Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano’s undefeated run in the 2024-2025 Lega Volley Femminile Serie A1 Tigotà was very close to coming to an end on Sunday, but the reigning world champions delivered when it mattered to secure their 23^rd victory of the season.

The Panthers appeared in the Derby of the tenth leg of the second round of the regular season, going on the road against Igor Gorgonzola Novara, and were pushed to five sets for the first time in the Italian League, but came up big at the end to triumph 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-10) and keep their record untarnished.

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Despite dropping points for the first time in the season, Conegliano continue to dominate the Italian League and appear at the top of the standings with 68 points (23 victories) – they guaranteed the top seed for the playoffs last weekend. Novara, who could finish the regular season as high as second depending on the results of their last three matches, are fourth, with 49 (17 wins, six losses).

Conegliano heavily relied on their ‘Big Three’ of Zhu Ting, Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães and Isabelle Haak to take the win as the three combined for 62 points in the match – the Chinese led the team with 22 (18 kills, two blocks, two aces), the Brazilian added 21 (17 kills, four blocks) and took home the MVP award and the Swedish contributed another 19 (18 kills, one block).

“It was a tough match, we had our ups and downs and that complicated things,” Olympic champion middle blocker Marina Lubian reflected. “They put us in difficult situations and we couldn’t play in the way we wanted. But we kept finding ways to continue in the game, kept pushing and I’m happy that we managed to win at the end.”

American opposite Taylor Mims was Novara’s leading scorer with 21 points (19 kills, one block, one ace), followed by middle blockers Sara Bonifacio, who produced 14 (ten kills, three blocks, one ace), and Maja Aleksić, who tallied 11, with eight kills, two blocks and one ace.

“It’s hard to say we’re happy after a loss, but it was a great match and both teams deserve credit for their performances,” Mims commented. “If it’s the first time in the season that Conegliano dropped a point, there’s certainly a reason for it and we’re proud that we managed to get closer to their level. We’ll keep working with the goal of continuing to close the gap so we can try another time if we get to meet again.”

Busto in, Pinerolo still alive

The race for the Lega Femminile playoffs also had some interesting developments this weekend and, in one of them, Eurotek Uyba Busto Arsizio became the sixth team guaranteed in the postseason.

The team needed just two points in their Sunday match against Il Bisonte Firenze and they got just that, triumphing 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 19-25, 28-26, 15-13) to get to 37 points and secure their spot in the playoffs.

Also on Sunday, ninth-placed Wash4Green Pinerolo needed a win over eighth-placed Megabox Ondulati Savio Vallefoglia to keep their hopes of entering the qualification zone before the end of the regular season alive and they got the job done, prevailing 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-17, 25-14).

With the result, they got to 27 points and can still catch both Vallefoglia and Bergamo, who have 33. Bergamo didn’t collect any points this weekend as they fell to Numia Vero Volley Milano 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-20) on Sunday.

Two other teams had big victories to celebrate on Sunday – Honda Olivero Cuneo, who topped Cda Volley Talmassons Fvg 3-1 (28-26, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19), and Bartoccini-MC Restauri Perugia, who downed SMI Roma Volley 3-2 (19-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 16-14).

With the results, they got to 22 and 21 points respectively and are now far from Firenze (16) and Talmassons (13), the two teams that appear in the relegation zone. With 17 points, Roma are also strongly involved in the dispute to continue in the Italian elite in 2025-2026.

The seventh and final match of the weekend happened on Saturday, when Savino Del Bene Scandicci defeated Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri ’76 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-20) on the road.

Lega Volley Femmnilie – Match Schedule & Results

The races for the playoffs and to avoid relegation will continue next weekend, with three matches on Saturday and four on Sunday.

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