Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano managed to extend the celebration for their victory at the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa last weekend for a few more days by returning to the Lega Volley Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà with a massive victory on Wednesday in the ninth leg of the second round of the regular season.

The Panthers reunited with their fans at the Palaverde, in Villorba, for a match against second-placed Numia Vero Volley Milano, who they had faced last weekend in Bologna, and sent their supporters back home full of joy after another huge win over their rivals.

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Unlike Sunday’s final, when Conegliano only took control of the match after a close first set, this time the Panthers were dominant from start to finish, producing an emphatic 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-16) victory to overcome their opponents for the sixth time in the season.

The three points earned not only continued Conegliano’s spotless campaign in the Italian League, but also guaranteed the team as the top-seeded side heading into the playoffs. Now with 66 points (22 wins), the reigning world champions have 15 more than Savino Del Bene Scandicci, who emerged to second place following their 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23) win over SMI Roma Volley, with only four more matches to be played before the end of the regular season.

With Chinese outside hitter Zhu Ting rested, Olympic champion middle blocker Marina Lubian stepped up to be Conegliano’s main figure against Milano. The 24-year-old, 1.93m-tall Italian had a remarkable performance, leading the team with 14 points (nine kills, three blocks, two aces), and received the MVP award. Opposite Isabelle Haak scored 12 points and outside hitter Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães added 11.

“We were coming from great performances in the Coppa Italia Final Four and kind of just went with the flow,” libero Monica De Gennaro explained. “We were definitely excited to play in front of our fans and we showed what we’re about again. Some of the girls who didn’t get on the courth on Sunday, like Lubian and Lanier (Khalia), played very well and that shows that we’re always ready to contribute.”

Milano’s star opposite Paola Egonu was limited to just 11 points, having her least productive match of the season in the Italian League, four more than fellow Olympic champion Miriam Sylla. The team missed star setter Alessia Orro, who was out with an injury.

“The team is still a little bit down for not having won the first set of the Coppa Italia final and we didn’t have much time to recover,” middle blocker Ludovica Guidi said. “We came to this match intending to experiment with some tactical tweaks, but couldn’t really implement them. We also lacked focus in key moments and they just don’t make mistakes in those situations.”

Milano, who started the day in second place, now fell to third, appearing with 50 points (17 wins, five losses), one less than Scandicci.

Perugia win duel in the race against relegation

Another significant result in the ninth leg of the second round of the regular season on Wednesday was Bartoccini-MC Restauri Perugia’s 3-1 (13-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-23) victory over Il Bisonte Firenze.

The two teams are involved in the battle against relegation and Perugia took a massive step to escape by collecting three points against a direct opponent and moving up to tenth place with 19 (six wins, 16 losses). Firenze, on the hand, are now inside the qualification zone in 13^th place with 15 points (five wins, 17 losses) and saw their situation get more complicated.

The first match of the midweek leg was held on Tuesday, when Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri ’76 pulled off a dramatic 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 18-25, 25-12, 15-7) road win over Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia.

Three other matches were played on Wednesday, with Eurotek Uyba Busto Arsizio beating Honda Olivero Cuneo 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-18), Wash4Green Pinerolo overcoming Bergamo 3-1 (26-24, 16-25, 25-23, 26-24) and Igor Gorgonzola Novara topping Cda Volley Talmassons Fvg 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-20).

Lega Volley Femmnilie – Match Schedule & Results

The tenth leg of the second round of the regular season will happen during the weekend, with one match on Saturday and another six on Sunday.

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