Igor Gorgonzola Novara displayed tremendous grit and resilience on Wednesday to triumph in the decisive match against Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri ’76 and secure the fourth and final spot in the 2024-2025 Lega Volley Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà semifinals.

Now set to face defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, Novara came back twice against Chieri to secure a dramatic 3-2 (20-25, 25-12, 20-25, 25-17, 15-6) victory in front of their home fans at the Pala Igor Gorgonzola, in Novara, in the third and final match of their best-of-three quarterfinal series.

• Watch the Lega Volley Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà playoffs live on VBTV

With the victory, Novara, who won the Italian League title back in 2016-2017, will appear in the tournament’s semifinals for an eighth-straight season. Chieri, on the other hand, fell in the quarterfinals for a fifth-straight time and will need to wait at least another year to try to make it to Lega Femminile’s Final Four.

Novara’s most consistent player throughout the series, German outside hitter Lina Alsmeier again came up big for them in the decisive match, leading the team with 20 points (18 kills, one block, one ace). Serbian middle blocker Maja Aleksić, with 15 points, and Japanese star outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa, with 14, were other key pieces in the team’s victory.

Italian national team libero Eleonora Fersino took the match’s MVP award.

“We’re very happy, but also mentally exhausted because it was such a tense match,” Fersino said. “We were trailing the entire time, but managed to get the win thanks to the strength of our roster and because we played with our hearts. Conegliano will be a huge challenge, but we’ll give everything to be up for the task.”

Chieri’s main offensive players also had a strong night as American Olympic medalist outside hitter Avery Skinner led the team with 17 points (16 kills, one ace), followed by Dutch outside hitter Anne Buijs and French opposite Lucille Gicquel, who registered 14 each.

“I think it was a match of ups and downs for both sides and we can see that in the scores of each set,” libero Ilaria Spirito analyzed. “I thought we played good volleyball today. A five-set match is always decided in the details and they just didn’t go our way today.”

Lega Volley Femmnilie – Match Schedule & Results

The best-of-five semifinal series between Novara and Conegliano will start on Saturday, at 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT), at the Palaverde, in Villorba. On Sunday, Numia Vero Volley Milano and Savino Del Bene Scandicci get their series going at the same time, at the Allianz Cloud, in Milano.

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