The first round of the quarterfinals will have four matches on the same day - watch it all live on VBTV
Published 07:00, 27 Feb 2026
Olympic and world champions Paola Egonu and Anna Danesi will have big roles in Milano's duel with Vallefoglia (Photo: LVF)
After almost five months of regular-season competition, there are only eight teams still standing in the 2025-2026 Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà, and they will continue the race for the title this weekend, with the start of the playoffs.
An action-packed Sunday will kick off the postseason, with all four best-of-three quarterfinal series beginning in what should be an exciting afternoon in Italy.
The first match of the day will have Savino Del Bene Scandicci, the second-best team in the regular season, hosting Bergamo, which finished seventh, at 16:00 local time (15:00 UTC), in Firenze.
One hour later, two other duels will get started, having first-placed Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano meeting eighth-placed Eurotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio in Villorba and third-placed Numia Vero Volley Milano facing sixth-placed Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia in front of their home fans at the Allianz Cloud.
At 18:00 (17:00 UTC), fourth-placed Igor Gorgonzola Novara and fifth-placed Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76 get the fourth and last series going at the Pala Igor.
Defending champions Conegliano had the best campaign in the regular season, ending at the top of the standings with 25 victories and just one loss. They have won their last 16 matches across all competitions, having last lost in December.
Swedish star opposite Isabelle Haak was the team's top scorer in the regular season with 506 points. Brazilian star outside hitter Gabriela 'Gabi' Guimarães came next, with 319.
"Busto have given us a lot of trouble this season," head coach Daniele Santarelli said. "We know that we cannot afford to make mistakes in the playoffs, and we want to start from the first match of this series."
Busto were the last team to secure a spot in the playoffs, confirming their presence in the postseason in the last leg of the regular season. They had nine wins and 17 losses and dropped their of their last four matches.
Opposite Josephine Obossa carried Busto's offense with 486 points. She also led the team in blocks (45) and aces (33).
"I think we need to approach the playoffs in a really positive mood," setter Jennifer Boldini said. "We had to work hard to qualify in what has been a difficult season for us. We have nothing to lose against Conegliano. We know of their strength, but we showed in the regular season that we can cause them problems, so who knows..."
Both regular-season matches involving the teams had Conegliano needing all five sets to overcome Busto. Historically, however, the Panthers have a significant advantage, with 33 wins and ten losses.
World champions Scandicci dropped their last regular-season match, but still managed to finish second with 22 wins and four losses.
Star opposite Ekaterina Antropova was brilliant for them, scoring 544 points for Scandicci and leading the league in both blocks (66) and aces (50).
"We're in a busy period, with important matches in the Champions League, but for now we need to keep our focus on the two matches against Bergamo," head coach Marco Gaspari reacted. "We need to transform the emotions from our qualification into energy because Bergamo will push us."
Bergamo were seventh in the regular season after earning nine wins and 17 losses. They lost their last regular-season match, but won all four encounters before it.
American opposite Kendall Kipp scored 444 points in the regular season for Bergamo, which hope to have setter Chidera Eze, who lost the last match due to injury. Middle blockers Denise, who's fourth in the league in blocks (56), and Linda Manfredini, who's fourth in aces (33), are other weapons for them to try to upset Scandicci.
"I think we need to enter this match without pressure, but also knowing that we need to play aggressively," outside hitter Michaela Mlejnková remarked. "We're obviously not the favorites, but if we can play at our best level, we can get a good result."
In the regular season, Bergamo were unable to take sets from Conegliano, losing both matches 3-0. The world champions have come out on top 13 times in 14 duels.
After winning their last three regular-season matches, Milano ended up in third place, with 20 victories and six losses.
The top scorer of the regular season with 621 points, star opposite Paola Egonu will be huge for them in the playoffs. The second-best blocker of the league (63 points), Olympic champion middle blocker Anna Danesi is another of their strengths at the net.
"We managed to end the regular season in the best possible way," middle blocker Hena Kurtagić reflected. "Now we play Vallefoglia, which caused us problems in the regular season. We can't wait to get the series started in front of our home fans."
Their opponents Vallefoglia had a positive record in the regular season, earning 14 wins and 12 losses to rank sixth.
Albanian opposite Erblira Bici was the team's top scorer in the regular season with 482 points, followed by Olympic and world champion outside hitter Loveth Omoruyi, who registered 366. Croatian middle blocker Božana Butigan was fifth in the league in blocks (56).
"We've managed to play good matches against Milano this season, and that's a good thing," middle blocker Sonia Candi added. "However, their team is built for these moments, and I'm sure they will be extremely focused. So, we'll need to give everything we have."
The teams have split wins in the regular season, with Milano winning in the first round and Vallefoglia prevailing in the second. The record in the Italian League shows Milano taking the victory in 11 out of 13 matches.
Novara secured homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs in the last match of the regular season, when they got to 19 wins and seven losses to finish fourth.
Russian opposite Tatiana Tolok has led the team's offense in the regular season with 445 points, but outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa (278) and Lina Alsmeier (267) have helped them carry the scoring load.
"Chieri had a great regular season, and they come into the playoffs with big ambitions," middle blocker Indy Baijens considered. "Our campaign was very similar to theirs, so I'm sure it's going to be a difficult and competitive series."
Chieri earned the same 55 points as Novara in the regular season, but dropped to fifth place because they had 18 victories and eight losses.
Hungarian opposite Anett Németh was the team's top scorer in the regular season with 513 points, followed by world champion outside hitter Stella Nervini, who registered 403. Defensively, middle blocker Anna Gray, who ranks third in the league with 57 blocks, was one of the standouts.
"Novara are a very strong team, with quality players in every position," Németh analyzed. "Tolok has been their main weapon, but they have many other great players. The most important thing for us is to approach the match with the right mentality."
The teams split their regular-season series, with Novara triumphing at home in the first round and Chieri doing the same in the second. In 26 domestic matches, Novara claimed 17 victories and Chieri nine.
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