Conegliano level Italian League Finals with amazing comeback

The Lega Pallavolo vivo Serie A1 Femminile Finals aren’t ending anytime soon after defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Volley Conegliano evened the best-of-five series against Vero Volley Monza and guaranteed the need for at least two more encounters between the two teams to determine the 2021-2022 Italian League champions.

Conegliano were on the road at the sold-out Monza Arena and under pressure after losing the opening match of the series at home on Saturday. That showed when Monza won the first two sets, but the reigning European champions were able to regroup on time and took the match 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-10) to tie the series 1-1.

A crucial third match between Conegliano and Monza will take place on Saturday, in Treviso, at 20.45 CET / 18.45 GMT. The fourth encounter is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10, at the same time, back in Monza.

Watch the third match of the Italian League Final between Conegliano and Monza live on Volleyball TV at 20.45 CET / 18.45 GMT on Saturday.

The match’s MVP, star opposite Paola Egonu carried Conegliano’s offence once again with 29 points. The 23-year-old scoring machine had 25 kills, two blocks and two aces and hit at a 47% efficiency rate.

Unlike what happened during the first match of the series, however, Egonu got significant help from outside hitters Kathryn Plummer and Miriam Sylla, who tallied 17 (15 kills, one block, one ace) and 14 (12 kills, one block, one ace) points, respectively. Middle blocker Robin de Kruijf also had a solid night with 11 points (nine kills, two blocks).

“These are the Italian League Finals and you have to fight until the end no matter what,” said Conegliano captain and setter Joanna Wolosz. “It was really difficult to play with the atmosphere Monza fans created and we had to leave our hearts on the court. We expected them to play as well as they did, but made way too many mistakes at the beginning. We got our game going by the end of the second set and got it done. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was efficient.”

Libero Monica De Gennaro was also pivotal to Conegliano’s comeback. Besides passing at a 47% efficiency rate, the veteran, who was recently called up for the Italian national team, made several important digs in the tie-breaker.

Belgian opposite Lise van Hecke was again Monza’s most prolific offensive player, leaving the court with 18 points (16 kills, two blocks). Outside hitters Hanna Davyskiba and Jordan Larson also reached double digits for the home side with 13 (12 kills, one ace) and 12 (all in kills) points, respectively.

“Unfortunately, I feel like we relaxed a little bit after the second set and lost our offensive firepower,” Daviskyba reacted. “We did great with our passing and defence during the entire match, but from the third set on, our offence was not as effective as usual. I hope we can get back to our best level in the next match so we can regain the lead in the series.”

Quick links:

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Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
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