Legavolley Femminile A1 - 2022

Near-the-top clash to highlight weekend in Italy

Watch the 20th leg of Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile matches live on VBTV

Published 04:31, 25 Feb 2023

Vero Volley’s Jordan Thompson spikes against the block of fellow American Haleigh Washington of Savino Del Bene (source: legavolleyfemminile.it)

Vero Volley’s Jordan Thompson spikes against the block of fellow American Haleigh Washington of Savino Del Bene

The 20th leg of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile regular season is set to take place over the weekend with a game on Saturday and another six on Sunday. A clash of the highest level, between third-placed Vero Volley Milan and second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci, seems certain to highlight Sunday’s action in Italy.

  • Watch all Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 matches live or on demand on VBTV.

Vero Volley will entertain Savino Del Bene at Arena Di Monza at 17:00 local time (16:00 UTC) on February 26. Both teams are riding the waves of long winning streaks and are well positioned to play a major role during the playoff showdown at the end of the season.

Since losing to table leaders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano in late January, the team from Milan has won three consecutive Italian league matches, in addition to two CEV Champions League games. On a 15-4 win-loss record and 45 points, they stand third in the table, three points short of Savino Del Bene, who have also won 15 of their 19 matches so far. The squad from Scandicci has been on a winning run that has now lasted for six games in a row, three in the national league and three in the continental CEV Cup.

Savino Del Bene lead the head-to-head record by 10 wins to 9. However, Vero Volley came out victorious the last six times the two teams met. Savino’s last success over their opponents dates back to a Supercoppa Italiana game in September 2020. When they met in November, the visitors from Milan produced a hard-fought 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 15-8) win.

Both clubs feature stellar rosters and players of the highest international calibre are set to hit the court in Monza on Sunday. Led by American Olympic champions Jordan Larson and Jordan Thompson, and Serbian world champion Jovana Stevanovic, Vero Volley will try to find a way to the three points against Savino Del Bene, which would lift the team from Milan to the second place in the standings. To avoid that, the visitors from Scandicci will rely on the likes of Chinese stars Zhu Ting and Yao Di, as well as 19-year-old Russian prodigy Ekaterina Antropova, the best server of the league so far, among others.

The weekend will open on Saturday, February 25, with a game between Il Bisonte Florence and Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia, starting at 20:30 local time (19:30 UTC). Skilfully conducted by their new playmaker, Italian national team setter Ofelia Malinov, and spearheaded by Belgian scoring machine Britt Herbots, Il Bisonte are on an amazing five-game winning streak that has helped them rise to ninth place in the standings on 26 points, six points above 10th-placed Megabox. The team from Vallefoglia, on the other hand, have won only one of their last five matches. Il Bisonte won all three of their previous A1 encounters with Megabox, so Russian captain Tatyana Kosheleva, Serbian middle blocker Maja Aleksic, American internationals Andrea Drews and Micha Hancock and the rest of their teammates will be eager to reverse that course and get closer to the race for the playoff spots.

“We have to face Megabox also taking advantage of what happened in our last five consecutive victories. We won some difficult matches in the photo finish, but we need to understand where we can still improve. It will be important for us to take advantage of the home court factor in order to have a more decisive approach to the match and be more aggressive in some fundamentals, starting with the serve.” Carlo Parisi, head coach of Il Bisonte Florence
“We will certainly have a great desire to start scoring points again. How to play it? It will be essential to raise the level of reception to help Hancock play her game. At the same time, we need more hustle in defence.” Alessio Simone, coach of Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia

Sunday’s programme will also offer interesting duels that might potentially narrow down the 10-point gap between the fifth and the sixth place. Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri, now fourth on 39 points, will host e-work Busto Arsizio, sixth on 28. Later in the evening, fifth-placed Igor Gorgonzola Novara (38) will welcome seventh-placed Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore (28) to close the weekend’s action. Also on 28 points, but standing seventh in the table, Volley Bergamo 1991 will entertain 12th-placed Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia.

Defending champs and table leaders Imoco are most likely to add another win to their impressive tally as they host Wash4Green Pinerolo, placed 13th, under the cut-off relegation line. Meanwhile, bottom-of-the table CBF Balducci HR Macerata will try to upset 11th-placed Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo for a breath of air in the fight for survival.

Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s 20th leg schedule:

Feb 25, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Il Bisonte Florence v Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Vero Volley Milan v Savino Del Bene Scandicci

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri v e-work Busto Arsizio

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): CBF Balducci HR Macerata v Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Volley Bergamo 1991 v Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia

Feb 26, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano v Wash4Green Pinerolo

Feb 26, 19:30 local (18:30 UTC): Igor Gorgonzola Novara v Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore

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