Egonu delivers 19 points in Milano’s debut

Star opposite Paola Egonu had a memorable debut with new team Allianz Vero Volley Milano on Sunday as the 2023-2024 season of the Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A began in Italy.

Milano were just one of the favorites to start their campaigns with positive results as defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, Savino Del Bene Scandicci and Igor Gorgonzola all also claimed victories on Sunday.

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

Meeting Milano’s fans for the first time, the 24-year-old Egonu left a strong impression, delivering 19 points (16 kills, two blocks, one ace) and leading the team to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-12) victory over Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio. She was awarded as the match’s Most Valuable Player.

“I was very emotional today,” Egonu commented. “I was truly happy to start my story here with Milano and very pleased that we got to win our opening match. It was a good start, but we’ll keep working to get our chemistry as a team.”

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

Egonu’s former team, defending champions Imoco also counted on a strong performance from their leading scorer to start their campaign with a win as Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak left the court with 19 points (17 kills, two blocks) in the team’s 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-18) home win over Itas Trentino.

Novara went on the road against Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri on Sunday and walked away with a 3-0 (25-20, 29-27, 27-25) victory thanks to the 21 points (20 kills, one ace) produced by their new opposite, 21-year-old Russian Vita Akimova.

Savino Del Bene had opposite Ekaterina Antropova, with 15 points, and Chinese outside hitter Ting Zhu, with 12, sharing the offensive load in the team’s 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) win over Il Bisonte Firenze. Brazilian middle blocker Ana Carolina ‘Carol’ da Silva scored ten points in her debut with Savino Del Bene, the same amount Japanese outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa contributed to Firenze in her first match with the club.

The top scorer in the opening week of the Lega Femminile opening week was Brazilian opposite Lorrayna da Silva, who tallied 29 points (25 kills, three aces, one block) in Volley Bergamo’s 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 15-11) road win over Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore on Saturday.

Two other matches held on Sunday went to five sets, with recently-promoted Roma Volley Club claiming their first-ever triumph in the Italian elite with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 15-12) road win over Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia and Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo beating Wash4Green Pinerolo 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-13) also as visitors.

The second round of the Italian League will be held next weekend, with one match on Saturday and six on Sunday.

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