Roma give a big step towards Lega’s playoffs

Roma Volley Club gave a significant step towards the playoffs of the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà on Saturday, when they defeated a direct opponent and solidified their spot inside the qualification zone.

Playing in the Italian elite for just the second time in club history, Roma handled Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore in one of the first matches of the eighth leg of the second round of the regular season and are now closer to their first playoff appearance in the Italian League.

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Playing in front of their home fans, Roma recovered from a first-set upset to come back and beat Casalmaggiore 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-22), claiming their fourth-straight victory in the tournament.

The triumph benefited the team from the Italian capital in multiple ways as they moved up from eighth to seventh in the standings with 30 points (ten wins) and also ended Casalmaggiore’s four-match winning streak, keeping them in tenth place, with 23 points (seven wins) – the team from Northern Italy climbed the rankings over the last weeks and could bring the difference to Roma down to a single point had they won this Saturday’s encounter.

Albanian opposite Erblira Bici was huge for Roma, leading the team with 26 points (24 kills, one block, one ace). Brazilian Olympic medalist middle blocker Ana Beatriz ‘Bia’ Correa also stepped up for them, delivering 15 points with 12 kills, two blocks and one ace.

“This was a great match,” Bici reflected. “The first set was tough, but we did a good job to get going after that. Casalmaggiore were coming from great results and we were ready for a battle, as it was. We’ve been very strong playing at home, our fans are like a seventh player on the court for us.”

Casalmaggiore, who dropped their first match in over a month, had American outside hitter Simone Lee and Polish opposite Malwina Smarzek splitting the team’s scoring load with 25 and 17 points, respectively.

Scandicci and Novara triumph

Ranked third and fourth in the standings and already guaranteed in the playoffs, Savino Del Bene Scandicci and Igor Gorgonzola Novara were also on the court on Saturday and both won their matches.

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

Scandicci were dominant against Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo, securing a solid 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-14) victory in front of their home fans in Firenze. Opposite Ekaterina Antropova, outside hitter Britt Herbots and middle blocker Lindsey Ruddins all reached double digits in scoring, producing 14, 12 and ten points respectively.

Also playing at home, Novara had an early scare against Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia, but came back to walk away with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-13) win. A new signing for the team, Russian outside hitter Marina Markova led all scorers with 18 points (14 kills, three blocks, one ace), followed by Vallefoglia’s opposite Camilla Mingardi, who registered 17 (16 kills, one block).

The eighth leg of the second round will be completed on Sunday, with four matches. Three duels will begin at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT) – Itas Trentino vs. Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri, Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano vs. Volley Bergamo and Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio vs. Il Bisonte Firenze – and the last one is scheduled for 18:30 local time (17:30 GMT) – Wash4Green Pinerolo vs. Allianz Vero Volley Milano.

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Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà
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