The only two teams still undefeated in the 2025-2026 Lega Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà, Igor Gorgonzola Novara and Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano are set to clash on Saturday, in the most anticipated match of the fifth leg of the first round of the regular season.

Ranked second and first respectively in the Lega Femminile standings, they will meet in Novara at 20:30 local time (18:30 GMT), in one of the three matches scheduled for Saturday in the Italian League.

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The two teams are tied at the top of the Italian League standings with 11 points (four wins) - Conegliano are ranked higher due to their better set ratio (12-2 to 12-3). The winners of Saturday's encounter will likely have the top spot at the end of the weekend - if the match goes to five sets, however, both teams could be passed by Savino Del Bene Scandicci, who are third with 11 points (four wins, one loss) and a 12-7 set ratio.

Novara started the season very well, having won the Courmayer Cup and their first four Italian League matches, prevailing over Omag-Mt San Giovanni In Marignano, Eurotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio, Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri '76 and Bergamo.

Among their individual standouts are American middle blocker Amber Igiede, who's the team's top scorer with 50 points and ranks fourth in the league in blocks with 11, and German outside hitter Lina Alsmeier, who has 39 points scored and ranks sixth in passes with 36.

Conegliano are also undefeated in the Italian League so far, having won their matches against Busto, Honda Cuneo Granda Volley, Omag and Wash4Green Monviso Volley. The Panthers, however, dropped the Supercoppa Italiana to Numia Vero Volley Milano last weekend.

"It's been a busy period for us, but our minds right now are focused only on Novara," head coach Daniele Santarelli said. "I felt that we got some of our energy back against Monviso, but Novara will be tough opponents. They're a team built to perform well and win. We see it as a big opportunity to grow. We're not at our best right now, we want to peak at the Club World Championship, and this will be an important match for us."

Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak has been an offensive force for them, having already produced 91 points, the third-highest mark in the tournament.

The two rivals have met 55 times in Italian League history and Conegliano triumphed in 43 of those occasions. Novara, however, won the most recent encounter between the teams, triumphing in the semifinals of the Courmayeur Cup, and also ended their rivals' 50-match winning streak earlier this year, taking a match from them in the semifinals of the 2024-2025 Italian League season.

Two more matches on Saturday

Besides the duel between the undefeated Novara and Conegliano, Saturday's schedule in Italy will feature another two matches, with Cuneo facing Bartocinni-Mc Restauri Perugia at 19:30 (17:30 GMT) and Chieri meeting Bergamo one hour later.

Lega Volley Femminile - Match Schedule & Results

The four remaining matches of the fifth leg will all be held on Sunday. Omag and Scandicci will play in the first match of the day, at 15:00 (13:00 GMT). The other three encounters are scheduled for 17:00 (15:00 GMT), with Busto playing Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia, Il Bisonte Firenze hosting Monviso and Milano facing CBF Balducci HR Macerata.

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