Exact playoff matchups and last relegated team to be confirmed on Saturday

The last leg of Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s regular season in Italy will be played on Saturday with the suspense coming mostly around the confirmation of the exact line-up for the upcoming quarterfinals and of the second relegated team. All seven matches will start at the same time, at 20:30 local (18:30 UTC).

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While reigning club world champions and defending Italian title-holders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano have been sure to top the final regular season standings for a while, Savino Del Bene Scandicci (currently with 61 points) will “travel” to Il Bisonte Florence, who actually host their games at the same venue as Savino Del Bene, the Palazzo Wanny. The squad from Scandicci will need to win at least two sets to consolidate their second-place finish. Otherwise, third-placed Vero Volley Milan (58 points) will have a shot at taking over the runner-up spot ahead of the playoffs, if they take away the three points from their visit to e-work Busto Arsizio.

The distribution of the fourth and fifth places in the final standings is also under question. Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri are currently three points ahead of Igor Gorgonzola Novara, but should they lose by 3-0 or 3-1 at Wash4Green Pinerolo, the girls from Novara will likely take advantage of their home game against Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo with a three-point victory, which will place them above the team from Chieri, in position four.

Further down the table, it will be a three-way race to determine the places from sixth to eighth. Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore are currently sixth on 37 points, followed by e-work Busto Arsizio on 36 and Volley Bergamo 1991 on 34. The latter does not have a mathematical shot at taking over Trasportipesanti due to their set ratios, even if they shut out their visitors from Casalmaggiore in Bergamo on Saturday.

However, e-work could potentially move by one position in either direction and that depends on the results of both their home game against Vero Volley and the clash between Bergamo and Trasportipesanti.

"We are very energized after the two victories over Casalmaggiore and Cuneo. We have reached the playoffs, but we want to end the regular season in the best possible position,” said e-work’s 18-year-old libero Chiara Bressan. “Milan have a great complete roster, with many strong players also on the bench, and attackers difficult to control. We worked well during the week and we know that we will still have to do something more than what we did in the last few matches, if we want to stay in the game and try to snatch points. The e-work Arena will be pretty full and this brings even more motivation for all of us.”

As they entertain their visitors from Chieri on Saturday, 12th-placed Wash4Green are just two sets away from salvation in A1. However, if they lose by 3-0 or 3-1, they are running a risk of being overtaken by Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia. The squad from Perugia will indeed have an extremely difficult task claiming the three points that they need as they host mighty Imoco.

“We just have to think about the next match and give our best,” said Bartoccini-Fortinfissi’s 20-year-old libero Martina Armini. “We will play at home and in the second half of the regular season we showed that we have something extra at the Pala Barton. So we will try in every possible way.”

Whichever of the two teams manage to avoid relegation will also have a shot in the race for Italy’s spot in next season’s CEV Challenge Cup competition. In the first phase of that race, the 12th-placed team will take on the ninth-placed team, while the squads in positions 10 and 11 will also lock horns in an attempt to join the four quarterfinal playoff losers into the next phase.

So their starting positions in this additional race are what is at stake for Il Bisonte, Cuneo and Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia as they approach their last games of the regular season. They are currently placed from ninth to 11th, in that order, with one-point gaps in between. On Saturday, the girls from Vallefoglia will visit the already relegated CBF Balducci HR Macerata.

So their starting positions in this additional race are what is at stake for Il Bisonte, Cuneo and Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia as they approach their last games of the regular season. They are currently placed from ninth to 11th, in that order, with one-point gaps in between. On Saturday, the girls from Vallefoglia will visit the already relegated CBF Balducci HR Macerata.

Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s 25th leg schedule:

Apr 8, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia v Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano

Apr 8, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): e-work Busto Arsizio v Vero Volley Milan

Apr 8, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Il Bisonte Florence v Savino Del Bene Scandicci

Apr 8, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Wash4Green Pinerolo v Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri

Apr 8, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Igor Gorgonzola Novara v Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo

Apr 8, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): CBF Balducci HR Macerata v Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia

Apr 8, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Volley Bergamo 1991 v Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore

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