Thrilling Five-Setter Between Milano and Novara, No Surprises in Germany and Türkiye

It was expected to be a comfortable weekend for #CLVolleyW quarterfinalists in Türkiye in the new round of the regular season, and Stuttgart started their playoff round with a decisive victory in Germany. However, all eyes were on the massive clash between Milano and Novara in Italy, where the winner was determined with a challenging five-setter.

The CEV Champions League Volley quarterfinalist Allianz Vero Volley Milano took the court against Igor Gorgonzola Novara in the 20th week of the Italian Serie A1 Women. Both teams wanted to complete the regular season in the vice-leader position, and being aware of this, they showed a high-level game of volleyball from the first ball to the last. While the Novara side found a 2-1 lead in sets, Milano did not give up and extended the match to a tie-break with a superior game in the fourth. In the determining five sets, both teams did their best, but Novara managed to play better and won the match by 3-2 (29-27, 19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12).

Promising Russian opposite Vita Akimova was honored with the MVP title thanks to her 24-point performance, including one ace and one block. Outside hitters Dutch Anne Buijs and Hungarian Greta Szakmary contributed to the team as well, with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Italian superstar Paola Egonu’s 28 points and her compatriot Miriam Sylla’s 20 points were insufficient for Milano to win.

Novara still finished the weekend in second place in the overall standings, but now these two teams have separated only by 2 points. A. Carraro Imoco Volley Conegliano kept their perfect record and top position with a victory in four sets.

After the regular phase, the playoff stage started in Germany, and the remaining #CLVolleyW squad of the country, Allianz MTV Stuttgart, faced VfB Suhl in their first match in this round. With a more powerful game throughout the game, Stuttgart left the court with a straight-set victory (3-0: 25-16, 25-22, 25-19). Since the winners of the normal season, SSC Palmberg Schwerin, dropped one point to Dresdner SC, the gap has now decreased to two points.

Without letting any surprises happen, the superpowers of Türkiye passed their opponents without any difficulties: Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul and Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul defeated their rivals in three sets, and VakifBank took a win by 3-1. With these results, the top three standings did not change, and Fenerbahce remained on the top, followed by Eczacibasi and VakifBank.

Except for Novara, who had a failure, all teams finished their weekend with a good result, and they will surely continue to prepare for their first #CLVolleyW quarterfinal matches to keep their dreams alive in the most elite tournament of the competition.