Wednesday will be a busy day for Italian women’s volleyball as the top eight teams of the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà first round will get on the court to compete in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa.

Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, Allianz Vero Volley Milano, Savino Del Bene Scandicci, Igor Gorgonzola Novara, Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri, Wash4Green Pinerolo, Roma Volley Club and Il Bisonte Firenze are the candidates to take the title of the 46^th edition of the tournament, which will culminate with the Final Four, in Trieste, on February 17-18.

• Watch Coppa Italia Frecciarossa matches live on VBTV.

The first of the four quarterfinals will start at 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT), in Firenze, and will feature Scandicci and Pinerolo. Both teams will be playing for their first titles in the tournament and are coming from weekend victories in the Lega Femminile as, while Scandicci topped Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore on the road, Pinerolo secured a home win against Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia.

"Making it to Final Four of the Coppa Italia has been an issue for us, at least since I got here," said Scandicci's head coach Massino Barbolini. "Pinerolo are one of the big surprises of the season, they've been playing really well and it's going to be a challenge for us, so we need to prepare the best we can."

Playing at home, Scandicci enter the match after they won the three encounters they had against Pinerolo over the last two years, including the most recent one, in December, when they prevailed in three sets on the road.

Imoco trying fifth straight title

Defending champions Imoco are looking for their fifth-straight and sixth overall Coppa Italia title. If they manage to defend the title, they will be the first team to win five straight editions of the tournament and will tie Volley Bergamo 1991 for the most gold medals.

Their quarterfinal opponents in the match that will start at 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT) in Villorba will be Firenze. Still undefeated in the season with 24 victories, Imoco have last lost to their rivals in 2021, having triumphed in the six most recent duels.

"These last few matches have been tough as we played two tie-breakers and had a difficult Champions League encounter in between," Imoco's coach Daniele Santarelli reflected. "The team showed character to overcome the difficulties but this match will be different as there will be no room for mistakes. We want to make it to the Final Four, but we need to earn it and for that to happen we'll have to play better than we've been doing recently."

Coppa Italia - Match Schedule

Also at 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT), Milano will host Roma. Last year’s runners-up, they are still looking for their first Coppa Italia title, while Roma are making their first appearance in the event.

"Roma are coming from a big match against Imoco and they are a team that's always ready to take advantage of your errors," Milano's head coach Marco Gaspari analyzed. "Our blocking and defense will need to be very effective and we'll need to limit our errors compared to the last matches."

The teams have met three times since 2021 and Milano won all three matches without dropping sets, including one this season, back in November.

The fourth and final quarterfinal duel, also scheduled for 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT), will have Novara welcoming Chieri in what tends to be the most balanced encounter of the opening round of the tournament.

Novara have four Coppa Italia titles to their name and want to return to the top of the podium for the first time since 2019. They have won four of the last five matches against Chieri, having topped them twice already in the ongoing Lega Femminile season.

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