Roma Volley Club Rome players celebrate (source: legavolleyfemminile.it)

Roma players celebrate

Roma Volley Club Rome will play in Italy’s Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile next season, returning to the top division after a season in the second level. The squad from the Italian capital triumphed as Serie A2 champions and earned promotion into the first of two spots among the 2023-2024 elite vacated by the relegated teams of Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia and CBF Balducci HR Macerata. Roma made their A1 debut in 2021-2022, but were relegated after their one season among the best women’s teams in the country.

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After cruising undefeated through the Serie A2 Pool B regular season, dropping only three sets along the way, Roma went on to win another five of the six matches in the winners pool, consisting of the top six from each of the Pools A and B, and topped the final standings on 80 points and a 25-1 win-loss record. In their last game of the season on Sunday, they crowned their success with a 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-8) home win over Pool A winners Itas Trentino Trento, who finished runners-up on 72 and 23-5.

“We are happy with this result and with having had the opportunity to celebrate this trophy in front of our fans,” said Roma’s setter and captain Marta Bechis. “We struggled, we suffered, but we achieved these goals, the Italy Cup and the Championship, which we really wanted. Let's celebrate now, but this is just one step. We'll see what the future will be like, but let's start from a good base. I dedicate this success to my teammates. We deserved it by creating a great group.”

The second vacancy in next season’s Serie A1 will be contested by the four teams that finished from second to fifth in the final standings. In the two best-of three semifinal playoff match-ups, Trentino will take on fifth-placed CDA Talmassons, while third-placed OMAG-MT San Giovanni in Marignano will lock horns with fourth-placed Valsabbina Millenium Brescia. The first leg is scheduled on Sunday, April 23, and the second – next Wednesday, April 26.

Lega Pallavolo Serie A2 Femminile’s Promotion Semifinals Leg 1 schedule:

Apr 23, 17:00 local (15:00 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v CDA Talmassons

Apr 23, 17:00 local (15:00 UTC): OMAG-MT San Giovanni in Marignano v Valsabbina Millenium Brescia