Imoco advance to sixth-straight Lega Finals

Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano will play for the title of the Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà for a sixth-straight season after the five-time defending champions swept Igor Gorgonzola Novara on Saturday to triumph 2-1 in their semifinal series.

Imoco and Savino Del Bene Scandicci, who secured their spot in the Scudetto Finals during the week, will now meet for the 2023-2024 Italian League title in a best-of-five series that will start on Wednesday, at 20:30 local time (18:30 GMT), in Villorba.

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

After losing for the first time after 45 matches on Wednesday, Imoco were back home at the Palaverde on Saturday and fed from the energy of more than 5,000 of their fans to dominate Novara, winning the win-or-go-home duel 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-20) to confirm their presence in the Finals for an eighth time.

The trio that has been carrying Imoco in the playoffs stood tall again for them as Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak and American outside hitters Kathryn Plummer and Kelsey Cook combined to produce 45 points in the team’s victory.

Haak scored 18 points (all in kills) and was the match’s top scorer, followed by MVP Plummer, who had 15, with 14 kills and one block – Olympic champion Cook registered 12, with 11 kills and one block.

“After losing for the first time in the season on Wednesday we looked each other in the eye and regrouped because we wanted very much to be in the Finals,” said middle blocker Sarah Fahr, who scored seven points, including the game-winner. “When we play like we did today, we’re very difficult to beat and even more with the crown behind us. We are very happy to be in the Finals and we feel like we deserve it because we played very well against a really strong Novara team. We’re ready for another battle with Scandicci.”

Novara, who saw their season end in the semifinals for a third-straight season, got 15 points (13 kills, one block, one ace) from Russian opposite Marina Markova. Coming after her, outside hitters Gréta Szakmáry and Caterina Bosetti and middle blocker Anna Danesi contributed seven points apiece.

“We’re sad and happy at the same time,” Szakmáry reflected. “We’re sad because the season is over and we wanted to play in the Finals, but also happy and proud because we had a good year and fought until the end.”

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

Finals start on Wednesday

Imoco will have only three days to recover and prepare for the Scudetto Finals, which will start with them at home, at the Palaverde, on Wednesday. The series will then move to Firenze on April 20 and return to Villorba four days later.

If needed, matches four and five will be played in Firenze on April 27 and in Villorba on April 30.

Quick links:
Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà
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