Masters of the tiebreak: Bergamo v Novara this weekend

Two teams that each won their two most recent Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile matches in tie-breaker sets will go against each other on Sunday. In one of this weekend’s seven 18th round fixtures in Italy, Volley Bergamo 1991 will host Igor Gorgonzola Novara as both attempt to stay on the winning track.

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Last Sunday, Bergamo celebrated a five-set away victory over Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo, with Croatian international Bozana Butigan claiming the MVP award after raising five kill blocks towards the victory. In the previous round, young Italian opposite Giorgia Frosini led Bergamo to a five-set home win over Vero Volley Milano, the team racing neck and neck with Novara near the top end of the standings. Even their game before that was pushed to five sets, only that time Bergamo lost the tie-breaker at Il Bisonte Firenze. In between, Bergamo also delivered a major surprise upon their visit to second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci for a Coppa Italia quarterfinal, upsetting the opponents after five sets.

Meanwhile, Novara also managed a five-set away win at Scandicci two rounds ago, with libero Eleonora Fersino earning the MVP nomination and Turkish opposite Ebrar Karakurt leading the team’s scorers. Last Saturday, Igor Gorgonzola claimed a home victory over e-work Busto Arsizio, again after five sets of play as outside hitter Caterina Bosetti took the MVP award. Novara are the team with the most tie-breaker wins in the league this season. Their record shows as many as five 3-2 victories.

So as Bergamo and Novara meet on Sunday afternoon, another sizzling five-set battle could be in the making. In fact, the last time Bergamo managed to beat Novara in January 2018 they did it in the tie-breaker. However, Novara completely dominated the head-to-head record over the five-year period after that, claiming eight consecutive victories and losing only three sets along the way. Novara are fourth in the current standings on 38 points and a 14-3 win-loss record, while Bergamo are seventh on 35 and 8-9.

Il Bisonte Firenze (ninth on 21 and 7-10) are another team that will be looking to extend their winning streak this weekend as they welcome Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri on Sunday evening. After beating Bergamo three rounds ago, Firenze managed another five-set win at Wash4Green Pinerolo, with opposite Sylvia Nwakalor emerging as the top scorer and claiming the MVP awards in both matches. With recent addition, Italy’s national team setter Ofelia Malinov finding her rhythm with the new team, last Sunday Firenze hammered out a clean sweep of CBF Balducci HR Macerata.

However, it’s time again to face an opponent from the top five teams in the standings. Chieri had been on a five-game winning streak in the league until last Sunday, when they put up a tough fight against reigning club world champions, defending Italian champions, recent Coppa Italia winners and current table leaders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano, but lost in the tie-breaker, despite a solid performance from their outside hitter Francesca Villani. They are currently in fifth place on 36 and 12-5.

Chieri shut out Firenze at home during the first half of the regular season. However, the club from Florence lead the overall head-to-head by five wins to four.

Also on Sunday, e-work Busto Arsizio will entertain Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia in a duel quite important in the race for the playoff spots. While Busto Arsizio are currently eighth on 22 and 7-10, just above the cut-off line for the quarterfinals, Vallefoglia are only two points below, in 10th place on 20 and 7-10.

Last weekend, Serbian middle blocker Maja Aleksic, who took the MVP award, Russian outside and captain Tatyana Kosheleva and the American tandem of setter Micha Hancock and opposite Andrea Drews led Vallefoglia to a 3-1 home win over Pinerolo, while Busto Arsizio put up a heavy battle upon their visit to Novara, but failed to capitalise on the one-set leads they had twice in the match, spearheaded by top scorers Alice Degradi and Brazil’s Rosamaria Montibeller.

Sunday’s programme also includes Imoco’s home game against Cuneo and Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore’s visit to Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia. The 18th round starts on Saturday with Macerata hosting Milano and ends on Monday with Scandicci entertaining Pinerolo.

This weekend’s Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile schedule:

Feb 11, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): CBF Balducci HR Macerata v Vero Volley Milano

Feb 12, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Volley Bergamo 1991 v Igor Gorgonzola Novara

Feb 12, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano v Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo

Feb 12, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): e-work Busto Arsizio v Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia

Feb 12, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia v Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore

Feb 12, 19:30 local (18:30 UTC): Il Bisonte Firenze v Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri

Feb 13, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Savino Del Bene Scandicci v Wash4Green Pinerolo

Quick links:

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Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
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