Women’s pro volleyball: Bannister leads Hungarian Cup win; Snyder, Skinner shine in France

This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. Most of the players are former NCAA standouts:

Hungary

Taylor Bannister powered Vasas Budapest to the Hungarian Cup championship. She had 30 kills and hit .394 with a block in a 23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-19, 17-15 win over Bekescsaba.

French Cup

Carli Snyder powered Cannes to the final in a 25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13 win over Venelles. Snyder had 17 kills and a match-high five aces. Claire Felix added five kills and four blocks, while Madeleine Gates had six kills, three aces, and a block. Jenna Gray set for Cannes and had two blocks. Katelyn Evans led Venelles with 16 kills, three blocks and an ace. Samantha Drechsel contributed 14 kills. Venelles setter August Raskie seven kills and a block.

Beziers used a key fourth-set run to advance to the final by beating Nantes 25-15, 19-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-8. Trailing 18-13 in set four, Avery Skinner found her aim as she contributed six of her match-high 25 kills from that point. Skinner hit .535 and had a block. Blake Mohler added eight kills and four blocks. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 42% positive reception. Beziers setter Madison Lilley had two blocks and an ace. Taylor Mims led Nantes with 20 kills, two aces, and a block. Jaelyn Keene added five kills, three blocks and an ace.

French League

Nantes (18-5) snapped its losing streak by beating Chamalieres 25-11, 26-28, 25-21, 25-18. Keene had eight kills, three aces, and two blocks and Mims added nine kills, two blocks and an ace.

Saint Raphael (10-13) kept its playoff hopes alive by beating Venelles 32-34, 15-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-12. Malina Terrell had 10 kills and a block, while Drechsel had 12 kills and two blocks for Venelles (12-11). Evans added 16 kills. Raskie had four kills and two blocks.

Nancy boosted its playoff chances by upsetting Volero Le Cannet 25-16, 18-25, 25-23, 25-22. Annayka Legros was named MVP for Nancy as she had 10 kills (.600), three blocks, and an ace. Reserve Lauren Page had two aces, two blocks and two kills. Shayla Hoeft added three kills as Nancy improved to 11-12 with its fourth straight win.

Taylor Fricano’s match-high 24 kills was not enough for TFOC in a 25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19 loss to Mulhouse. Shannon Scully was limited to three kills for TFOC (15-7). Kendall White was credited with 53% positive reception.

Beziers won its third in a row, beating Cannes 21-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-22. Skinner’s career week continued as she had 20 kills (.563) for Beziers (16-7). Mohler added six kills and two blocks. Wong-Orantes was credited with 62% positive reception. Lilley had a match-high four aces and three kills. Snyder had 14 kills and two aces for Cannes (12-11). Gates had 10 kills (.667) and one block. Felix was limited to two kills. Gray had two kills and two blocks.

Italy

Milano (16-6) snapped its two-match losing streak by sweeping Chieri 25-23, 25-20, 25-18 as Jordan Larson was named MVP. She had 11 kills (hitting .556) and two aces. Jordan Thompson had 10 kills and a block. Neither Dana Rettke nor Brionne Butler played.

Scandicci (18-4) won its sixth in a row by sweeping Busto Arsizio 25-23, 25-23, 25-19). Haleigh Washington did not play. Carli Lloyd set for Busto Arsizio (10-12) and had a match-high four blocks and a kill.

Conegliano (21-1) overcame a slow start to beat Novara 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-13 as Kathryn Plummer had 11 kills. Kelsey Cook had four kills and a block as a substitute. McKenzie Adams had one kill for Novara (16-6) in a brief appearance.

Casalmaggiore (11-11) strengthened its playoff chances by sweeping Vallefoglia 25-18, 26-24, 25-21. Setter Lauren Carlini had three blocks, two kills, and an ace, while Ali Frantti did not play. Annie Drews was the top scorer for Vallefoglia (9-13) with 12 kills and an ace. Setter Micha Hancock added two aces, a kill and a block.

Cuneo (9-13) won its third in a row by beating Pinerolo 16-25, 25-19, 28-26, 25-22. Dani Drews had 16 kills and Anna Stevenson-Hall had a match-high eight blocks to go along with six kills.

Khalia Lanier led Bergamo (11-11) past Macerata 25-20, 25-22, 25-20. Lanier had 15 kills for Bergamo and Mac May appeared as a substitute and had one kill and an ace. Claire Chaussee came off the bench to lead Macerata (2-20) with 10 kills, two aces and a block.

Turkish Cup

THY escaped Kuzeyboru in the quarterfinals 25-13, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 15-10. Madi Kingdon Rishel had 12 kills, a block and an ace. Annie Mitchem had seven kills for Kuzeyboru.

VakifBank advanced to the semifinals after sweeping Galatasaray 25-14, 25-19, 25-18 as Kara Bajema had three kills and two blocks. Chiaka Ogbogu did not play. Logan Eggleston had six kills for Galatasara, which was eliminated.

