What's On: Your guide to this week's best LIVE matches

A critical week is coming up in Italian volleyball, with the country’s SuperLega Credem Banca completing its quarterfinal round and three of the four series needing a fifth match to determine the teams that will advance to the semifinals.

The Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile is set to finish its regular season this weekend and, although all eight teams that will be in the postseason have already been determined, the matchups will be known at the conclusion of the 26^th and final leg of the season.

There will also be exciting action in the CEV Men’s Champions League, with the second leg of the semifinal round going on during the week and teams from Poland, Italy and Türkiye battling for the two spots in the gold medal match. The women will open their semifinals series too, with three teams from Türkiye and one from Italy still standing.

It’s going to be a busy week on the Beach Pro Tour as well, with a Challenge tournament taking place in Itapema, Brazil, and a Futures event being held in Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Here are the highlights of a busy and important week in volleyball and beach volleyball:

Tuesday

Beach Pro Tour Tahiti Futures – French Polynesia

International beach volleyball is coming to French Polynesia for the first time ever, with a men-only Beach Pro Tour Futures event going on from Tuesday to Saturday. New Zealanders Bradley Fuller and Alani Nicklin are the top-seeded duo in the five-day event, which will also have Italians Tiziano Andreatta and Andrea Abbiati among its top teams.

Wednesday

CEV Champions League

It will be a critical day in the 2022-2023 CEV Champions League, with semifinal duels taking place in both genders. The men’s series between Poland’s Jastrzebski Wegiel and Türkiye’s Halkbank Ankara will come to an end with the second duel taking place on Polish soil – Wegiel won the first leg 3-1. On the women’s side, Turkish giants VakifBank Istanbul and Fenerbache Opet Istanbul start their series.

Thursday

Beach Pro Tour Itapema Challenge - Brazil

Watch on VBTV

The Beach Pro Tour begins a series of three consecutive events in Brazil this week with the Itapema Challenge. The four-day event in the South American nation will feature some of the top teams in the world, such as Brazilian veterans Bárbara Seixas and Carol Salgado and Spanish Olympians Pablo Herrera and Adrián Gavira. Thursday's qualifier will feature a pair of Olympic champions in Germany's Laura Ludwig and Brazil's Alison Cerutti.

Friday

Turkish Sultanlar Ligi Women – Sariyer Belediyesi vs. Aydın Büyükşehir Belediyespor – 17:00 local time (14:00 UTC)

Direct opponents for a spot in the playoffs of the Turkish Sultanlar Ligi Women, Sariyer Belediyesi and Aydın Büyükşehir Belediyespor meet in a key match for both of them as the regular season enters its final stage. Sariyer are currently eighth with 26 points (ten wins) and are in a position to take the last quarterfinal spot while Aydın are ninth with 30 points, but only nine wins and need to move one spot up to compete in the postseason.

Saturday

SuperLega Credem Banca – Cucine Lube Civitanova vs. WithU Verona - 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC)

Watch on VBTV

Cucine Lube Civitanova and WithU Verona will clash for the fifth time in the quarterfinal round of the 2022-2023 SuperLega Credem Banca. Verona won the first two matches of the series, but defending champions Lube came back to win matches three and four and force the fifth and decisive match, which will be played in their homecourt in Civitanova.

Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile – 20:30 local time (19:30 UTC)

Watch on VBTV

The final round of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile will take place on Sunday, with all eight matches being played simultaneously. Although the eight teams that will be in the postseason are already known, there are some battles for better positioning ahead of the start of the playoffs, with the one involving Savino Del Bene Scandicci and Vero Volley Milano for the second place standing out as one of the most relevant ones.

Sunday

Japanese Men’s V. League – Wolfdogs Nagoya vs. Suntory Sunbirds – 12:00 local time (03:00 UTC)

The best two teams in the Japanese Men’s V. League regular season, Wolfdogs Nagoya and Suntory Sunbirds meet in the second matchday of the league’s Final Four. The Wolfdogs and the Sunbirds are battling the Panasonic Panthers and the Osaka Sakai Blazers for the two spots in the Japanese League final.

Monday

SuperLega Credem Banca – 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC)

Watch on VBTV

The last two duels of the 2022-2023 SuperLega Credem Banca quarterfinals will take place at the same time on Monday. Reigning world champions Sir Safety Susa Perugia will play Allianz Milano at home, looking for a third win that would push them to the semifinals. At the same time, Valsa Group Modena will try to get back on track and, after dropping back-to-back matches to Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, get a win in front of their home fans to move forward.