams faced each other at the end of January in the Italian Cup and Novara won 3-1.
Sunday
SuperLega Credem Banca: Cucine Lube Civitanova vs. Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza – 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC)
Two teams which have title aspirations in the SuperLega Credem Banca, and which are trying to find their best rhythm ahead of the start of the playoffs, Cucine Lube Civitanova and Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza feature in one of the most exciting matches of the day in Italy. Currently ranked fourth, defending champions Lube reacted well by winning their last two encounters, following a four-match winless streak. Piacenza, who are sixth, bounced back from a difficult run of form with a win over Allianz Milano last weekend.
Japanese Women’s V. League: JT Marvelous vs. Toray Arrows - 12:00 local time (03:00 UTC)
The two best-ranked teams in the Japanese V. League, the JT Marvelous, of American opposite Karsta Lowe and Japanese national team setter Aki Momii, and the Toray Arrows, of Azeri outside hitter Jana Kulan and Japanese hitter Mayu Ishikawa, will go head-to-head for the sixth time in the season. The Marvelous, who are currently the league leaders, won three of the first five encounters, but the Arrows prevailed in the most recent of those matches, in November.
