CLVolleyM All-Star Team Vote: Setters Nominees
The last couple of months delivered one of the most exhilarating edition of the CEV Champions League Volley, full of unexpected turnarounds and filled with Volleyball at finest level. The greatest stars shone bright again, but also many newcomers showed their tremendous potential. Once all is set now for the #SuperFinalsAntalya, where the new champions will be crowned on May 5th, the Volleyball Fans from all around the world have an opportunity to select the 2024 All-Star Team.
If you still haven't picked your all-star team of the Champions League Volley 2024 - Men in the next days we will give you here a few more details and digits standing behind the nominees selected by CEV analysts. If you have already voted take a look how your favorites rank against other nominees. Let's start with the setters!
The setters, the play-makers – often called the brain of the team… Even if they usually stay in shadow of their spikers, a lot depends on them and their decision to who set the ball. The three of our nominees are widely known for their outstanding play-making skills and the fourth one marked his presence in this edition of the CLVolleyM with historic performance of his team.
Luciano de Cecco is considered by many as one of the most creative setters in the world. Always looking for unobvious solutions and leading the game in his style, the 35-year-old Argentinian reached the semifinals with Cucine Lube Civitanova this season, recording 54.33% efficiency.
The Argentinian was the most successful in attack among all our nominees. He took things into his own hands, delivering 13 points in attack. He also contributed with 2 aces and 5 blocks in total in all 10 games he played.
Benjamin Toniutti, the charismatic 34-year-old Frenchman and play-making virtuoso, booked the spot in the SuperFinals again, leading Jastrzębski Węgiel to this feat for the second consecutive time. Although he missed some games due to injury, he was on the court when his team needed him.
He can boost with 52.17% efficiency and in addition he tallied 6 points, including 1 block, 3 aces and 2 winning spikes. Back in 2021 he lifted the CLVolleyM trophy with Zaksa and after last year's upset in the SuperFinal with Jastrzębski, he hopes to raise the trophy again.
Riccardo Sbertoli in the recent years worked hard to make his name among the top setters in the world and delivered another brilliant performance with Trentino Itas in the Champions League 2024. Unfortunately, his season was interrupted in late-February with a serious finger injury that has kept him away from the court in the decisive games.
The 25-year-old Italian was the best blocker among setters, having 8 killing blocks to his name and in total 16 points, including also 5 aces and 3 winning attacks. But the stat that impresses the most is his setting efficiency, which was the highest among all setters, as he achieved 61.19%!
Miguel Angel De Amo Fernandez-Echevarria led Guaguas Las Palmas to historic achievement as they reached quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time ever, and they did it starting off in the Round 1! Through the years the 38-year-old Spaniard was gaining the play-making skills both in indoor and beach volleyball. The 2004 world U21 beach volleyball champion eventually focused on volleyball, however his technique benefits from that experience.
In this CLVolleyM campaign he played in 13 games, recording 52.36% efficiency. In the Round 4th he led a well-balanced game that brought them a sensational win over Jastrzębski Węgiel on January 11. In total in this campaign he scored 16 points, including 6 aces, 2 blocks and 8 spikes.