Casalmaggiore take the playoff race to the last leg

The race to the playoffs will continue until the very last day of the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà regular season as Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore defied the odds again on Saturday, during the 12^th leg of the second round of the Italian League.

The team came out on top of the direct battle for qualification against Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia and kept its chances of ending the regular season inside the qualification zone alive. Besides Vallefoglia, Casalmaggiore also pose a threat to Wash4Green Pinerolo and Roma Volley Club, who play on Sunday, when they can secure their spots in the postseason, leaving just two of the current three spots still up for grabs.

• Watch Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1 matches live on VBTV.

Saturday’s encounter was pivotal for both teams as while Casalmaggiore needed all three points to keep their playoff hopes alive, Vallefoglia had the opportunity of bringing the dispute to an end – they needed to take just one point to do it.

Playing at home in Cremona, Casalmaggiore fed from the energy of their fans to get their seventh victory in the last nine matches, triumphing 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-16). The four-set win made the team get to 31 points (ten wins), just three behind Vallefoglia, Pinerolo and Roma, who all have 11 wins.

Malwina Smarzek and Simone Lee were huge difference-makers for Casalmaggiore in the match. While the Polish opposite led all scorers with 26 points (23 kills, three blocks), the American outside hitter added another 21, with 19 kills and two blocks.

“We are very happy,” said libero Chiara De Bortoli, who was recognized as the match’s MVP. “We continue to turn things around after a difficult first round and the playoffs remain on the horizon for us. I was glad to see that we managed to stay calm after dropping the first set and that we got to come back and win it.”

Also involved in the race for the playoffs, Pinerolo needed just one point against league leaders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano in Villorba, but returned home with none after they were handed a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-21) loss.

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

With that, Vallefoglia and Pinerolo will get to the last leg of the regular season needing just one point (or to win two sets) to qualify – they play Allianz Vero Volley Milano and Itas Trentino, respectively. Casalmaggiore will need to beat Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri 3-0 or 3-1, hope that their rivals don’t collect any points in their matches and that they have the edge in the set ratio.

Also on Saturday, Milano defeated Il Bisonte Firenze 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21) and Trentino topped Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio also 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21).

More matches on Sunday

The 12^th leg of the second round of the regular season will be completed on Sunday, with three more matches. Savino Del Bene Scandicci will face Roma at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT), while Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo will host Chieri and Igor Gorgonzola Novara will welcome Volley Bergamo at 19:30 local time (18:30 GMT).

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