The 2025-2026 Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà got started on Monday, and it was an exciting Opening Day in the country, with three of the seven matches held over the evening needing all five sets to get resolved.

Among the teams having long nights were defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, who were down two sets on the road against Eurotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio before finding their best form to win in five - Cuneo Granda Volley and Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia were the other teams to win tie-breakers on Monday.

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After going undefeated in the regular season in 2024-2025 and setting a new points record in the league, Conegliano were very close to starting their title defense with an upset, but counted on an extraordinary performance from star opposite Isabelle Haak to triumph 3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15, 15-9). The Swedish scored 34 points (31 kills, three blocks), two more than Busto's opposite Josephine Obossa, who registered 28 kills and four blocks.

"It was very tough," Haak reflected. "It's obviously the first match of the season, and we didn't play at our best level. But I'm very happy that we still found a way to take the win at the end."

In Macerata, CBF Balducci HR Macerata were very close to returning to the Italian first division with a victory after winning the first two sets, but saw Cuneo come back and win 3-2 (28-30, 12-25, 29-27, 25-18, 16-14). Opposite Binto Diop scored 31 points (29 kills, two blocks) for the winning side, while Finnish outside hitter Suvi Kokkonen tallied 28 (22 kills, five aces, one block) for the home team.

The third five-setter of the night saw Vallefoglia battle Bartoccini-Mc Restauri Perugia on the road and prevail 3-2 (28-26, 24-26, 18-25, 25-18, 15-13). Albanian opposite Erblira Bici, with 16 points, and Olympic champion outside hitter Gaia Giovannini, with 15, led Vallefoglia, while Perugia's outside hitter Beatrice Gardini topped all scorers with 19.

"It was a tough match and we had some ups and downs, which is normal as we're still trying to find our rhythm," Bici said. "And we need to congratulate Perugia too, because they fought until the end and played great defense. Winning was very important, but we know we can do better and we'll try to limit our errors in the next matches."

Novara and Milano get sweeps

Courmayeur Cup winners Igor Gorgonzola Novara had a smooth start to their Lega Femminile campaign, going on the road and taking down rookies Omag-Mt San Giovanni in Marignano 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-23). Novara's Russian opposite Tatiana Tolok was the most productive player on the court with 16 points (11 kills, three blocks, two aces), while outside hitter Anna Piovesan scored 14 points (11 kills, two blocks, one ace) in Omag's first-ever match in the Italian elite.

Playing at home, Numia Vero Volley Milano also handled business efficiently, beating Bergamo 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-23). Star opposite Paola Egonu started the season on fire, producing 25 points (22 kills, two aces, one block) for Milano, while Cuban outside hitter Ailama Cesé was Bergamo's top scorer with 16, all in kills.

"It was a great match from us," Milano's outside hitter Khalia Lanier remarked. "We slowed down a little bit at the end, but that's normal at the start of the season. The fans pushed us a lot and I can't wait to play in front of them again."

Savino Del Bene Scandicci also collected all three points in their debut, defeating Wash4Green Monviso Volley 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-15, 26-24) on the road. Olympic and world champion opposite Ekaterina Antropova registered a whopping 30 points (20 kills, six aces, four blocks) for Scandicci and Adhuoljok Malual scored 20 (19 kills, one block) for Monviso.

Also in four sets, Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76 started with a win, dominating Il Bisonte Firenze to a 3-1 (25-13, 25-15, 21-25, 25-15) road win. World champion outside hitter Stella Nervini and middle blocker Anna Gray scored each 17 points for Chieri, while Dutch outside hitter Jolien Knollema led Firenze with 14.

Lega Volley Femminile - Match Schedule & Results

The second leg of the first round of the regular season will be held over the weekend in Italy, with one match taking place on Saturday and another six on Sunday.

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