Lausanne, Switzerland, February 19, 2019 – Coming up in about three months time, the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League is expected to offer a fresh refill of exciting performances on volleyball courts all over the world.
For impatient fans, here is another look at a video featuring the top spiking action in the women’s VNL finals in 2018... as an appetiser ahead of what is to come in 2019.
• 2018 VNL gold medallist Kimberly Hill, who top scored for USA in the victorious five-set final against Turkey, will be in action in the CEV Champions League on Wednesday, as her team Imoco Volley Conegliano try to take over the first place in their pool on the way to the quarterfinals. Kim Hill and her teammates recently lost the Italian cup final, but currently lead the standings in their national league. Their next Italian Serie A1 game is coming up on Sunday.
• The opposite of the 2018 VNL Dream Team and the third best scorer of last year’s finals, Tandara Caixeta of Brazil, has spent her club season outside her home country for the first time in her career. With Guangdong Evergrande, she finished seventh in the Chinese Super League in late January and is already back in Brazil looking forward to the second edition of the VNL.
• For another spiker featured in the above video, bronze medallist Xiaotong Liu, who was also the fourth best receiver of the 2018 VNL finals, the Chinese Super League season is not over yet, as her team Beijing Auto are only one win away from qualifying for the final playoff. The squad will be in semifinal action on Tuesday, already leading the best-of-five series by two wins to none. And a happy belated birthday to Liu as she turned 29 over the weekend!
• Netherlands’ Yvon Belien, who finished in the top 10 of the best blockers chart in the preliminary round of last year’s VNL and the top 10 of the best servers ranking in the finals, currently plays in the Turkish league. Her team Besiktas Istanbul are ranked fifth in the standings, and set to play their next match on Sunday at home.
• One of the best spikers for Turkey in their run to the silver medals of the inaugural edition of the Volleyball Nations League, Meryem Boz, who was her national team’s top scorer in both the semifinal and the final matches of VNL 2018, and her club side Galatasaray HDI Sigorta Istanbul will also be in Turkish league action during the weekend, scheduled to play at home on Saturday. They are placed fourth in the current domestic standings, after falling short of making Europe’s CEV Cup semifinals a week ago.