Two playoff spots and survival in A1 at stake this weekend

It is time for the penultimate leg in Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s regular season and this weekend could potentially provide the answers to all questions still standing: who are the last two teams to line up among the quarterfinalists and which team will be the second to take the elevator down to the second division in Italy.

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The 25th leg is set to start on Saturday with a game between Vero Volley Milan and Il Bisonte Florence at 18:00 local time (16:00 UTC). The visitors from Florence are the only team currently below the cut-off for the playoffs that have a shot at climbing up above the line and booking a spot in the quarterfinals. Il Bisonte are ninth in the standings on a 9-15 win-loss record and 29 points, five points below the two teams above them in the table, seventh-placed e-work Busto Arsizio and eighth-placed Volley Bergamo 1991. That means Il Bisonte are in a must-win situation as they visit Monza on Saturday, which will be a very difficult task, given that Vero Volley are number three in the table on 18-6 and 55 points, and given that Il Bisonte followed up a five-game winning run with a five-game losing streak.

When the two teams met in Florence in December, Vero Volley hammered out a straight-set victory, spearheaded by middle blocker Raphaela Folie and despite a 17-point match high from Il Bisonte’s Belgian scoring machine Britt Herbots. The team from Milan lead the head-to-head series with Il Bisonte by 10-7.

“The goal is to win and try to reach second place that is still mathematically possible,” said Vero Volley’s head coach Marco Gaspari. “We have raised the workload to be ready for the final act of the season, without however neglecting quality. What match awaits us against Florence? They changed a lot compared to the previous match, starting with the coach and the setter. We'll have to pay attention and stay focused throughout the match.”

“We're coming off a bad performance against Conegliano and now we want to change the way we play on the court against another strong team like Milan,” said Il Bisonte’s head coach Carlo Parisi. “We have to meet Vero Volley a little more open face. We compromised the race for eighth place by wasting a few opportunities. Now we have to at least try to keep ninth knowing that two games remain, one more difficult than the other.”

Of course, Il Bisonte’s two rivals for the remaining two vacancies in the playoffs are much closer to booking them. Each of them needs just one win or two points from the last two regular season matches to make their way to the last eight. However, they both have difficult trips this weekend too.

On Saturday, at 20:30 local (18:30 UTC), e-work Busto Arsizio will play at Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo, and on Sunday, at 19:30 local (17:30 UTC), Volley Bergamo 1991 will visit second-placed Savino Del Bene Scandicci.

“We want to continue playing with spirit and determination,” said e-work’s middle Rossella Olivotto. “Beyond our well-known physical problems, I'm sure we will be able to play a good match and we will do all to give satisfaction to the many fans who will follow us away again.”

“We don't want to lose sight of our goal,” said Bergamo’s American outside hitter Khalia Lanier. “We cannot waste the many beautiful things we have shown this year. We took some satisfaction with important victories and with the qualification for the Coppa Italia Final Four, but that's not enough for us! We want qualification for the playoffs and we can't give up now.”

The two teams fighting for survival in Serie A1 also have difficult away matches this weekend. The gap between 12th-placed Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia and 13th-placed Wash4Green Pinerolo is just a point and anything could happen over the last two legs of the regular season.

Still, a three-point win for the team from Perugia as they visit fourth-placed Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri at 17:00 local (15:00 UTC) on Sunday, combined with a three or four-set loss for Wash4Green when they play at sixth-placed Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore at the same time, would be deciding. Otherwise, the question of survival will have to be resolved in the very last leg of the regular season.

“Sunday's match is of crucial importance for both teams,” said Trasportipesanti’s head coach Andrea Pistola. “Pinerolo are obviously taking all possible chances to stay in the division while we have to try to keep the distance from Bergamo and Busto to hold on to the sixth place. Therefore it will be a very heated competition and we will need to be good at playing a high-level game all the time. We know that a very tough battle with Pinerolo awaits us.”

In the other two games of the 25th leg, at 20:30 local time (18:30 UTC) on Saturday, Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia welcome Igor Gorgonzola Novara, while table leaders Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano entertain already relegated CBF Balducci HR Macerata.

Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile’s 25th leg schedule:

Apr 1, 18:00 local (16:00 UTC): Vero Volley Milan v Il Bisonte Florence

Apr 1, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia v Igor Gorgonzola Novara

Apr 1, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Cuneo Granda S.Bernardo v e-work Busto Arsizio

Apr 1, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano v CBF Balducci HR Macerata

Apr 2, 17:00 local (15:00 UTC): Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri v Bartoccini-Fortinfissi Perugia

Apr 2, 17:00 local (15:00 UTC): Trasportipesanti Casalmaggiore v Wash4Green Pinerolo

Apr 2, 19:30 local (17:30 UTC): Savino Del Bene Scandicci v Volley Bergamo 1991

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