Egonu keeps Conegliano in charge of Italian women's league with 76th win

Paola Egonu produced another top scoring performance, pounding home 28 points and earning the MVP of the match award as she led Prosecco Doc Imoco Volley Conegliano to recovery from a one-set deficit for a 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-21) win on the road over Savino Del Bene Scandicci as the Italian women's league continued over the weekend with Round 9.

But Conegliano could have been in serious trouble had they not persevered in the second set to come back from 8-12 down and hold off Scandicci to finish it after two set points and avoid going two sets down.

Egonu registered a 53% (26/49) attacking efficiency as the USA duo of Kathryn Plummer and Megan Courtney added another 14 and 13 points respectively to help Conegliano avoid any complications.

It was the 76th consecutive win for Conegliano across all seasons and competitions. Last week they had taken full ownership of the Guinness World Record with win number 74 for the longest winning streak and had extended that midweek in their opener for the European Champions League.

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The defending champions have now extended their lead at the top of the standings, five points clear (though with a match extra) of Igor Gorgonzola Novara who dropped a point to Unet E-Work Busto Arsizio after surviving a five-set scare for a 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 11-25, 25-23, 15-13) on the road.

Nika Daalderop of the Netherlands was named MVP of the match and Caterina Bosetti also provided some solid play to keep Novara alive, despite the two top scorers of the game coming from Scandicci's Alexa Gray of Canada (24 points) and Camila Mingardi (21).

Elsewhere, Vero Volley Monza took advantage of Scandicci's defeat to climb to third place in the standings after another five-set thriller as MVP of the game Magdalena Stysiak of Poland lifted them to a 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 25-11, 22-25, 15-12) over Bosca S.Bernardo Cuneo.

Stysiak's blocking stopped her opponents seven times as she scored 21 points overall - though the match high of 24 was shared between her teammate Lise Van Hecke of Belgium and Cuneo's Sofya Kuznetsova of Russia.

And another Belgian also stepped up on Sunday as Kaja Grobelna helped Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri survive yet another tie-break with a 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 15-8) win over Il Bisonte of Florence - though only after coach Giulio Cesare Bregoli extensively shifted his team around.

Grobelna shared the match high of 23 points with her opponent Sylvia Nwakalor.

In other weekend action, Hanna Klimets of Belarus led Acqua & Sapone Roma Volley Club as they outlasted Volley Bergamo 3-2 (20-25, 25-14, 14-25. 25-14, 15-13). Klimets scored 22 points as her side twice came back from a set down, countering the match high of 26 by USA's Khalia Lanier for Bergamo.

Meanwhile, Vbc Trasporti Pesanti Casalmaggiore shut out Delta Despar Trentino 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-21) on the road with MVP of the match Ellen Braga of Brazil attacking for 63% (15/24) and scoring a match high of 18 points.

And Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia found their winning ways again with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21) win at home in Urbino over Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia, inspired by MVP of the match Kenia Carcaces of Cuba who came in off the bench to attack for 60% (18/30) and share the match high of 18 points with her teammate Tatiana Kosheleva of Russia.

Get all the details from all the matches of the Italian League here.

The League continues next weekend with Round 10 of the Regular Season with all matches streamed live on VolleyballWorld.tv.