Lega Volley Femminile A1 2023

Last Coppa Italia spots up for grabs as LVF half-season rounds off

Watch the 13th leg of Italian Serie A1 matches on Friday and Saturday live on VBTV

Published 07:38, 22 Dec 2023

Roma Volley (source: legavolleyfemminile.it)

The first half of Italy’s 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1 Tigota regular season is about to end this weekend with the last two available tickets to the upcoming Coppa Italia quarterfinals finding their owners as the matches of the 13th leg take place on Friday and Saturday. The top eight teams in the Serie A1 standings after the end of the 13th leg will qualify for the national cup competition and the teams that are currently among the top six can no longer be pushed down below the cut-off, while the next four teams are still in the race for the remaining two vacancies.

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

All four candidates have difficult away matches on Saturday at 20:30 local time (19:30 UTC). Three of them are visiting opponents in the top four of the current standings.

Seventh-placed Roma Volley Club Rome are the closest to claiming one of the quarterfinal berths, but they have a tough trip to fourth-placed Igor Gorgonzola Novara. Should the girls from the Italian capital win at least two sets in Novara, they will be sure of finishing among the top eight. Otherwise, they will have to rely on results in other games to leave them above the red line.

Roma are currently on 17 points, one point above eighth-placed Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia, and three points above ninth-placed Il Bisonte Florence and 10th-placed UYBA Volley Busto Arsizio, the other three teams in contention for the Coppa Italia vacancies.

Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia also have a tough trip to second-placed Allianz Vero Volley Milan on Saturday and they will need to win that game to guarantee themselves Coppa Italia qualification. Otherwise, Il Bisonte Florence may take advantage of their visit at 11th-placed Honda Olivera S.Bernardo Cuneo. The team from Florence needs to win that match to have a shot at qualifying. Meanwhile, UYBA Volley Busto Arsizio’s chances seem the slimmest, because to make it among the top eight, they need to defeat the undefeated, i.e. defending champions and table leaders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, who are yet to suffer their first loss of the season. However, even a 3-2 success at the Palaverde might be enough for the Butterflies to progress to Coppa Italia, should Il Bisonte and Megabox lose their matches.

“Given that our team is coming off a good victory, I expect them to face this match with more courage and desire to take risks compared to what they did at Conegliano. We know that we are playing against one of the strongest teams in Italy, in Europe and in the world, but in matches like this you have to have the courage to leave your comfort zone and do something more.” Andrea Pistola, head coach of Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia

Of course, even the teams that have already qualified for Coppa Italia and those that have already lost the opportunity to do so will strive for success in their matches this weekend as the competition for the spots in the playoffs and for avoiding relegation continues during the second half of the regular season as well.

The 13th leg will get underway with Friday’s only match on the programme. Starting at 20:00 local time (19:00 UTC), bottom-of-the-table Itas Trentino Trento will be looking for their second win of the season, entertaining sixth-placed Wash4Green Pinerolo.

“We are aware that we will face a healthy team. It is no coincidence that it was the first team to have managed to snatch a point from Conegliano this season. This means that this year they have built a roster of the highest level, especially in the opposites department. Difficult matches await us and we are working a lot in the gym. What I asked the team is to try to take as many risks as possible, because I believe it is one of the few weapons at our disposal at this point of the season and against this type of opponent.” Marco Sinibaldi, head coach of Itas Trentino Trento

The leg’s remaining two matches will start at 20:30 (19:30) on Saturday. Third-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci welcome second from the bottom Volley Bergamo 1991, while 12th-placed Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore host fifth-placed Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76.

“Playing against such a high level team is an extra stimulus. It's nice to face such competitive players, because every action becomes spectacular and we, on the other hand, work even harder to try to put them in difficulty. We know it will be difficult, but we will have to be courageous in every fundamental, starting with the serve. And we will have to be careful not to make mistakes and exploit any possible uncertainty from our opponents.” Lorrayna Marys Da Silva, opposite of Volley Bergamo 1991

Lega Palavollo Femminile Serie A match schedule and results

Quick links:
Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
VBTV
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter

Related items