Allianz Vero Volley Milano showed strength and produced one of their best performances of the season to successfully defend the second place in the standings of the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà on Saturday, the first day of matches of the third leg of the second round of the regular season.

Playing on the road, they topped direct competitors Savino Del Bene Scandicci to not only remain in second place but also create a five-point separation from their chasers (43 points to 38).

• Watch Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1 matches live on VBTV.

Now undefeated in their last 16 matches, Milano ended Scandicci’s 15-match winning streak in an emphatic way, taking their opponents down 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-15) in front of their home fans at the Palazzo Wanny, in Firenze.

The duel between the two top scorers of the Italian League set the tone for the outcome of the match as Milano’s Paola Egonu doubled the production of her Scandicci counterpart Ekaterina Antropova, leaving the court with a match-high 20 points (16 kills, three aces, one block).

Also significantly contributing to the winners’ offense were Belgian middle blocker Laura Heyrman, who notched ten points (eight kills, two blocks), and Dutch outside hitter Nika Daalderop, who took home the MVP award and added nine, with eight kills and one block.

“We’re all very happy because we showed we are a tight group,” outside hitter Myriam Sylla said. “We stuck together in the difficult moments against a very good team. We had a tough week, but got the results we wanted and will go back home to Milan with a smile on our faces.”

High-scoring Belgian outside hitter Britt Herbots was the second most productive player for Scandicci, tallying eight points, with seven kills and one block.

This weekend’s triumph was Milano’s fourth-straight victory over Scandicci and also their eighth in the last 11 encounters. They now have the historical lead in the series, with 13 wins to 12 of their opponents.

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

The other match of the day impacted the bottom of the standings, with 12^th-placed Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore coming from behind to bury Itas Trentino in last place with a 3-2 (26-28, 24-26, 25-18, 25-19, 17-15) victory. Trentino have only four points and are now seven points behind both Casalmaggiore and Volley Bergamo 1991.

Five matches on Sunday

The weekend’s round in Italy will be completed with five matches on Sunday. Four of them will start at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT) - Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano vs Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri, Bergamo vs. Il Bisonte Firenze, Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia vs. Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo and Igor Gorgonzola Novara vs. Wash4Green Pinerolo.

The calendar will be completed at 19:30 local time (18:30 GMT), when Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio host Aeroitalia Roma Volley.

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Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà
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