On Saturday, March 1st local time, the final match of the regular season for the Italian women's Serie A volleyball team was held. Until now, matches in the same round have been played at different times, but in order to avoid intentional manipulation of the rankings, all seven matches in the final round were played simultaneously from 8:30 p.m. on the 1st.
Novara, the team Mayu Ishikawa plays for, faced off against the powerful Scandicci away from home, winning 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-22, 25-15) and gaining momentum for the playoffs.
Novara was guaranteed to finish 4th in the regular season regardless of the result of this match, but their attackers were active against the top-ranked teams. OP Trok led the team with 20 points, the most of both teams, and MB Aleksic played a great game with 3 aces and 4 blocks, earning him the MVP award.
OH Ishikawa started in the starting lineup and contributed to the victory with 16 points, third on the team, including one block.
Conegliano, the team Seki Nanami plays for, played against lower-ranked Perugia at home and won in straight sets 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-19), securing first place in the regular season with a perfect record.
Conegliano was centered on OH Gabi (13 points) and OP Haak (11 points), but S Vowash made Perugia's defense confused by a pitch that was not targeted, including the middle. In the second set, Perugia cornered the queen thanks to the efforts of OH Ungoreanu and others, but they were unable to take the set. The MVP was S Vowash.
S Seki played with two substitutes for each set, adding to the glory of the strongest team's second consecutive regular season victory with a perfect record.
Milan, where Emi Fukudome plays, faced Chieri, who had already qualified in 5th place, away from home. They won 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 25-17), and moved up one place in the final round to finish the regular season in 2nd place.
Milan's Italian national team ace OP Egonou led the team with 22 points, the most for both teams, and Italian national team captain MB Danesi scored 14 points. Milan also replaced their outside players to counter Chieri, who was persistent, and defeated him. The MVP was also Italian national team player S Orro.
Unfortunately, L Fukudome did not get a chance to play.
In other drama, Florence, who were in 13th place and in the relegation zone until just before the final match, managed to pull off a huge comeback victory 3-2 to avoid relegation after being down 0-2 and even having a match point held by their opponents.
Final regular season standings:
| Ranking | team | point | Win or Lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conegliano (Seki) | 77 | 26-0 |
| 2 | Milan (Fukudome) | 60 | 21-5 |
| 3 | Scandicci | 58 | 19-7 |
| 4 | Novara (Ishikawa) | 56 | 20-6 |
| 5 | Kieri | 43 | 16-10 |
| 6 | Busto Arsizio | 41 | 15-11 |
| 7 | Vallefolia | 38 | 11-15 |
| 8 | Bergamo | 36 | 11-15 |
| 9 | Pinerolo | 33 | 11-15 |
| 10 | Perugia | 25 | 8-18 |
| 11 | Cuneo | 24 | 8-18 |
| 12 | Florence | 21 | 7-19 |
| 13 | Rome | 20 | 6-20 |
| 14 | Talmacsons | 14 | 3-23 |
As a result, the playoff quarter-finals are as follows:
Conegliano (Seki) - Bergamo
Novara (Ishikawa) - Chieri
Milan (Fukudome) - Vallefolia
Scandicci - Busto Arsizio
The playoffs will be played in a home and away format, with two wins from three matches up to the semi-finals, and three wins from five matches only for the finals. It will be interesting to see how far Milan, Scandicci, and Novara will fare against Conegliano, the overwhelming favorite to win.
Photo: legavolleyfemminile.it
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