Quarterfinals Continue in Italy, Poland, and Germany This Weekend

While we are getting closer to the end of the national league season, the competition is getting more challenging for the top of the podium. This weekend, the quarterfinal stage will continue in Italy with second matches, and the last semifinalist will become clear in Poland and Germany.

After the national league phase, this year’s SuperFinalists started the playoff stage with victories in Italian Serie A1 Women. This was pretty easy for A. Carraro Imoco Volley Conegliano since they beat Roma in straight sets. Still, things were so much harder for Allianz Vero Volley Milano: They faced Pinerolo in their first quarterfinal game and took their first win in the tie-break. Similarly, Scandicci and Chieri ’76 became other teams who took the lead by 1-0 in this phase in Italy.

In Poland, three spots for the semifinals have already been booked for the top three teams, and the last one will manage to advance to the next round this weekend. The leaders of the main stage, Grupa Azoty Chemik Police, vice-leaders Bielsko-Biala, and third-placed Developres Rzeszow filled the first three places in the semifinals after winning their series by 2-0. In the matchup where Lodz squads faced off, there was a massive competition between LKS Lodz and Budowlani Lodz, and the series was tied to 1-1 after two matches. In the determining game, we will learn the fourth semifinalist in Poland this Sunday.

Things were very similar in Germany: The quarterfinal stage will continue, but three of the victors have already secured their spots in the next round. Alongside the SC Potsdam and Allianz MTV Stuttgart, the regular season champions, SSC Palmberg Schwerin passed to the semifinals. The owner of the remaining spot will become apparent in the third and the last game between Dresdner SC and VC Wiesbaden. Undoubtedly, the Dresdner side is the pre-favorite of the game, but Wiesbaden will also push their limits harder to take the last ticket.

Things are now getting harder in the top leagues of Europe, where the most elite squads of the countries have started to face off in the playoff stage. We will see whether the regular season’s successful teams take their place in the semifinal stage or the underdogs can write a different story.