The race for the Coppa Italia spots heats up this weekend

The race for the eight spots in the 46^th edition of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa will have a decisive moment this week, during the 12^th round of the 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A Tigotà.

With four spots still up for grabs and eight teams vying for them, the results of the Italian League matches held on Saturday and Sunday could have a lot of weight in determining the teams that will end the first leg of the season in the eight top spots and will get to fight for the Italian Cup title.

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

Four teams enter the weekend with a spot in the Coppa Italia already guaranteed – leaders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano (33 points), second-placed Allianz Vero Volley Milano (28), third-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci (27) and fourth-placed Igor Gorgonzola Novara (24).

Ranked fifth with 19 points and sixth with 17 respectively, Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri and Wash4Green Pinerolo depend only on their own results to end the weekend with a spot in the top eight secured.

Chieri, who will host 11^th-placed Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo (ten points) on Sunday, at 19:30 local time (18:30 GMT), need to get just one point in the match to confirm their presence in the Coppa Italia.

Pinerolo have a much more difficult task in hand as they need a win over Imoco, also on Sunday, at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT), to be out of the reach of the teams currently sitting outside the qualification zone.

"It's always very exciting to play such a successful team," Pinerolo's head coach Michele Marchiaro commented. "It's a very important match, but our goals don't change. We want to remain positive on the court and to continue finding ways to grow as a team every week."

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule and Results

Seventh-placed Roma Volley Club (16 points), who face Scandicci on Saturday, at 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT), and eighth-placed Il Bisonte Firenze (14), who welcome Milano on Sunday, at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT), could also book their tickets this weekend, but they'd need to count on defeats from the teams that trail them to make it happen.

"We know we're going to face a very strong team, which has players I had the pleasure of playing with and against," said Roma's Brazilian middle blocker Ana Beatriz 'Bia' Correa. "This will be a good opportunity for us to test our progress and continue improving. We managed to win our last two matches and now have two very difficult challenges ahead of us."

The first team looking from the outside, ninth-placed Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia (13 points) need to beat 12^th-placed Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore (nine points) to improve their chances ahead of the last round of the first leg of the Italian League. The teams will battle on Saturday, at 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT).

Also keeping their hopes of qualifying, tenth-placed Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio (11 points) play at home against the eliminated Itas Trentino on Sunday, at 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT).

The seventh and last match of the week will have the eliminated Volley Bergamo 1991 welcoming the qualified Novara, on Saturday, at 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT).

The Coppa Italia quarterfinals will be played on January 24, with the Final Four taking place from February 17-18.

Quick links:
Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
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