2024 club world champions Antonio Carraro Imoco Conegliano will have the opportunity to defend their title at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship. On Sunday, the Italian powerhouse defended their continental crown in Europe’s CEV Champions League and along with runners-up Savino Del Bene Scandicci, also of Italy, qualified for this year’s global event as Europe’s representatives.
Imoco to defend 2024 club world crown in 2025
Another Italian team, Savino Del Bene, qualify for Club World Championship for the first time
Published 06:45, 05 May 2025
Imoco’s players triumphant with the CEV Champions League trophy (source: CEV)
Imoco will battle for their fourth club world crown, after winning the planet’s top club event in 2019, in 2022 and in 2024. It will be their fifth participation. They have reached the trophy final at each of the previous four. Savino Del Bene, on the other hand, are set to make their historic debut at the Club World Championships.
The squad from Conegliano won all 10 of their matches during the Champions League season, losing only two sets in the process – in one of their pool-stage matches and in Saturday’s semifinal. At the Final Four event held at the Ulker Sports Arena in Istanbul over the weekend, Imoco claimed a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 25-23) semifinal win over fellow Italians Numia Vero Volley Milan and hammered out a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-19) sweep of Sunday’s final against Savino Del Bene to collect their third continental title, after winning the competition in 2021 and in 2024 as well. The sixth Champions League final in the club’s history was played in front of over 5,400 spectators on the stands.
With this, Imoco put together a complete sweep of all five possible trophies this season. In addition to the world crown and the continental title, they picked up all three domestic trophies – in the national league, the national cup and the national super cup.
Savino Del Bene secured their historic appearance at the Club World Championships with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-21) semifinal win over heavyweights VakifBank Istanbul of the host country Türkiye. In fact, they reached the final without dropping a single set in the nine games played along the way.
To complete an all-Italian podium, Vero Volley achieved a 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18) victory over VakifBank for the bronze, their second Champions League medal, after the silver in 2024.
A total of 25 teams representing Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Türkiye took part in the 2024-2025 Champions League season.
Imoco’s 25-year-old Swedish star opposite Isabelle Haak was named Most Valuable Player of the Champions League for the second (back-to-back) time in her career. She is also a three-time Club World Championship MVP as she earned the high honors in 2021, in 2022 and in 2024.
While VakifBank’s Italian head coach Giovanni Guidetti claimed the Best Coach award, seven players were voted on the Champions League’s All-Star Team by the fans, the teams’ coaches and the teams’ captains:
Setter: Alessia Orro (Vero Volley)
Opposite: Paola Egonu (Vero Volley)
Outside hitters: Zhu Ting (Imoco) and Gabriela Guimaraes (Imoco)
Middle blockers: Hena Kurtagic (Vero Volley) and Marina Lubian (Imoco)
Libero: Monica De Gennaro (Imoco)
