Imoco beat Milano in front of more than 12,000 fans

A record-setting crowd of 12,562 and a strong performance from Paola Egonu weren’t enough to stop Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano in the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A as the defending champions topped Allianz Vero Volley Milano on the road on Sunday and continue undefeated in their title defense.

Held at the Mediolanum Forum, in Assago, the rematch of last week’s Italian Supercoppa was the highest-attended match ever in Italian women’s volleyball and saw Imoco come from behind to top Milano 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-15).

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

The result keeps Imoco in second place in the standings, with 15 points and five wins, trailing only leaders Igor Gorgonzola Novara, who played six matches already and got to 18 points with their 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-22) win over Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo on Sunday – opposite Vika Akimova was their leading scorer with 23 points.

A former Imoco player, Egonu tallied 17 points (14 kills, two aces, one block) against the Panthers, but ended up losing the scoring battle with the player signed her to replace her one year ago, Swedish star opposite Isabelle Haak, who produced a match-high 18 points (16 kills, one block, one ace) and led the defending champions.

Imoco had points coming from several other players as three of Haak’s teammates also reached double digits in scoring. American Olympic champion outside hitter Kelsey Cook, who took home the match MVP award, tallied 17 (14 kills, two blocks, one ace), Italian middle blocker Sarah Fahr added 16 (eight kills, six blocks, two aces) and American outside hitter Kathryn Plummer contributed 13 (ten kills, two blocks, one ace).

“We expected this match to be even more difficult than the Supercoppa and that’s what happened,” said Imoco’s middle blocker Federica Squarcini. “We started a little tense in front of this amazing crowd and Daniele (Santarelli, head coach) had to push our buttons. Milano put us under pressure, but we slowly managed to shift the momentum and secure the win. It was a good reaction from us.”

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

Scandicci in the top three

Milano’s first defeat in the season kept them at 11 points (four wins, one loss) and helped Savino Del Bene Scandicci surpass them in the standings, moving up to third place with 13 points (four wins, two losses).

With 14 points from outside hitter Francesca Villani and 13 from American middle blocker Haleigh Washington, Scandicci took care of business on the road on Saturday, getting a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18) victory over Itas Trentino.

“The ladies did a great job of keeping their attention at all times and not complicating the match,” head coach Massimo Barbolini reflected. “Our main goal today was to win as quickly as possible and take all three points, but we were also able to see some good things individually.”

Another important result of the weekend was Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri’s 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-21) home win over Wash4Green Pinerolo on Saturday, which made them catch their opponents and take the fifth place from them with nine points (three wins, two losses).

The weekend in the Italian League also had a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22) win of Roma Volley Club over Volley Bergamo 1991 on Saturday, a 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-17) triumph of Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio over Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia on Sunday and a 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-20) road victory of Trasportipensati Casalmaggiore against Il Bisonte Firenze, also on Sunday.

The next round of the Lega Femminile will have two matches on Saturday and five on Sunday.

Quick links:
Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
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