Outstanding Service Performance From Imoco Against Scandicci, Five Set Victory For Stuttgart

Before the upcoming playoff clashes in #CLVolleyW, the most elite squads in Germany had challenging games in their domestic leagues, while in the most anticipated clash of the weekend, Imoco took an unexpectedly comfortable victory against Scandicci, primarily thanks to their service line performance.

Two CEV Champions League Volley quarterfinalists, A. Carraro Imoco Volley Conegliano and Savino Del Bene Scandicci, faced off in the 18th round of the Italian Serie A1 Women.

In fact, it was expected to be a clash that both teams would face difficulties in the game, but with a superior game from beginning to end, the Imoco side won the battle in straight sets (3-0: 25-15, 25-21, 25-17). Imoco showed an outstanding performance in every aspect, but their services were the most significant key in this victory: With a total of 10 ace points, 6 in the first set, Imoco clearly disrupted all Scandicci’s strategies, and they could easily find ways to play their own game.

The Polish star setter Joanna Wolosz was selected as the MVP of the game since she let five teammates score in double digits: Isabelle Haak (15), Sarah Fahr (12), Marina Lubian (12), Kathryn Plummer (11) and Kelsey Robinson-Cook (11) let their team in this victory.

Imoco remained undefeated and finished the weekend as the leaders by maintaining their perfect record (18 wins in 18 matches). Suffering their fourth failure, the Scandicci side dropped to fourth place. Vero Volley Milano (48 points) and Igor Gorgonzola Novara (42 points) completed the podium in overall standings after the weekend in Italy.

Two German powerhouses, Allianz MTV Stuttgart and SC Potsdam, will take the court against each other to advance to the quarterfinals in #CLVolleyW, and they held important fights this weekend in their national league as last tests.

Allianz MTV Stuttgart visited SSC Palmberg Schwerin in the 17th leg of German 1. Bundesliga Women. Stuttgart had many ups and downs in the first three sets, falling behind 2-1. After this point, the team once again started to play their own usual game, and after a deciding fifth set, they took the game by 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-13).

American opposite Krystal Rivers became the most productive player on the winning side with 24 points, followed by Maria Segura Palleres with 18 and Jolien Knollema with 16. The top scorer of the match was Nova Marring, which was not enough for victory in Schwerin.

The last test did not go well for Potsdam: They met VfB Suhl this weekend in their domestic challenge and received a shocking result in three sets (0-3: 16-25, 15-25, 20-25). Even though the result did not affect their standings in charts, the gap between them and the higher-ranked teams increased. In addition, they also lost the opportunity to have a mental advantage before their Playoff game.

Now, we are all ready to watch some good volleyball actions in the first Playoff clashes in the #CLVolleyW. Can Potsdam change how they played on the weekend and make things harder for Stuttgart, or does the latter side become the German participant in the quarterfinals? To get the answer to this question, as well as to see what will Turkish participants Vakifbank Istanbul and Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul bring to the court, keep following the most prestigious tournament in Europe.