Haak leads Imoco to big win to start the semifinals

The start of the semifinals of the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà didn’t slow Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano down as the defending champions earned their first victory in the best-of-three series against Igor Gorgonzola Novara on Sunday.

With an undefeated campaign of 29 wins this season, the Panthers could secure their spot in the Italian League Finals on Wednesday, when the teams meet again at 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT), in Novara.

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

The best team in the Italian League regular season, Imoco continued their march to claim their six-straight national title in front of their home fans, opening the semifinal series with an emphatic 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-20) victory over Novara in Villorba.

Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak topped all scorers with 18 points (17 kills, one ace) and was one of three Imoco players to get to double digits in scoring – American outside hitters Kathryn Plummer and Kelsey Cook tallied 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Star setter Joanna Wolosz was also cheered at the Palaverde as she got to celebrate her 34^th birthday on the court and with a win.

“It was a special day for me,” Wolosz commented. “Getting to celebrate my birthday with the fans would always be amazing, but we still played a great match and got the win. I thought our mindset was really strong today. They tried different things and switched players, but we remained steady and focused on our game. We know it’s going to be different on Wednesday as Novara will be at home and will play better, so we need to try and raise our level too.”

Italian outside hitter Caterina Bosetti led Novara’s offense with 13 points (ten kills, two aces, one block), while Russian opposite Marina Markova contributed nine, with eight kills and one ace.

“When Imoco side out as well as they did today, they’re really difficult to stop,” middle blocker Cristina Chirichella reflected. “We know we need to do a better job at home on Wednesday. We have nothing to lose, so we have to play relaxed and without any pressure. Having our fans behind us will help too.”

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

Scandicci start ahead against Milano

The other semifinal series of the Italian League started on Saturday, with Savino Del Bene Scandicci downing Allianz Vero Volley Milano in straight sets in Firenze. The series will also continue on Wednesday, with the second duel taking place in Milano, at 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT).

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