At only 20 years old, Paola Egonu has been named as the Most Valuable Player of the 2019-2020 CEV Champions League after leading her Italian club team, Novara, to win the GOLD medal in front of almost 10,000 fans in Berlin, Germany.
The opposite spiker scored 27 points in 4 sets and was the best scorer of the match.
Aside from winning Europe’s most prestigious club volleyball trophy, Egonu, 7 time CEV Chamions League gold medalist Piccinini and Novara were also awarded €400,000 while silver medalists Imoco Volley received €200,000.
In case you’re wondering, below is the list of Champions League MVPs since 2001:
2001–02 – Victoria Ravva (FRA)
2002–03 – Victoria Ravva (FRA)
2003–04 – Elena Godina (RUS)
2004–05 – Lioubov Sokolova (RUS)
2005–06 – Victoria Ravva (FRA)
2006–07 – Angelina Grün (GER)
2007–08 – Simona Gioli (ITA)
2008–09 – Serena Ortolani (ITA)
2009–10 – Francesca Piccinini (ITA)
2010–11 – Małgorzata Glinka (POL)
2011–12 – Kim Yeon-Koung (KOR)
2012–13 – Jovana Brakočević (SRB)
2013–14 – Ekaterina Gamova (RUS)
2014–15 – Jordan Larson (USA)
2015–16 – Francesca Piccinini (ITA)
2016–17 – Zhu Ting (CHN)
2017–18 – Gözde Kırdar Sonsırma (TUR)
2018–19 – Paola Egonu (ITA)
As for Egonu, she will take some time off and is expected to rejoin the Italian national team later on the in tournament. The VNL kicks off today with 16 women’s teams. Click here to read more VNL updates.
As for professional career, the 2018 World Championship silver medalist is reportedly joining Imoco Volley next season.