Novara set to face a big test against Milano

Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A leaders Igor Gorgonzola Novara will face their first big challenge in the 2023-2024 season this weekend, when they will meet Allianz Vero Volley Milano in the seventh round of the Italian League.

Undefeated with six wins, Novara will host Supercoppa runners-up Milano on Sunday, at 15:45 local time (14:45 GMT), in the most anticipated of the seven matches to take place in the country this weekend, which will count on a sold-out crowd.

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

Novara have dropped just two sets in their first six matches of the season, but having faced Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri, Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore, Wash4Green Pinerolo, Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio, Itas Trentino and Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo, they know Milano will be their first big test.

With 12 wins in the season (six in the Italian League, three in the CEV Champions Cup, two in the Wevza Cup and another one in the Memorial Gianpaolo Ferrari), Novara are up to their best start of a season in club history.

Opposite Vita Akimova, the main scorer of the Italian League with 133 points, and middle blocker Anna Danesi, third in blocks with 19, have been some of the team’s individual standouts in the season.

Milano are also up to a positive start to their season as they are currently in fourth place in the Lega Femminile with four wins in five matches. The team from Northern Italy has only been defeated by defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, at both the Italian League and the Italian Supercoppa.

Italian superstar Paola Egonu and her teammates have recovered from back-to-back losses to their opponents with a strong victory over Serbia’s Jedinstvo Stara Pazova in their CEV Champions League debut on Thursday.

"Our calendar has been a bit busy lately, but our team was built to handle it," Milano's head coach Marco Gaspari. "Despite having had some injuries, Novara have been playing solid volleyball and deserve to be at the top of the standings. We'll try to build on the good things we showed in our Champions League debut, but we know that the level will need to be higher. We need to be consistent with our offense and that's a way we can put pressure on Novara."

Milano have further strengthened their squad ahead of the match with Milano by signing two-time world champion Serbian libero Teodora Pusic. She'll replace Beatrice Parrocchiale, who recently moved to Savino Del Bene Scandicci.

The historical series between the two teams is among the closest in Italy as Novara won 11 times while Milano picked up the victory on nine occasions. Milano triumphed in three of the last five duels, but Novara has the edge when the last ten encounters are considered, leading by 6-4.

Other matches

The weekend schedule in Italy begins on Saturday, when the first two matches will be played, with Trentino facing Cuneo at 15:30 local time (14:30 GMT) and Volley Bergamo 1991 meeting Chieri at 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT).

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

The action continues on Sunday, with three matches starting at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT) – Imoco vs. Il Bisonte Firenze, Casalmaggiore vs. Busto and Pinerolo vs. Roma Volley Club – and another one at 19:30 local time (18:30 GMT) – Scandicci vs. Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia.

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