In most European countries, the competitions have kicked off, and we are watching how our fellow countrymen are performing.
In Italy, Wout D’Heer is getting playing time with Taranto, and he’s making the most of it. In the first match of the season, his team even pulled off a big surprise, defeating Allianz Milano (with Ferre Reggers) 3-0. However, they couldn’t replicate the upset against Trentino, losing 3-0 despite Wout’s 4 points at 40%. Milano bounced back with a strong performance from Ferre Reggers (18 points, 64%), securing a 3-0 win against Civitanova.

In Poland, our fellow countrymen are also doing great. Igor Grobelny scored 19 points (54%) for Kedzierzyn, which swept Gdansk (with Jorna Gijs) 0-3. And Mathijs Desmet is clearly back in shape, scoring 17 points at 62% for Gorzow in a 3-0 win against Bedzin. Also worth mentioning is that his newly promoted team started the season with 3 wins out of 4.

After Sam Deroo’s Zenit Kazan secured a 3-1 win against Belgorod, they suffered their first loss of the season: 1-3 against his former team, Dinamo Moscow.
In Germany, coach Christophe Achten saw his team Düren suffer their first defeat of the season. Despite 14 points (50%) from Robbe Van de Velde, they lost 2-3 to Giesen. Small consolation: coach Joël Banks also lost with Berlin, 0-3 against Lüneburg.

In Spain, a win for Las Palmas and Tomas Rousseaux: 3-1 against Melilla.
In the Netherlands, a 1-3 win for Orion (without McCluskey) against Sliedrecht.
In Croatia, a tiebreak loss for Kastela (Vlahovic) against HAOK Mladost.

In Switzerland, Lausanne (with Tim Bayet) won 0-3 against Chenois.
And coach Dries Hoeyberghs continued his strong season in Denmark with another 3-0 victory, this time against Gentofte.
Nathalie Lemmens off to a strong start with Dresdner
In women’s volleyball, even more competitions are kicking off this weekend.

However, that didn’t stop Nathalie Lemmens, who started strong for Dresdner, scoring 6 points (46%) and securing a 3-0 win against Münster. Anna Koulberg, named MVP earlier this week at Potsdam, got some rest this week. In Stuttgart, Charlotte Krenicky got playing time in every set after her surgery, and Pauline Martin contributed 2 points in the 3-0 win against Wiesbaden.

In Poland, Dominika Sobolska is feeling good again with her former team, GB Lodz. She contributed 5 points (43%) in their 3-1 win against Kalisz.

In Italy, a smooth win for Scandicci (Britt Herbots 8 points) against Cuneo: 3-0. Milano (with Laura Heyrman 6 points) won 1-3 against Pinerolo. Silke Van Avemaet (4 points) and Busto Arsizio couldn’t handle Conegliano: 3-0.

Lastly, libero Britt Rampelberg made her debut in the starting lineup for Venelles in France, contributing to a 3-0 win against Vandoeuvre.