Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s championship series in Italy continues on Tuesday with game two. After a solid five-set battle in game one on Saturday, now it is Vero Volley Milan’s turn to entertain Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano at their home venue in Monza.

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Defending titleholders Imoco managed to edge forward in the final playoff after squeezing out a hard-fought 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 15-11) victory with the support of the home crowd at the Palaverde in Villorba. Over 5,300 fans on the stands saw the reigning club world champions from Conegliano claim their 25th win over Vero Volley out of 28 encounters between the two teams, but not before the visitors from Milan put up a mighty battle in an attempt to deliver an upset like they did in the first match of the championship series last year. It was also the fourth time Imoco defeated Vero Volley this season, but the first time Vero Volley managed to push the match to five sets.

With one squad just as star-studded as the other, another stellar battle and, quite possibly, another fiery scoring duel between Jordan Thompson and Isabelle Haak, are coming up at 20:45 local time (18:45 UTC) on Tuesday evening at Arena Di Monza. Vero Volley’s American opposite outscored her Swedish counterpart on Imoco’s side with 36 points against 32 on Saturday, but it was Haak that celebrated with the team victory at the end of the match as Imoco took a step closer to their fifth consecutive and sixth overall national crown. Aiming at their first-ever championship title, Vero Volley will certainly try to take advantage of the home court atmosphere, delight the home fans with a win and turn the course of events in this best-of-five series.

“We must take advantage of the opportunities that will arise during the match. We had an intense first match from start to finish, with opportunities to edge ahead,” said Vero Volley’s head coach Marco Gaspari. “In game two, we will need more attention to the situations that will happen. Improving in the transition phase and once again keeping Joanna Wolosz away from the net, as well as taking advantage of the opportunities that Conegliano give us, doing our thing well, must be our objectives in order to try to equalize the series.”

“I believe that in a very short time, for two teams like these, who have worked for months to get to the final playing their best volleyball, it is very difficult to make adjustments to the game plan,” commented Imoco’s head coach Daniele Santarelli. “Instead, what can be done by both sides is do the best possible with respect to their own characteristics and try to limit the strengths of the opponents. We are two strong teams that deserve the final for the continuity of performance during the year and the overall value of the teams. In the first game, we saw some volleyball that was not perfect, but full of emotion and suspense as it should be in a championship final where the stakes are the highest. We're leaving for Monza for another challenge that promises to be fascinating, at a venue that will be as hot as it was at the Palaverde. There's little we can do. We'll tie our laces and we'll take to the court to play our best match because we want to win.”

“The first game gave us a lot of confidence,” said Vero Volley’s middle blocker Raphaela Folie. “We can't wait to get back on the court again at our house.”

“The first match was a tough battle as we expected,” said Imoco’s setter and captain Joanna Wolosz. “We know that Milan is a very strong team that never gives up, but we too showed our tenacity by coming back and winning a game that didn't go well, showing our character. In game two, I expect a very hot atmosphere at their home and certainly Vero Volley will try to do even better to level the series after suffering our comeback in the previous match at the Palaverde. So we must mentally prepare ourselves well for the challenge and try to do even better on the pitch than we did on Saturday, eliminating some mistakes and trying to impose our game continuously throughout the match.”

Also on Saturday evening, Itas Trentino Trento managed a 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-18) home win over Valsabbina Millenium Brescia in the first match of the best-of-three playoff for the second promotion ticket from Serie A2 to Serie A1 next season

Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s Final Leg 2 schedule:
May 9, 20:45 local (18:45 UTC): Vero Volley Milan v Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano

Lega Pallavolo Serie A2 Femminile’s Promotion Final Leg 2 schedule:
May 10, 19:30 local (17:30 UTC): Valsabbina Millenium Brescia v Itas Trentino Trento

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