Olympic champions Robinson and Washington prepare for Italian League clash

The Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile is one of the best women's domestic leagues in the world and features many of the leading players in international volleyball. These players have a huge impact on the outcome of the Italian League and this weekend’s action will feature an intriguing duel between Tokyo Olympic champions Kelsey Robinson and Haleigh Washington when Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano take on Savino Del Bene Scandicci.

Americans Kelsey Robinson and Haleigh Washington played together during some of the most important moments of their careers, including at last year’s Tokyo Olympics. This weekend, however, they will be opponents in the most exciting match of the week in the Italian women's league.

Robinson’s Conegliano and Washington’s Scandicci, who are currently ranked first and third in the standings, will face each other in the most anticipated match of the week, which will take place at 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday.

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Robinson, 30, and Washington, 27, have been teammates on the United States women’s national team since 2019, when the middle blocker first became a part of the team. Both helped their country's team in one of the most successful periods of its history, winning several medals in the last three years.

With Robinson and Washington on the team, USA won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, a pair of Volleyball Nations League titles (2019, 2021) and took silver at the FIVB Volleyball World Cup (2019) and NORCECA Championships (2019).

The two have a great deal of experience in the Italian League and are both in a similar position, adjusting to new teammates, after they switched clubs ahead of the 2022-2023 season.

Robinson has played for only one team in Italy - Conegliano. She is beginning her second stint with the club, which she first played for between 2015 and 2017, after splitting her time over the last five seasons between Türkiye, China and Japan.

An Italian League winner with Conegliano in 2015-2016, Robinson has been a key player for Conegliano this season. Her team’s second-best scorer with 90 points in ten matches, she also ranks second in perfect passes among all Conegliano players (50).

This past weekend, Robinson lifted the first trophy after her return to Conegliano after she helped the club defeat Igor Gorgonzola Novara 3-1 and secure gold in the Italian Supercoppa.

Washington, on the other hand, has never left Italy since she first arrived in 2017. She is, however, playing for her fifth club in the country. After representing Conad Olimpia Teodora Ravenna, Banca Valsabbina Millenium Brescia, Unet E-Work Busto Arsizio and Igor Gorgonzola Novara, she was signed by Scandicci to be one of the key players on the team in 2022-2023.

The American has been living up to expectations so far, leading the team in blocks with 14. She is also coming from her most productive match of the season so far, having produced a 15-point (eight kills, five blocks, two aces) performance in a five-set upset to Busto this past weekend.

Scandicci will need excellent production from Washington again to defeat Conegliano for the first time since 2019. The reigning Italian champions have won the 14 most recent duels between the two teams, including the two that were part of last season’s Italian League semifinal series.

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Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
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