Rookies Savino Del Bene on to Club Worlds final

FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship rookies Savino Del Bene Scandicci qualified for Sunday’s 2025 gold medal showdown, and they are yet to lose a set in Sao Paulo. In the first semifinal on Saturday, they took out Brazil’s Dentil Praia Clube Uberlandia in straight sets, but not without a hard-fought duel on the court. This way, the Italian team secured a historic podium spot for their club, while Praia failed to get past the Club World Championship semifinals for the third time in a row.

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Capitalizing on the more abundant opponents’ unforced errors (22 against 16), Savino Del Bene edged Praia in each of the sets to celebrate a 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-19) victory. They also outperformed their rivals in net defense, by 10-7 in kill blocks, and slightly in offense, by 41-40 in spike kills. Each of the two sides produced three serving aces.

The first set offered a fierce battle with the lead going back and forth several times. The only time the gap went as wide as three points was at 21-18 after some fantastic blocking from Savino Del Bene. Praia reacted with three in a row with a solid contribution from Bulgarian sub-in Maria Koleva in attack to level the score again and prompt an exciting epilog. Finally, Caterina Bosetti brought in a 24-23 set point for the Italian side before a Praia attack went out of bounds to end the set.

The second set offered a very similar story. With 22-year-old opposite Ekaterina Antropova on fire in attack and on the serve, and Avery Skinner putting in some great blocking, Savino Del Bene managed to maintain a lead for a while, but the first time the gap exceeded two points was at 20-17. The Italian team reached a double set point at 24-22, but Praia cancelled that to push the set into overtime. Moments later, a monster block by sub-in middle Emma Graziani ended the set at 26-24 Savino Del Bene’s way.

The Italian side broke away early into the third set, but the battle on the court kept burning for every point. The Brazilian team even stepped in front momentarily, but Savino Del Bene regained control and never let it go. Gradually expanding the gap, they went on to close the set at a six-point margin with a block-out shot by Skinner for the match winner.

Antropova authored all three of her team’s aces and spiked 16 points in attack at a 52% success rate to contribute a match-high total of 20 points towards Savino Del Bene’s victory. Skinner raised three kill blocks and registered a 57% success rate in offense to finish with 16 points. Praia’s American players – opposite Morgahn Fingall and outside hitter Payton Caffrey – led their team with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

The second Club World Championship semifinal, between Italy’s Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano and tournament hosts Osasco Sao Cristovao Saude of Brazil, will serve off at 16:30 local time (19:30 UTC).

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