Race for playoffs heats up as Il Bisonte grab fifth consecutive win

Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s 19th leg closed on Tuesday with a dramatic five-setter, which marked Il Bisonte Firenze’s fifth consecutive win and heated up the race for the spots in the playoffs even further, especially after e-work Busto Arsizio hammered out a straight-set win over Volley Bergamo 1991 over the weekend, while Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore suffered their third loss in a row.

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Twice during their game at Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo, Il Bisonte were behind in the score, but twice they managed to come back before winning the tie-breaker in the overtime to celebrate a 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-20, 17-15) victory. Opposite Sylvia Nwakalor and Belgian outside hitter Britt Herbots were Il Bisonte’s leading scorers with 21 points each. Nwakalor’s tally included four kill blocks, while Herbotts added another two. The latter was named Most Valuable Player of the match. Cuneo’s Russian outside Sofya Kuznetsova fired five serving aces towards a match-high 25 points. Her cross-court teammate Greta Szakmary of Hungary scored 24 times, while French opposite Lucille Gicquel added another 22 points for the home team.

While Cuneo outattacked (73 kills against 57) and outserved (seven aces against none) Il Bisonte, the team from Florence outblocked their opponents with 16 stuffs against eight.

With this win, ninth-placed Il Bisonte improved to a 9-10 win-loss record and 26 points, just two points below the cut-off line for the playoffs. Cuneo dropped to 6-13 and 18 in 11th place.

"I'm dead-tired!” exclaimed Herbots after the match. “It was a tough game right up to the end. We knew that Cuneo always play well at home, but for us scoring points was the most important thing and I'm proud of our team for not giving up despite the bad first set. I'm very happy because the girls who entered contributed the energy that was needed. I say ‘well done’ to the whole team."

On Sunday evening, e-work Busto Arsizio produced a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-22) shutout of Volley Bergamo 1991, putting a stop to the opponents’ three-game winning streak and rising up the table to sixth place on 28 points and a 9-10 win-loss record surpassing both eighth-placed Bergamo and seventh-placed Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore on set ratio. Brazilian opposite Rosamaria Montibeller led the home team to victory with a match-high 20 points, all in attack at a 59% success rate, and earned the MVP award. Cypriot middle Katerina Zakchaiou impressed with five kill blocks towards a total tally of 12 points. Outside Loveth Omoruyi was the only other player in the match to reach the double digits with 11 points towards Busto Arsizio’s win.

“I'm proud of the team and how it's improving over the course of the season,” Rosamaria commented. “The block-defence is doing an excellent job and I think we will be able to climb further up the standings, taking more satisfaction in the season finale.”

After a three-game losing streak, Trasportipesanti descended to seventh place. On Sunday, visiting table leaders and defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano celebrated a 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 26-24) shutout of the team from Casalmaggiore. Swedish star opposite Isabelle Haak hammered three aces towards the match high of 19 points and claimed the MVP nomination. Middle blocker Marina Lubian also fired three aces to reach the double digits on 10 points, while American outside Kathryn Plummer delivered four kill blocks towards a 14-point match tally. Her compatriot Alexandra Frantti also produced 14 points to lead the scorers on Casalmaggiore’s side. Imoco improved to 52 and 18-1 on top of the table.

“It wasn't an easy match,” said Haak. “We knew Casalmaggiore were an excellent team and it was a tough game indeed. They defended a lot and at times attacked very well. We were good at staying organized and keeping up our pace throughout the match. It was important to win and get three points here and we did it by playing a good game. Now we look forward to the next matches.”

In another interesting match, Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri mastered a 3-1 (25-22, 14-25, 25-15, 28-26) home victory over Igor Gorgonzola Novara on Saturday to overtake the opponents in the standings. The team from Chieri climbed to fourth place on 39 and 13-6, leaving Igor behind in fifth on 38 and 14-5.

The MVP award went to Polish outside Olivia Rozanski, who contributed 15 points, including two aces and a block. The winners’ Belgian captain Kaja Grobelna was one of the two top scorers of the match with 17 points, including three blocks. The other one was Igor’s American opposite McKenzie Adams with 14 successful spikes, two aces and a kill block.

Also on Saturday, 13th-placed Wash4Green Pinerolo managed a 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-14) home victory over 12th-placed Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia to keep their hopes for survival in the top division alive. The gap between the two teams, who are neighbours in the table, but across the red line for relegation, is now down to just two points.

Second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci and third-placed Vero Volley Milano made sure they did not fall further behind Imoco by securing three-point victories over the weekend. The team from Scandicci claimed a 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-21) home win over bottom-of-the-table CBF Balducci HR Macerata, while the squad from Milan took a 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-22) away win over Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia.

Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s 20th leg schedule:

Feb 25, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Il Bisonte Firenze v Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Vero Volley Milano v Savino Del Bene Scandicci

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri v e-work Busto Arsizio

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): CBF Balducci HR Macerata v Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Volley Bergamo 1991 v Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano v Wash4Green Pinerolo

Feb 26, 19:30 local (18:30 UTC): Igor Gorgonzola Novara v Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore

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