Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano and Allianz Vero Volley Milano gifted the 6,700 fans that packed the Pala Trieste and the many more watching from home with a memorable closing for the 46th edition of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa on Sunday.

After five sets of an intense battle, which featured every element of a historic match, Imoco came out on top, successfully defending the Coppa Italia title for a fourth-straight time to become six-time champions, with the last five victories coming in consecutive seasons.

• Watch Coppa Italia Frecciarossa matches on demand on VBTV.

Milano had arguably their best performance in weeks, but that still wasn’t enough to stop Imoco, who saw their rivals come back twice, but beat them in the end, securing a 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-11) victory that made them join Perugia and Ravenna as the only clubs with six Coppa Italia titles.

The victory also extended Imoco’s supremacy in Italian volleyball as the Panthers have now won each of the last 14 national tournaments they played, having five Italian League and five Supercoppa titles, as well as four Italian SuperCup trophies.

It was also the fifth-straight victory of Imoco against Milano in a national final in Italy. Prior to Sunday’s encounter, the teams had met in two Italian League, one Coppa Italia and one Italian SuperCup finals.

Imoco’s star setter Joanna Wolosz took home the MVP award after she led Imoco’s offense masterfully, getting four hitters to reach double digits in scoring and a fifth coming up just one point short of doing the same.

Swedish star opposite Isabelle Haak was the most productive of them, registering 23 points (21 kills, two blocks). American outside hitters Kelsey Cook and Kathryn Plummer came next, with 14 and 13 points respectively, followed by middle blockers Marina Lubian (11) and Sarah Farh (nine).

For the 31-year-old Cook, who’s set to leave Italy after two years and return home to play in the United States next season, the victory carried a special weight.

“It was a great game, it’s always fun to compete for a championship and go to five sets,” Cook said. “I’m really proud of the team. It was extra emotional because my parents and my husband were at the stadium and I know that’s probably my last Coppa Italia with this team. Every time I step on the court is emotional, there’s a lot of weight that I carry when I play, but also a lot of joy and I’m proud to be able to finish with this team. This part of the season is what we train for and we’re excited to get it started.”

**Coppa Italia - Results**

Milano, on the other hand, concentrated their offensive actions on star opposite Paola Egonu, who responded well and left the court with an extraordinary 35-point performance, built with 30 kills, four blocks and one ace. It was Egonu’s highest-scoring match with Milano and her third 30-point performance since joining the club ahead of the start of the season.

American middle blocker Danna Rettke, with 12 points (all in kills), and outside hitter Myriam Sylla, with ten (seven kills, three blocks), also reached double digits in scoring.

Imoco and Milano will both have CEV Champions League matches during the week before turning their focus back to the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà next weekend.

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