LVF Serie A1 Coppa Italia - News.

Milano

Veteran Raphaela Folie was brilliant for Milano against Scandicci (Photo: LVF)

Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano and Allianz Vero Volley Milano are set to meet in another national final, their fifth since 2022, on Sunday, as the giants will decide the title of the 46th edition of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa in Trieste.

After eliminating Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri and Savino Del Bene Scandicci respectively on Saturday in the semifinals, Imoco and Milano will return to the Pala Trieste at 14:15 local time (13:15 GMT), for the tournament’s final.

  • Watch Coppa Italia Frecciarossa matches live on VBTV.

This will be the fifth encounter between the teams with a title on the line since May 2022. Since then, Imoco and Milano have battled in two Italian League, one Coppa Italia and one Italian SuperCup finals, with the Panthers winning on each of the four occasions.

Just one win away from their fifth-straight and sixth overall Coppa Italia title, Imoco had a relatively uneventful semifinal duel with Chieri, downing the quarterfinals sensations 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-12) in the first match of the day on Saturday.

Middle blocker Sarah Fahr shone in the match, leading all scorers with 16 points (13 kills, two aces, one block). She outscored both Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak, who left the court with 15 points (13 kills, one block, one ace), and American outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, who produced 14 (eight kills, three blocks, three aces).

Belgian opposite Kaja Grobelna was the only Chieri player to reach double digits in scoring – she tallied 11 points, with eight kills, two aces and one block.

Milano triumph in a five-set thriller

Milano’s path to make it to the final was much tougher as the team, which is fighting for its first Coppa Italia title, needed all five sets to overcome Scandicci in a 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 15-10) match that completed the Final Four opening day's schedule in Trieste.

Star opposite Paola Egonu led Milano’s offense with 25 points (19 kills, four aces, two blocks), but the team could also count on heavy production from its middles, with Raphaela Folie scoring 18 points (13 kills, five blocks) and American Dana Rettke adding another 14 (ten kills, three blocks, one ace).

“This was a big team victory,” Folie reacted. “We had our ups and downs and I’m happy that I was able to contribute to the team’s success. It wasn’t easy to turn things around after three losses, but we managed to advance and this final is very important for us.”

The match’s top scorer was Scandicci’s opposite Ekaterina Antropova, who registered an impressive 29 points, with 22 kills, four aces and three blocks.

**Coppa Italia - Match Schedule and Results**

Imoco have been extremely successful in their matches against Milano, having prevailed in 28 of the 33 encounters featuring the teams. The defending champions dominated the last five duels, having last lost to their rivals in May 2023, in the final upset before the start of their current 31-match winning streak.

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