COLORADO SPRINGS (Jan. 5, 2017) – U.S. outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke is back in Poland and getting ready to play with Asseco Resovia Rzeszow.
Jaeschke (Wheaton, Ill.), who left Loyola University of Chicago before his senior season to play professionally in Poland and attempt to make the U.S. Olympic Team (which he did) took the first half of the season off to work toward his college diploma.
POLAND
Outside hitter Scott Touzinsky and his Polish team Jastrzębski Węgiel lost its final league match of the season, 24-26, 25-18, 25-23, 27-25 to Indykpol AZS Olsztyn on Dec. 22. Touzinsky played as a substitute.
Middle blocker David Smith (Saugus, Calif.), libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach, Calif.) and Cerrad Czarni Radom won their final league match of 2016, beating AZS Częstochowa, 25-13, 25-21, 25-15 on Dec. 30. Smith scored 10 points on six kills and a match-high four blocks. Watten was credited with nine receptions, 56 percent positive.
Setter Jonah Seif (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), outside hitter Kyle Russell (Loomis, Calif.) and MKS Będzin fell to PGE Skra Bełchatów, 25-18, 26-28, 22-25, 25-23, 15-10 on Dec. 30. Both players were substitutes. Russell scored one point on a block.
ITALY
Setter Micah Christenson (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Cucine Lube Civitanova finished 2016 with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-17 win over Biosi Indexa Sora on Dec. 29. Christenson scored one point on one kill and set his team to a .610 hitting efficiency. Civitanova leads the league with a 15-2 record.
Middle blocker Max Holt (Cincinnati) and Azimut Modena defeated setter James Shaw (Woodside, Calif.), middle blocker Taylor Averill (San Jose, Calif.) and Kioene Padova, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19 on Dec. 29. Holt scored six points on six kills. Shaw scored three points on two kills and one ace and set Padova to a .289 hitting efficiency. Averill played as a substitute.
Outside hitter Aaron Russell (Ellicott City, Md.) and Sir Safety Perugia beat Bunge Ravenna, 25-23, 28-26, 25-17 on Dec. 29. Russell started the third set and scored four points on three kills and one ace. He was credited with six receptions, 67 percent positive.
RUSSIA
Libero Erik Shoji (Honolulu, Hawaii) and setter Kawika Shoji (Honolulu) and Lokomotiv Novosibirsk won a Christmas match against Kuzbass Kemerovo, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 on Dec. 25. Kawika Shoji started the first two sets and scored two points on one block and one ace. He helped set the team to a .394 hitting efficiency. Erik Shoji was credited with 19 receptions, 63 percent positive. Novosibirsk is in third place in the league with an 11-2 record.
GERMANY
SVG Luneburg, including Americans Michael Brinkley, Scott Kevorken, Cody Kessel and Eric Fitterer, won its last match of 2016, beating Netzhoppers Solwo Konigspark KW, 25-21, 25-18, 25-19 on Dec. 28. Fitterer (Edwardsville, Ill.) led his team with 12 points on 10 kills, one block and one ace. Kessel (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added nine points on nine kills. Scott Kevorken (Westlake Village, Calif.) totaled five points on three kills and two aces.
FRANCE
Middle blocker Dan McDonnell (Glendale, Ariz.) and Chaumont are leading France’s A League with a 10-1 record. On Dec. 28, Chaumont swept Nantes Reze, 29-27, 25-18, 25-20. McDonnell scored seven points on five kills and two aces. U.S. outside hitter Cody Caldwell played for Nantes Reze as a substitute and scored two points.
GREECE
Outside hitter Greg Petty (Downers Grove, Ill.) scored nine points as Pamvohaikos beat PAOK, 25-20, 25-16, 26-24 on Dec. 22. Petty scored on seven kills, one block and one ace. He was credited with 31 receptions, 65 percent positive.
CHINA
U.S. outside hitter Taylor Sander (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Beijing beat Bayi, 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 on Dec. 22. Sander finished with eight points, including one ace. On Dec. 25, Beijing defeated Jiangsu, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20. Sander scored 13 points on 10 kills and three aces. Beijing remains undefeated in the league at 10-0.
Outside hitter Garrett Muagututia (Oceanside, Calif.) scored 18 points, including 17 kills, as his team Tianjin fell to Shanghai, 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 on Dec. 18. On Dec. 25, Tianjin lost to Shanghai, 25-20, 25-20, 25-17. Muagututia finished with 12 points on 11 kills and one block. On Jan. 1, Jiangsu beat Tianjin, 25-17, 25-21, 25-23. Muagututia scored eight points.