The USA NT head coach Hugh McCutcheon comes to Azerbaijan!!!

The USA National team head coach Hugh McCutcheon will visit Azerbaijan to watch his players from the National team playing in Azerbaijan.
Last week Hugh McCutcheon visited Russian Nation Cup finals in Kazan,where plays another American player Jordan Larson.
After Russia he will come to Azerbaijan to watch his NT girls Kimberly Glass, Jennifer Joines-Tamas, Ashley Engle, Tayyiba Haneef-Park, Kelly Wing, Nicole Davis, Nancy Metcalf, Kristin Richards, Jordana Price and Heather Kisner,. Three potential NT players Angie McGinnis, Cheryl Weaver (the first two played for NT in the past years ) and Julie Rubenstein (who was a member of the Youth NT) left Azerbaijan due to healthy problems.

Gasimova officially presented as Scavolini player

Azerbaijani national team setter Natavan Gasimova was officially unveiled as a new member of Scavolini Pesaro on Tuesday.

Scavolini officials revealed to the media that she signed a contract until the end of the season and presented the 25-year-old setter with the number 17 shirt.

"I am very happy to be here,” Gasimova said, adding, "I think the Italian league is still the best in the world."

"The team has won the last three Italian championship titles and I would love to win the title again this year. My new teammates welcomed me with open arms and I like the city very much. Senna Usic can speak Russian a little,she is very warm girl,as the other girls. Manon Flier I know from the National team competitions- I can say we have very united team, I am happy to be a part of this family"

Pesaro head coach Paolo Tofoli : " Natavan is very clever girl who tries to do her best for helping the team. I think she will help us to replace and not to be sorry for Francesca Mari`s leaving."

For more pics: Here

Photos by : Danilo Bili (Solovolley.it)

Lokomotiv setter - Monika Smak named Player of the Year in Slovakia

For the fourth time in her career, Lokomotiv setter Monika Smak was named Player of the Year in Slovakia by the Slovak Volleyball Federation.

Smak, 37, won the award for a second straight year, finishing ahead of Solange Paula Soares and Veronika Hroncekova. Smak was also named best player in 2005 and 1994.

Azerrail and Lokomotiv remain unbeaten in the GM Challenge Cup

Lokomotiv and Azerrail played their first games of the GM Challenge Cup Round of 8 on Tuesday.

In the first match of the day in Baku, Lokomotiv outclassed Cypriot side Apollon Limassol in straight sets, 25:19, 25:15, 25:18.

Meanwhile, in the second match of the day in Ukraine, visiting Azerrail defeated Khimik 3:0 (25:14, 25:18, 25:13).

Azerrail quickly took control of the first set, opening with a 6:2 run. The host team fought back to tie the game at eight, but Azerrail answered by scoring nine of the next eleven points and cruised to the comfortable 25:14 set win.

Elisangela Pereira and Jennifer Tamas led Azerrail to a quick start in the second set with series of kills and blocks that allowed Baku team to grab a 10:5 lead. Khimik battled back to close the gap to three at the 11:8 mark before Azerrail stretched its lead to nine, 21:12, on a kill by Rahimova. Ukrainian team kept fighting late in the set, using a pair of blocks to cut Azerrail lead to five, 22:17, but it was too little too late and Azerrail closed the set, 25:18.

The third set was as one-sided as it could be as Ukrainian team couldn't penetrate blocks put up by Pereira, Tamas and Petkova. In fact, the first three points scored by Khimik was a result of service errors committed by Azerrail players. Down by twelve points, 3:15, a 5:2 rally by Khimik closed the margin to 8:17, but three kills by Polina Rahimova down the stretch lifted Azerrail to a 25:13 victory.

The third Azerbaijani representative in the GM Challenge Cup will face off against Romanian Stiinta Bacau tomorrow in Romania.