Ranked 12th and 13th, they closed the gap to the teams ranked above them in the standings
Published 12:04, 21 Jan 2026
Monviso's setter Ilaria Battistoni had four of her hitters ending the match against Busto with double digits in scoring (Photo: LVF)
The fight to avoid relegation in the 2025-2026 Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà heated up on Tuesday, when two of the teams most threatened by it scored big wins in the eighth leg of the second round of the regular season.
Wash4Green Monviso Volley and Omag-Mt San Giovanni In Marignano triumphed in the midweek leg and improved their chances of continuing in the Italian elite in the 2026-2027 season. The two are set to meet in a critical duel in the ninth leg on February 1.
With five more matches yet to be played before the end of the regular season, Monviso and San Giovanni are tied with 17 points - because they have six wins to their opponents' five, Monviso are currently ranked 12th, outside the relegation zone, while Italian League rookies San Giovanni appear in 13th place. They have now created a five-point separation from 14th-placed Bartoccini-Mc Restauri Perugia.
Besides earning valuable points, the two teams also saw the three rivals ranked right above them - Bergamo (22 points), CBF Balducci HR Macerata (21) and Honda Cuneo Granda Volley (20) - drop their matches, keeping their hopes of continuing to climb the standings before the end of the regular season.
Winless in their last four matches, Monviso managed to stay outside of the relegation zone in style, beating eighth-placed Eurotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio 3-2 (17-25, 28-26, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11) on the road.
Belarusian outside hitter Hanna Davyskiba led Monviso's offense with 25 points (20 kills, four aces, one block) and took home the match's MVP award. American middle blocker Anna Dodson contributed 16 points (all in kills), two more than outside hitter Sofia D'Odorico.
"I'm very happy for the two points we won, they are incredibly important for us," Davyskiba said. "We had some ups and downs and ended up losing two sets when we were ready, so we need to be able to do a better job of protecting our lead. But everybody played well, and we know where we need to work."
Mexican outside hitter Melanie Parra matched Davyskiba's production for Busto, leaving the court with 22 kills, two blocks and one ace, while opposite Josephine Obossa added 18 (13 kills, three blocks, two aces).
Still inside the relegation zone, San Giovanni took a major step to leave it, beating seventh-placed Il Bisonte Firenze 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-18) to win back-to-back matches for the first time in the season.
"We're very pleased with the team's attitude," assistant coach Alessandro Zanchi remarked. "The effort made by everyone on the team has shown in the last two matches. We didn't have much time to prepare after our last match, but the players remained focused and did the right things."
San Giovanni's well-balanced offense was one of the keys to their victory, as while outside hitter Alice Nardo and Russian middle blocker Elizaveta Kochurina led the team with 12 points, Brazilian opposite Edinara Brancher and Chinese outside hitter Zhuang Yushan were not far behind, with 11 and ten, respectively. Nardo won the MVP award.
Firenze had the match's top scorers in Dutch outside hitter Jolien Knollema and middle blocker Nausica Acciarri, who each produced 13 points.
The four teams that are set to compete in the Coppa Italia Final Four over the weekend all won on Tuesday - first-placed Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano swept (25-22, 25-19, 25-23) sixth-placed Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia, second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci overcame ninth-placed Bergamo also in straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-13), fourth-placed Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76 downed tenth-placed Macerata 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23) and fifth-placed Igor Gorgonzola Novara overcame 12th-placed Perugia in three sets (25-17, 25-13, 25-20).
Completing the schedule, third-placed Numia Vero Volley Milano defeated 11th-placed Cuneo in straight sets (25-16, 25-17, 29-27).
Lega Volley Femminile - Match Schedule & Results
Next weekend is reserved for the Coppa Italia Final Four, which is going to take place in Turin with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday. The Italian League returns to action at the end of the month, with one match taking place on January 31 and six on Sunday as part of the ninth leg of the second round of the regular season.
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