Turkey- VVSL-Vestel Venus Women's League 2017/2018


  • We already guessed, that both teams are on the same level - which is now confirmed :) .

  • Guidetti's job is not easy...
    Ting's passing isnt good so she 'd better be covered by the other players but two-player passing is not that easy on high level.in this case, Guidetti could use Robinson as passing OPP but the team needs Lonneke's offense..if Robinson is to play then either Ting should play a very very good game or Naz should play a really fast game with Gözde-Robinson duo to suport Ting.or maybe Gözde-Robinson could pass very well and Naz can run the Mbs more that usual. in this case Kübra step her offensive game up,she is slow! its not easy for Naz to set to her back to back.Raşiç-Kübra-Zehra are all zone 3 attackers not real sliders..Vakıf needs a good fast slider.

  • Both are excellent players and Akinradewo would take away the sliding problem they have now, but I would still pick Rasic. The team already has Zhu and Sloetjes who will score most of the points, so the main role of the MBs is to block well which Rasic is better for.

  • I wonder why Akinradewo never played in either Italy or Turkey or even Brazil...among the top leagues in the world she played one time in Russia and that's it.

  • Akinradewo-Zehra for me if I had to pick.


    Rasic and Kübra both need to step up. Kübra is way too slow and looking at her approach is killing me. She barely jumps and moves so sloppy. Zehra is simply better then her and younger as well. Imo Zehra can become world class MB. Rasic doesn't seem 100% like before.

  • I wonder why Akinradewo never played in either Italy or Turkey or even Brazil...among the top leagues in the world she played one time in Russia and that's it.

    We don`t even hear rumors about TOP clubs wanting to sign her and I think that has to do with her lack of block and serve. Blocking is a huge part of the game, look at Vakifbank part of the reason they are so strong is because they can block and this has been part of their game for years.


    Foluke is the best attacker among middles, you can set her a lot and she will score, but if you are setting her a lot you will be taking away a lot of balls from the OPP and OH...and all the TOP clubs have the best OPP and OH in the world. Which makes no sense to take sets away from Boskovic/Zhu/Sloetjes and so on...but mostly important setting the middles especially a slider attacker is not something you can always count on due to the passing. So when the passing is not good you can`t even set her, and if she can`t block and serve....she won`t be helping much.


    That`s why during Champions League and Club Championships she was never really effective. Volero would struggle to pass and they could not set her.
    And during the last Club Championship ...(I could be wrong) but she scored only 4 blocks during the whole tournament. While Carol/Rasic/Kubra had around 20 each just to have a idea.


    Even this season in Japan she was not a good blocker.



    And she probably don`t wanna be playing for any middle level team when she can make way more money playing for Volero and in Asia.

  • I dont agree with pope on many things.. For starters Akinradewo is a great attacker, both on the slide and in front of the setter.. the reason she has been doing mostly (always) slide attacks, in the last few years is because of Kiraly's system. They don't set their OPP when back court, so the middle is attacking on the right side, so they always have left and right side attackers..
    Second her blocking. Yes it's not her forte, but we've seen her improve in that skill especially under MC Cutcheon.. in fact blocking was really a huge thing for that team (2010-2012) Yet again when Karch came, their blocking became weaker, so did hers.. I'm not saying Karch ruined her blocking, but that we've seen her block pretty decent, so she's capable of going back to it..
    Third thing, a weak server? Really though? Have you watch her? She has a very very good serve. Especially after she changed her approach few years ago. She's getting aces, but most importantly she's consistently putting her opponents under pressure..
    The reason why I think we've never seen her play in a 'big' league is because she liked playing for the same team.. she spent 3 seasons in Rabita and 2 in Volero.. that's 5 out of 8 years of her club experience.. her first season was in Japan which is understandable, she wasn't a big thing back then. The years spent in Rabita, she has already established herself on the international scene, but to be fair Azerbaijan had a strong league back then. Not many teams, but all of them were star studded.. and she also got to play CL every year. I also expected her to go to Turkey or even Italy, and I'm sure many top teams tried to sign her.

  • @USAvolleyfan... The reason why I think we've never seen her play in a 'big' league is because she liked playing for the same team.


    That would not be a problem if she played for a TOP team....Rasic,Eda,Stevanovic,Larson just to mention a few all have spent a few seasons in the same team. Which means she could have signed in Turkey or Italy and stayed there for a few years with the same team.
    Adenizia is going for her 3rd season with Scandicci.

    Americans have no choice but to go play abroad, and I don`t see any player rejecting a offer from any top Italian and Turkish teams and especially Americans because again they have no other option......as you can see even Hill, Adams and Robinson did not reject Vakifbank/Vitra offers even knowing they would not be getting much playing time and they are still young and playing time is important for improvement. .....not to mention Turkish Teams pays the most and they can basically sign any player they want.

  • I didn't say that was the only reason, I explained.. the seasons she spent in Azerbaijan, were the years that league was also a top league.. Rabita has beaten many top teams in CL..
    So what you're trying to tell me is you actually believe she hasn't played in Turkey or Italy because no top team wanted to sign her?

  • Look, I'm no team manager or anything, but in my head I'm pretty sure any team in the world would like to sign Foluke. This is ridiculous. lol

  • Foluke had a great time this past season--you could see it on her face-- playing alongside really good players, won a title, and enjoyed great food. A lot. I bet she does it again.

  • Doesn't Foluke wanted to become a doctor once she retires from playing volleyball? I imagine she would rather read the books to prepare for her future than have all her time training and playing. It's not like her life isn't about volleyball after club volleyball ends. NT is almost as tough and packed as the professional season.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


    #FreeBritney

  • Doesn't Foluke wanted to become a doctor once she retires from playing volleyball? I imagine she would rather read the books to prepare for her future than have all her time training and playing. It's not like her life isn't about volleyball after club volleyball ends. NT is almost as tough and packed as the professional season.

    I heard she changed her mind but she will focus on a different part of medicine.

  • You know, this final round has made me think again of something I've been mulling about for the past year.


    It seems to me that Zhu Ting and Tijana Boskovic have created a volleyball version of the Leo Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. The 2 clearly best players in the world, playing for probably the 2 strongest clubs in the world, frequently competing between themselves and duking it out, both on the club and NT level.

  • You know, this final round has made me think again of something I've been mulling about for the past year.


    It seems to me that Zhu Ting and Tijana Boskovic have created a volleyball version of the Leo Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. The 2 clearly best players in the world, playing for probably the 2 strongest clubs in the world, frequently competing between themselves and duking it out, both on the club and NT level.

    Zhu vs Boskovic is just like Sheila vs Gamova.... Only difference is that Sheila and Gamova actually hated each other (as far as I know). Boskovic and Zhu certainly don`t have each other, but there`s a rivalry there and you can tell by Boskovic`s reaction when Zhu got blocked and spiked it out....


    Next season CL will be great - Zhu-Boskovic-Egonu-Haak-Fabris

  • Zhu vs Boskovic is just like Sheila vs Gamova.... Only difference is that Sheila and Gamova actually hated each other (as far as I know). Boskovic and Zhu certainly don`t have each other, but there`s a rivalry there and you can tell by Boskovic`s reaction when Zhu got blocked and spiked it out....


    Next season CL will be great - Zhu-Boskovic-Egonu-Haak-Fabris

    Yeah, Boskovic and Zhu I think respect each other but they always love to beat the other one which is only natural when they are the key players vs each other in so many important matches.


    Eczacibasi in general have shown a lot more fire and fight than they did last season against Vakifbank. Last season it was like they didn't know what to do on the court but under Motta they have more confidence and determination and play more like a team.