Eight liberos fight for their place in 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 liberos are next, so let’s see who are the eight nominees.

All the four sides which have made the Final Four in Istanbul have a player nominated for the All-Star libero position in the CEV Champions League Women, with three other sides which made the quarter-finals having one player there.

Monica De Gennaro, who has been playing for A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano since 2013, is on the list, having already made the All-Star team of the European premium competition in the 2016/17 season, as well as being named the All-Star libero at the CEV EuroVolley Women in 2021. De Gennaro had 54 receptions in 13 sets played and a 35% of perfect receptions this season.

Another player from an Italian side, Juliette Gelin, had an impressive season for Numia Vero Volley Milano. The French libero, who signed for the Italian side last summer, had one of the largest number of receptions, 111, and a 40% of perfect receptions in the current season in the CEV Champions League Women.

A perennial contender for the All-Star team in the competitions she plays, Brenda Castillo, is also nominated for this season’s CEV Champions League Women All-Star team. The Dominican player was an integrant part of Savino Del Bene Scandicci’s excellent season and is a frontrunner for the best libero position in the All-Star team.

VakifBank Istanbul have Ayça Aykaç Altıntaş nominated, the best liber of the 2021/22 and the 2022/23 seasons in the European premium competition. Aykaç had 123 receptions this season and is a big reason why VakifBank, a team which was not seen as a certain candidate for the title, are in the Final Four.

To qualify for the Final Four in Istanbul, VakifBank eliminated rivals Fenerbahce Medicana Istanbul, and Fener also have a player nominated, another Turkish libero, Gizem Örge. The best libero in the 2017/18 CEV Champions League Women, who has been playing for her current side since 2021, Örge had 102 receptions this season and a 25% of perfect receptions.

Two Polish liberos are also nominated. PGE Grot Budowlani Łódź’s Justyna Łysiak had a whopping 235 receptions, the fourth largest number in the competition, with a fantastic 35% of perfect receptions, while Developres Rzeszow’s Aleksandra Szczyglowska had 147 receptions for a 24% perfect receptions.

The last nominated player is Patricia Llabres from SSC Palmberg Schwerin, with 95 receptions and a 26% perfect receptions under her belt in the current season, where Schwerin were eliminated in the play-offs by Numia Vero Volley Milano.

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