Pushed by outstanding performances from outside hitter Gabriela 'Gabi' Guimarães and opposite Isabelle Haak, defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano gave a strong answer after their first upset in the 2025-2026 Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà on Sunday.

Coming from a defeat to rivals Numia Vero Volley Milano before the turn of the year, the Panthers hosted Igor Gorgonzola Novara in the Derby of the fifth leg of the second round of the regular season and triumphed 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 25-18, 29-27) to claim all three points in the their first Italian League match in 2026.

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With the victory, Conegliano got to 49 points (17 wins, one loss) in the standings and managed to remain three ahead of second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci, who also had a successful weekend, sweeping (25-17, 25-18, 25-23) Omag-Mt San Giovanni In Marignano on Sunday. The result, however, proved costly to Novara, who continued with 39 points (14 wins, five losses) and dropped from third to fifth.

Gabi and Haak carried Conegliano's offense in the Derby, combining to produce 49 points for Conegliano - the Brazilian led the way with 25 (21 kills, three blocks, one ace), while the Swedish added 24 (21 kills, two aces, one block). Team captain and setter Joanna Wołosz earned the MVP award.

"I dedicate today's victory to Asia (Wołosz)," Gabi said. "She's an example for us. She had some physical problems this week and couldn't practice very often, but did all she could to be available today and led us to victory in this beautiful, packed Palaverde by playing very well, fighting until the end and setting the rhythm."

Novara, which now dropped points in each of their last four matches, had the match's top scorer in Russian opposite Tatiana Tolok, who eclipsed both Gabi and Haak with a fantastic 31-point (25 kills, three blocks, three aces) performance, her second-best in the season. Belgian outside hitter Britt Herbots added 12, all in kills.

"We're disappointed now because we certainly had our chances to win the fourth set and give us a shot at the tie-breaker," Novara's captain and middle blocker Sara Bonifacio reflected. "But our performance was much better than in the last matches, and I think that's a positive sign going forward. We have some very important matches coming up, and we can turn things around, but we need to stop with the ups and downs."

Chieri and Milano pass Novara

Novara's defeat in the Derby opened the doors for Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76 and Milano to pass them in the standings, and both teams did it, winning their matches and getting to 40 points - Chieri (14 wins, four losses) are third, while Milano (13 wins, five losses) rank fourth.

Chieri played on the road against Bergamo on Sunday and had to fight hard to come out on top, needing all five sets to win 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 19-25, 26-24, 15-10). Chieri's Swiss outside hitter Laura Dervisaj-Künzler and Bergamo's American opposite Kendall Kipp were the most productive players on the court, with 19 points each, while Chieri's Dutch setter Sarah Van Aalen earned the MVP award.

Milano played on Saturday and got the job done in a smoother fashion, taking CBF Balducci HR Macerata down in straight sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-18). American Khalia Lanier scored 13 points for the Supercoppa Italiana champions, one more than fellow outside hitter Rebecca Piva, who took home the match's MVP award, and Russian opposite Vita Akimova. Macerata's Finnish opposite Suvi Kokkonen topped all scorers with 16 (14 kills, one block, one ace).

The fifth leg of the second round of the regular season also had Honda Cuneo Granda Volley beating Bartoccini-Mc Restauri Perugia 3-0 (25-22, 30-28, 28-26) on Saturday and Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia sweeping (29-27, 26-24, 25-23) Eutotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio and Il Bisonte Firenze topping Wash4Green Monviso Volley 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-14, 26-24) on Sunday.

Lega Volley Femminile - Match Schedule & Results

The sixth leg will be held next weekend, with one match on Saturday and the remaining five on Sunday.

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