Firenze snatch big road win and climb back to eighth

The race for the playoffs of the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà had another chapter this weekend, with the second leg of the second round of the regular season, and Il Bisonte Firenze collected valuable points, returning to the qualification zone.

With outside hitters Lina Alsmeier and Mayu Ishikawa combining for 50 points, Firenze claimed a huge road win over Wash4Green Pinerolo on Sunday and moved up to eighth place.

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Firenze recovered from a home loss to Savino Del Bene Scandicci on December 26 by going on the road and topping Pinerolo 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 24-26, 25-20) to get to 19 points (seven wins, eight losses) and surpass Roma Volley Club, who fell to Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-16) on Saturday and continued with 18 (six wins, nine losses).

Firenze counted on stellar performances from their outside hitter duo to upset Pinerolo, who are sixth in the standings with 21 points (seven wins, eight losses). While MVP Alsmeier left the court with 28 points (22 kills, four blocks, two aces), Japanese star Ishikawa contributed another 22, with 20 kills and two aces.

“I’m very happy with this victory,” setter Ilaria Battistoni reflected. “We really needed it after losing our last match. I wish we hadn’t lost the third set, but I’m also proud of how we came back to win the fourth. We still have a lot to improve, but today’s match showed we are on the right path. When our passing is good, we can play run a fast-paced offense and that makes things harder for our opponents. That’s what happened today.”

Firenze’s victory was the only upset of the weekend as in each of the other five matches the higher-ranked team prevailed. That was the case with leaders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, who played at home against Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo and secured a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-19) win thanks to 16 points (14 kills, two blocks) of Swedish star opposite Isabelle Haak.

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Milano spoils Mazzanti’s debut with Trentino

Also on Sunday, second-placed Allianz Vero Volley Milano were dominant as well, topping an enthusiastic Itas Trentino side 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-22) in the first match of former Italian national team head coach Davide Mazzanti with the team that sits at the bottom of the standings.

A longtime member of Mazzanti’s selection with the national team, opposite Paola Egonu punished her former coach with a tremendous performance, producing 20 points (16 kills, three aces, one block) in just three sets.

“We started the match well, with the right attitude,” said Milano’s middle blocker Raphaela Folie. “They struggled a little bit at the beginning, but never gave up and then found their rhythm, creating many difficulties for us. I think we did a good job in the key moments and managed to get a nice 3-0 win at home.”

Completing the Italian ‘Big Three’, Scandicci dropped a set to Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio at home on Saturday, but walked away with a 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-15, 25-11) victory – opposite Ekaterina Antropova led the way with 21 points (15 kills, five aces, one block).

In the sixth and last match of the weekend, seventh-placed Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia dominated 12^th-placed Volley Bergamo 1991 to a 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-13) home victory on Saturday.

The match between Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore and Igor Gorgonzola Novara was postponed and will be played at a later date. Next week’s Italian League calendar will feature two matches on Saturday and five on Sunday.

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