Imoco and Scandicci clash in Lega’s big encounter

Two of the four teams that secured mid-week victories to advance to the Final Four of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa, Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano and Savino Del Bene Scandicci will meet in the most anticipated match of the weekend in the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà.

Set to take place on Saturday at 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT) in Villorba, the match between the teams ranked first and third in the Italian League standings will start a big weekend of action in the fifth leg of the second round of the regular season.

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

The top team in the Lega Femminile with 48 points and an undefeated campaign of 17 wins, Imoco had a comfortable victory in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals on Wednesday, dispatching Il Bisonte Firenze in three sets.

The match against Scandicci will be the first of two complicated ones for the defending champions, who will face second-place Allianz Vero Volley Milano next Sunday, February 4, and are determined to retain the top spot in the standings.

“Having achieved our goal of making it to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia, we can now focus on these two difficult matches,” said head coach Daniele Santarelli. “These are going to be very important tests for us to understand where we stand in comparison to two of our stronger opponents. Besides the points in the standings, these are matches that can positively affect our confidence as a team. Scandicci are a very physical and powerful team which have options in every position. They’re very strong with their blocking and we can’t underestimate that.”

To Scandicci, who are third in the standings with 41 points (14 wins, three losses), a road win over Imoco would help them close the gap to the league leaders and also remain on the hunt to second-place Milano, who have 45 points (16 wins).

The team had to do more work than Imoco to make it past the Coppa Italia quarterfinals on Wednesday, needing four sets to handle Wash4Green Pinerolo.

“Every match matters in the Italian League and we need to approach each of them in the right way,” outside hitter Britt Herbots commented. “Imoco are the top team in the league and we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for them, but we did the best we could. We know their stadium is going to be full and with great energy.”

Imoco won four of the last five matches against Scandicci, including the most recent one, in the first round of the current regular season, back in November.

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

Milano and Chieri play at home

The two other teams that qualified for the Coppa Italia Final Four, Milano and Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri will both be at home this weekend. They will both be on the court on Sunday, at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT), with Milano hosting Volley Bergamo 1991 and Chieri welcoming Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia.

Two other matches will be held on the same day and time – Roma Volley Club vs. Firenze and Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio vs. Pinerolo. The round will be completed with Itas Trentino vs. Igor Gorgonzola Novara, at 18:30 local time (17:30 GMT), and Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo vs. Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore, at 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

Quick links:
Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà
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