Three Stars: October 31st - November 6th
It's our first Three Stars of the Week for the 2016/2017 season! Every week, we highlight the top Canadian performances from around the world of professional volleyball! We're kicking it off with three different attackers doing big things in Europe!
1st Star: Steve Hunt - Tiikerit Kokkola (Finland)
Steve Hunt is this week’s Canadian first star after a massive 27 point performance to push Tiikerit Kokkola of Finland in to the next round of the CEV Champions League. The Brooklin, Ontario native registered 22 kills, three aces and two blocks in the contest.
After losing the first leg 3-1 in Minsk, the Finnish side had to equal that result of better to force then Golden Set. After dropping the first, the Champions League rookies Kokkola came from behind in the second to stay alive, and never looked back to clinch their first CEV Champions League win in front of their home crowd.
They move on to face Dukla Liberec of the Czech Republic in the next round.
2nd Star: Stephen Marr - Padova Pallavolo (Italy)
Aurora's Stephen Marr is lighting things up in Italy. Photo: Padova Pallavolo
It hasn’t taken long for Stephen Marr to put his stamp on the world of volleyball.
As far as we know, there’s never been a Canadian player who made the jump from USports (formerly CIS - this might take a little while to get used to) to Italy’s Serie A. Not only has Marr made the jump a year before finishing is degree - he’s done so by leading his team with 124 points in eight matches and averaging 4.13 points/set - good for 6th in the Serie A and ahead of names like Earvin Ngapeth and Osman Juantorena. Yeah, that's some decent company to be with.
Despite a 3-1 loss to Valentia this weekend, he was at his best once again, posting 20 points (13 K, 3 A, 4B) in the loss. Yeah, you can say he’s having an alright rookie season.
3rd Star: Gord Perrin - Asseco Ressovia (Poland)
Started from the bottom now he’s here.
After being a one-man show for Italy’s bottom dwellers Piacenza last season - Gord Perrin’s transfer to Polish powerhouse Asseco Resovia has finally brought the deserved spotlight to the Creston, B.C. native.
Despite suffering a disappointing loss to Jastrebski Weigiel (current team of Jason Derocco) - Perrin led Resovia with 17 points on the night to add to his total of 88 this season - good for 2nd on the team.
Resovia’s tied for second in the Plus Liga with a record for 5-2.