Scandicci sweat to start ahead in the Italian League quarterfinals

Reigning world champions Savino Del Bene Scandicci were pushed hard in the first round of the 2025-2026 Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà quarterfinals, but, like the three other teams that started the playoffs at home, managed to come out on top and get closer to the semifinals.

Besides Scandicci, Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, Numia Vero Volley Milano and Igor Gorgonzola Novara also triumphed on Sunday and can now end their series during the week, when the second-round matches will be played.

• Watch the Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà playoffs live on VBTV

The second-best team in the Italian League regular season, Scandicci were faced with Bergamo, which finished seventh, in the quarterfinals, and, without Serbian star setter Maja Ognjenović, needed to bring their best game to prevail in a highly-contested match, winning 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 17-15).

Ekaterina Antropova and Sarah Franklin carried Scandicci offensively, combining to produce 49 points - the Olympic and world champion opposite accounted for 25 (20 kills, three blocks, two aces), while the American outside hitter contributed 24 (22 kills, one block, one ace).

"The playoffs started, and right now the only thing that matters is winning games," head coach Marco Gaspari remarked. "Even though we had some absences today, it was a very bad performance from our side. We need to understand that, when things don't go well, that's when we have to stay calm and patient. What we showed today probably won't be enough for the second match."

American opposite Kendall Kipp had a great performance for Bergamo, producing 22 points (20 kills, one block, one ace) and helping the team challenge Scandicci.

Milano sweep Vallefoglia

From the four teams that won their opening matches in the quarterfinals, third-placed Milano were the only ones to do it in straight sets, beating sixth-placed Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19) in front of their home fans.

Milano's Italian star opposite Paola Egonu and American outside hitter Khalia Lanier tied as the match's top scorers with 20 points apiece - each of them had 17 kills and three blocks.

"This victory gives us the confidence to start the playoffs on the right foot," libero Eleonora Fersino highlighted. "But we're only halfway there. It was a great start, but we'll continue working to improve for the next matches."

Albanian opposite Erblira Bici was Vallefoglia's top scorer in the first match of the quarterfinals with 13 points (12 kills, one ace).

After needing all five sets to beat eighth-placed Eurotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio in both their regular-season matches, first-placed Conegliano stepped up and triumphed 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-18, 25-18) in the first round of the quarterfinals.

Swedish star opposite Isabelle Haak had the highest-scoring performance of the first round of the quarterfinals, leaving the court with a whopping 35 points (32 kills, two blocks, one ace). Chinese star outside hitter Zhu Ting added 20 (18 kills, two blocks).

"I'm very happy with the win, even if it wasn't anything close to a great performance from us," Haak acknowledged. "We started well, but lost our way in the second set. I'm glad we managed to recover and take the win, but in the playoffs you always need to focus on the next match, and that's what we'll do now."

Busto's most productive player in the match was outside hitter Valeria Battista, who tallied 24 points (21 kills, three aces).

Fourth-placed Novara also made good use of their homecourt advantage and took down fifth-placed Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17) in what many consider the most unpredictable quarterfinal series.

Russian opposite Tatiana Tolok was a difference-maker for Novara, leading the team with 29 points (28 kills, one block).

"I thought we played a really good match, keeping our opponents under pressure from the start," libero Giulia Leonardi reflected. "They improved in the third set, and our level dropped, too, but we picked it back up and started ahead in this series, which I'm sure will be competitive until the end."

Hungarian opposite Anett Németh was the focal point of Chieri's offense, scoring 17 points (all in kills) for her team.

Lega Volley Femminile - Match Schedule & Results

The second round of the quarterfinals will be held during the week. Three matches - Chieri vs. Novara, Busto vs. Conegliano and Vallefoglia vs. Milano - will be held on Wednesday, while Bergamo and Scandicci play on Thursday.

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