After ending on the wrong side of five-setters in their last two 2025-2026 Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà matches, Igor Gorgonzola Novara figured out what they needed to win, and did it on Wednesday, in the ninth leg of the regular season.

The team from Northern Italy was at home to face Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia and avoided a reverse sweep that would give them a third-straight five-set upset to win 3-2 (25-16, 25-21, 20-25, 16-25, 15-13) and return to winning ways.

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Despite collecting only two points with their five-set victory, Novara managed to return to the Italian League top four, getting to 18 points (six wins, three losses) and passing Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76. They are behind defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, who have 29 points (ten wins), Savino Del Bene Scandicci, who are second with 25 (nine wins, one loss), and Numia Vero Volley Milano, who complete the top three with 22 (seven wins, three losses).

Japanese national team captain Mayu Ishikawa led Novara to victory with an outstanding offensive performance. The 25-year-old outside hitter delivered a team-high 20 points, with 18 kills, one block and one ace, and earned the match's MVP award.

German outside hitter Lina Alsmeier added 18 (17 kills, one block), while Dutch middle blocker Indy Baijens contributed 13 (nine kills, three blocks, one ace).

"I'm happy because in the decisive moment we found a way to get a win that's very important for us," Baijens reflected. "We started very well, winning the first two sets, but Vallefoglia deserve a lot of credit for improving their defense and making us uncomfortable scoring points. But this time we managed to end the match on a high, and that will help us turn the page and keep improving."

Vallefoglia's Olympic and world champion outside hitter Loveth Omoruyi was unstoppable and led all scorers with 26 points (24 kills, two blocks). The team's second-best scorer was Albanian opposite Erblira Bici, who contributed 22 (19 kills, two blocks, one ace).

Monviso and Perugia also win tie-breakers

Two other matches of the ninth leg went to five sets, but those had the road teams coming out on top. In one of them, Bartoccini-MC Restauri Perugia came back from a two-set deficit to beat Bergamo 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-12). Outside hitters Beatrice Gardini and Elena Perinelli scored 19 and 18 points, respectively.

Wash4Green Monviso Volley's victory over Omag-Mt San Giovanni In Marignano followed the same script, with the visiting team dropping the first two sets before coming back to take the match 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-12). With 23 points (22 kills, one ace), outside hitter Sofia D'Odorico led their victory, earning the match's MVP award.

The three teams ranked higher than Novara in the standings all won, with Conegliano sweeping (25-16, 25-12, 28-26) CBF Balducci HR Macerata on the road, Scandicci beating Chieri also in three sets (26-24, 25-22, 25-17) at home and Milano needing four to overcome Il Bisonte Firenze 3-1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-18, 25-17). In that match, Milano's star opposite Paola Egonu surpassed 6,000 points in Italian domestic tournaments - she's the third highest scorer in the country.

The seventh and last match of the day had Eurotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio taking Honda Cuneo Granda Volley down 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-22).

Lega Volley Femminile - Match Schedule & Results

The tenth leg of the regular season, which will feature two duels involving teams fighting at the top of the standings, with Conegliano facing Scandicci and Milano playing Novara, will have one match on Saturday and the other six on Sunday.

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