Novara occupied the top spot in the Italian League standings until two weeks ago, when they had their first setback of the season, against Allianz Vero Volley Milano, and saw Imoco pass them to take the lead. The team from Northern Italy can return to first place this weekend, but in order to do that, they will need to sweep their rivals, something they haven’t done since 2018.
Novara, who enter the match on a high after a mid-week five-set road victory over Greece’s Olympiacos in the CEV Challenge Cup, will count on the great form of 21-year-old opposite Vita Akimova to overcome Imoco. She’s the Italian League’s top scorer with 213 points (184 kills, 16 aces, 13 blocks) and has produced 20 or more points in each of her nine matches in the team’s campaign, including a season-high 31 against Il Bisonte Firenze last weekend.
A former Imoco player, middle blocker Anna Danesi has also been a factor in Novara’s strong campaign. The 27-year-old Italian international ranks third in blocks in the Italian League with 25 and was also on fire last week against Firenze, tallying a season-high 17 points.