Choose from eight fantastic outside hitters for the #CLVolleyW All-Star team

The CEV Champions League Women has reached its business end, with the Final Four ready to deliver more drama in Istanbul in only two weeks' time. It was a roller-coaster of a season so far, yet there are only three matches left to decide the champions, and now it is high time we take a look on how the four sides got here and how their best players performed this season. 

As we gear up for the deciding matches, the attention will certainly be on these matches, but until their throw-offs, fans are invited to choose their favourites, which will then be selected to the 2024/25 CEV Champions League Volleyball All-Star Teams.

The voting has been going on for more than a week, but if you still haven't picked your favourites, now is the time to sit back, see what the eight candidates for each position did so far and choose accordingly. The women's outside hitters are next, so let’s see who are the eight nominees.

The four sides which are in the Final Four in Istanbul are all represented here, with five players from the four participants earning nominations.

All the four qualified teams for the business end of the CEV Champions League Women have players representing team on the shortlist for the All-Star team, with reigning champions A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano having two players.

Both Gabi Guimaraes and Zhu Ting signed last summer with Conegliano, but they have made an instant impact on the Italian side, helping the reigning champions build a 19-match winning streak in the European top competition, winning all eight matches so far this season.

Guimaraes has been a force to be reckoned with over the last years in the European premium competition, also being the MVP in the 2021/22 season, when she won the trophy with VakifBank Istanbul. This time around, she was used sporadically by A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano, appearing in important matches, as she has 44 points scored in only 17 sets played so far this season.

On the other hand, Zhu Ting, the MVP of the 2016/17 season and the best outside hitter in the 2017/18 season, has featured in 22 sets, and has scored 86 points, an average of 3.91 points per set, clearly slotting in fantastically for Conegliano, after spending the previous two seasons at Savino Del Bene Scandicci.

One Scandicci player is also in the running for an All-Star team spot, with Kara Bajema being shortlisted for the final vote. The American player, who had previously featured at VakifBank and Numia Vero Volley Milano, was an integrant part of the team which went undefeated before the Final Four, with 58 points in 21 sets played, or an average of 2.76 points per set played.

24-year-old Marina Markova had a statement season in the CEV Champions League Women this season for VakifBank Istanbul, proving that the Turkish side did a fantastic job when they signed her from Igor Gorgonzola Novara last summer. Markova is the eighth top scorer this season, with 123 points, one less than her teammate, Kiera van Ryk, having played seven sets less than van Ryk. In fact, with an average of 5.86 points per set, Markova is only behind Ekaterina Antropova this season in terms of points scored per set.

Numia Vero Volley Milano also has one player on the shortlist, with Myriam Fatime Sylla also providing an excellent and consistent performance this season. The best outside hitter in the 2019 and 2021 editions of the CEV EuroVolley Women, as well as at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Sylla had 83 points scored in 26 sets played so far this season.

Another player who had an excellent season, but still fell short of reaching the Final Four is Ana Cristina Menezes Oliveria de Souza. The Fenerbahçe Medicana Istanbul outside hitter scored 77 points, for an average of 3.35 points per set, but her side failed to secure the berth for the Final Four, after losing against VakifBank in the golden set in the quarter-finals.

Vasas Óbuda Budapest’s Fatoumatta Sillah also made the shortlist, scoring 95 points, for an average of 3.96 points per set this season, while the last place on the nominees’ list was secured by Developres Rzeszow’s Monika Fedusio, who had 111 points scored in 30 sets. 

The 2025 CEV Champions League Volley All-Star Team voting is now open!

How it works

•    There are 8 nominated players for each position, as well as head coaches: you are asked to cast three votes for each category
•    For Middle Blockers and Outside hitters, the 2 players with the highest amount of votes will be selected as part of the ALL-Star Team.
•    The Fan Vote will count for 50% of the final voting result, with the other 50% being represented by the votes given by Champions League clubs team captains and team Head Coaches