Four Set Victories in Türkiye, No Surprises in Italy

We will all find out who will be the #CLVolleyW SuperFinalists this year, and the Italians have the advantage since they took the first matches against the Turkish superpowers. This weekend was expected to be relatively comfortable for all of those, and each of the four squads left the court with three-point victories.

The undefeated leader of Italy and the reigning titleholder of the domestic tournament, A. Carraro Imoco Volley Conegliano, hosted Wash4green Pinerolo in the 25th round of the Italian Serie A1 Women. After the huge comeback opposed to Eczacibasi in the #CLVolleyW semifinals, Italian expert Daniele Santarelli’s squad showed a superior game from beginning to end and took a three-set victory (3-0: 25-19, 25-18, 25-21).

American outside hitter Kelsey Robinson-Cook was selected as the MVP of the clash with 15 points, same with her compatriot, Kathryn Plummer. Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak (12 points) and Italian outside hitter Marina Lubian (11 points) were the other players who helped the team the most.

Similarly, the other CEV Champions League Volley semifinalist of the country, Allianz Vero Volley Milano, also had a pretty good weekend: They faced Il Bisonte Firenze and by showing a better performance except for the second set; Milano became victorious by a score of 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21).

Italian opposite Paola Egonu was the most productive player with 22 points, but the MVP title went to Miriam Sylla, who scored 14 points, including four blocks. Kara Bajema showed impressive performance on the service line (5 aces), and Sonia Candi’s four blocks are also worth mentioning on the winning side.

The leaderboard stayed the same in Italy before the first round: Imoco maintained their first place with the perfect record of 25-0, followed by Savino Del Bene Scandicci and Allianz Vero Volley Milano, respectively, who have 21 victories apiece.

Without a doubt, top Turkish clubs Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul and Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul will aim to put their best to the court in the rematch of the #CLVolleyW semifinals in front of their fans. Before their next continental challenge, they had their tests in the 25th leg of the Turkish Sultanlar League, and both of them left the court in four sets.

In the clash against Cukurova Belediyespor (3-1: 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 25-11), Turkish superstar Melissa Vargas became the top scorer with 23 points, followed by Russians Arina Fedorovtseva (18), and Irina Voronkova (10). Likewise, Eczacibasi Side defeated PTT by the same score (3-1: 22-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-23), while Turkish promising outside hitter Yaprak Erkek tallied 16 points.

Now, all eyes will be on whether the Turkish squads managed to advance to the #CLVolleyW SuperFinals, or there will be an Italian derby in Türkiye? To find out, you should definitely keep an eye on the most prestigious tournament of the continent.