From Europe to Asia to North America to destination yet to be determined, players outside the V-League women’s division are taking on new challenges.
Foreign players who made it through the V-League women’s division last season are taking on new challenges in various places.
As most of the major international competitions, from international competitions hosted by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) to Olympic qualifiers, have been completed, volleyball leagues around the world are also preparing to begin. The 2023-2024 V-League also announces the start of its long journey on October 14. Naturally, most players have found teams to play in next season, and most of the foreign players who played in the V-League women’s division last season have also settled into their new homes.
The destination with the most players is Europe. Elisabeth Ine Varga, who played as a main gun for KGC Ginseng Corporation (currently Cheong Kwan Jang Red Sparks) last season by exceeding 1,000 points, will play for Groupa Azoti Chemic Polis of Poland’s Tauron Liga in the new season. Chemic Police announced the news of Elisabeth’s joining through its official SNS with the introductory phrase ‘Chemic Police’s New Apogee’.
Chemik Police is a prestigious team that has won 10 league and 10 cup championships, and is the team that includes Agnieszka Korneluk and Martina Lukasic, who are playing as main players for the Polish national team. Recently, Chinese setter Dingxia also joined.
In addition to Elisabeth, there are two other players who have moved to Europe. Yvonne Montaño, who joined Hyundai Engineering & Construction as a replacement for Yasmin Bedart and played with her until the end of the season, joined the Perugia Black Angels of Italy’s Serie A2. Montaño, who experienced the professional stage for the first time in Italy in 2013, is back on the Italian stage after 10 years.
Katarina Jovic, who started the season with the Korea Expressway Corporation but left the team midway after showing some disappointment, will begin the new season with Alba Blaj in the Romanian league. Even though Katarina did not complete the season in Korea, Alba Blazi announced the news of Katarina’s recruitment through official SNS and covered the story of her victory at the Korea Expressway Corporation.
Some players chose Asia and North America rather than Europe as the location for the new season. Dali Santana, who played at IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, joined PFU Blue Cats in the Japanese V. League. The Blue Cats is the team that Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who led Vietnam’s defeat of Korea in the 2023 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Championship, has been playing for for three seasons.
Nia Reed, who suddenly left Pepper Savings Bank at the end of the season due to the ‘cannabis jelly’ incident, is starting a new beginning with the Omaha Supernovas, a team in her home country of the American Professional Volleyball Federation. Omaha Supernovas also expressed their expectations by introducing Nia as ‘Aposite, a veteran who also participated in the V-League All-Star Game last season’ through their official SNS. Nia is also listed as a player in the ‘Athletes Unlimited Pro League’, a realistic version of the fantasy league where four captains select players every week and play in a new lineup.
Meanwhile, in the case of Catherine Bell, who joined the Korea Expressway Corporation during last season and led a miraculous victory and was selected as the MVP of the championship game, her team has not yet been officially revealed. However, there is a destination that can be guessed. Catbell recently posted the phrase ‘Almost that time!’ along with the Chinese flag and volleyball-shaped emoticon on her personal SNS. The post also includes hashtags such as ‘#China, #Volleyball’. This is sufficient basis to predict a trip to China. China is not an unfamiliar country to Catbell. 토토 She has already played the 2018-2019 season with the Henan Silver Pigeon of the Chinese League. I wonder when the official announcement of Catbell’s trip to China will be released.