With Egonu back, Lega Femminile begins this weekend

The debut of star opposite Paola Egonu with new club Allianz Vero Volley Milano will be one of the highlights of the opening round of 2023-2024 Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A, which will have seven matches taking place over the weekend in Italy.

Milano, who were runners-up in the last two seasons, will start their campaign at home on Sunday, at 17:00 local time (19:00 UTC), against Uyba Volley Busto Arsizio.

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

The 24-year-old Egonu is back in Italy after spending the last club season in Türkiye, with VakifBank Istanbul, in her only experience outside of her home country. Egonu made her Italian League debut in 2015, at the age of 18, and has played for three different teams, winning the title in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 with Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, taking home the Most Valuable Player award on both occasions.

The opposite joined Milano in mid-September, after representing Italy at the European Championship, and is ready for the team’s debut. On Wednesday, she was the top scorer in Milano’s preparation match against Wash4Green Pinerolo, tallying 16 points.

“I'm happy to be back in Italy and to be with Milano,” she said. “I think it's going to be a season full of surprises and I'm very excited for it. The experience in Türkiye was important and it made me grow. I'm very excited to play with Alessia Orro again. We started together 13 years ago and it's great that we're together again.”

Besides Egonu, Milano is also expected to have the debuts of outside hitters Kara Bajema, Héléna Cazaute and Nika Daalderop and middle blocker Laura Heyrman this weekend.

“I feel good,” Bajema, who played with Egonu last season at VakifBank, commented. “We have prepared for a long time with many tournaments and training sessions. I think the coaching staff has put us in the best conditions to start the season, I can't wait to get started. In the first game, I expect some errors and the chemistry won’t probably be perfect yet. We have to fight and work hard because the season-opener is always a special occasion.”

On Sunday, Egonu and her teammates will find a young Busto squad across the net. Following the conclusion of last season, the team left some veterans, such as American setter Carli Lloyd, Brazilian opposite Rosamaria Montibeller and German outside hitter Lena Stigrot and replaced them with younger players such as outside hitter Dominika Giuliani and opposite Giorgia Frosini.

“Paola (Egonu) is a friend and a phenomenon, it's not easy to play against her,” said middle blocker Giuditta Lualdi. “We're working on a way to stop her. It's going to be a difficult match, but we're ready and we want to use our determination to get results no one expects us to.”

Lega Femminile - Match Schedule

The first match of the weekend will be held on Saturday, when Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore face Volley Bergamo at 20:30 local time (22:30 UTC). On Sunday, five matches will start at 17:00 local time (19:00 UTC) – Milano vs. Busto, Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano vs. Itas Trentino, Savino Del Bene Scandicci vs. Il Bisonte Firenze, Megabox Ondulati Salvio Vallefoglia vs. Roma Volley Club and Wash4Green Pinerolo vs. Honda Olivero S. Bernardo Cuneo – and another one at 21:00 local time (23:00 UTC) – Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri vs. Igor Gorgonzola Novara.

Quick links:
Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
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