Turkish League

VakifBank (16-3) easily handled Nilufer 25-14, 25-17, 25-18. Bajema had seven kills, two blocks and an ace and Ogbogu added two kills and a block. Sherridan Atkinson had six kills, two blocks, and an ace for Nilufer (9-10). Brooke Nuneviller added six kills.

Kuzeyboru won its third in a row by beating SigortaShop 25-23, 24-26, 18-25, 28-26, 15-11. Mitchem led Kuzeyboru (8-11)  with 22 kills and two blocks. Kelsie Payne was the top scorer as she had 25 kills and four blocks for SigortaShop (4-15). Marin Grote had a match-high five blocks and four aces to go along with six kills.

THY (13-5) also won its third in a row by sweeping Sariyer 25-23, 25-17, 25-23. Kingdon had six kills and a block.

Germany

Schwerin (14-3) won its third in a row by sweeping Dresden 25-10, 25-16, 25-20 as Lindsey Ruddins had nine kills (.667) and a block for Schwerin.

Aachen (8-9) dropped its third in a row, losing to Vilsbiburg 21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20. Setter Ashley Evans had one kill and an ace.

Suhl (7-11) kept its playoff hopes alive by sweeping Neuwied for its fourth win in a row 25-20, 25-8, 25-18. Danielle Harbin led with 15 kills and an ace. Julia Brown added 14 kills (.481). Setter Jenna Ewert had two kills, two aces and a block.

Stuttgart continued its quest for the top playoff seed by sweeping Erfurt 25-13, 25-19, 25-18. Krystal Rivers led all players with 10 kills for Stuttgart (16-1) and only played the first two sets. Reserve Simone Lee had four kills and two blocks.

Puerto Rico

Manati began the week with a 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-9 win over Juncos as Gloria Mutiri had 17 kills and two blocks and Callie Schwarzenbach had10 kills and five blocks. Setter Mackenzi Welsh had two kills and a block. Naya Gros had 11 kills and two blocks for Juncos. Setter Natalie Hayward had three kills, three blocks and an ace.

Caguas avoided the upset to Ponce 25-12, 31-29, 18-25, 15-25, 15-13. Kayla Caffey had 12 kills, three blocks, and two aces. Kash Williams added 12 kills and two blocks. Shelly Stafford contributed 14 kills and a block. Nia Robinson led all scorers with 21 kills, two aces, and a block for Ponce. Eleanor Holthaus added 14 kills, two blocks, and two aces. Setter Jhenna Gabriel had three aces, two blocks, and two kills for Ponce.

Ponce upset Manati 25-20, 25-20, 25-21. Robinson was the top scorer again as she had 17 kills, two aces, and one block. Holthaus added seven kills and two aces. Gabriel had an ace. Mutiri had nine kills and a block for Manati (5-7). Schwarzenbach was limited to five kills, but added three blocks. Welsh had 10 digs.

Corozal continued the upsets by sweeping Naranjito 25-22, 25-23, 25-23. Adanna Rollins was named MVP with 17 kills and two blocks. Ronika Stone had eight kills and three blocks. Setter Tori Dilfer contributed a kill and one block. Naranjito’s Lindsey Vander Weide had 12 kills and Taylor Sandbothe two. Setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres had two blocks and a kill.

Caguas easily swept shorthanded Santurce 25-15, 25-23, 25-11. Caffey was the top scorer again for Caguas (7-5) with a match-high seven blocks, five kills and an ace. Williams added 12 kills while Stafford chipped in three. Injured Madi Kubik and Gina Mancuso remained sidelined for Santurce (7-3).

Naranjito (9-3) bounced back to beat Juncos 27-25, 25-17, 25-20 as Vander Weide had seven kills and an ace. Sandbothe added four kills and a block. Ka’aha’aina-Torres finished with a match-high five blocks and an ace. Gros had four kills and two blocks for Juncos (3-7) while Hayward contributed six digs.

Corozal beat Ponce 25-17, 25-18, 24-26, 25-20 as Rollins had 14 kills and five blocks. Stone added eight kills and two blocks. Dilfer set for Corozal (6-5) and had two kills and a block. Robinson led Ponce (3-10) again, this time with 22 kills and two blocks. Holthaus finished with 16 kills and three blocks.

Japan

JT Marvelous split its weekend series, losing to NEC Red Rockets 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-20. Karsta Lowe finished with 25 kills. JT Marvelous bounced back by sweeping PFU 25-20, 25-22, 25-15 as Lowe had 13 kills and a block.

Playoffs are out of sight for Toyota Autobody Queenseis, which split its weekend series. Queenseis upended Denso 22-25, 25-20, 26-24, 27-25 as Danielle Cuttino had 23 kills, one block, and an ace for Queenseis. Queenseis lost to Kurobe 25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-22 but Cuttino had 23 kills, four blocks, and three aces.

Women’s pro volleyball: Bannister leads Hungarian Cup win; Snyder, Skinner shine in France Volleyballmag.com.