Elena Arici will be De Gennaro’s deputy in the 2026-27 season: born in 2007 she will wear the number 13 jersey of Prosecco DOC A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano. Libero, 170 cm, Arici who last season played in A2 in Brescia (his hometown), becomes the 15th Panterina of the Imoco Next Gen nursery to make the leap among the greats.
FILE- Born in Bedizzole, in the province of Brescia, on July 8, 2007, Elena “Nina” Arici grew up volleyball in Volley Bedizzole, in 2022 she won the trophy of the Regions with Lombardy as the best libero of the competition. In 2023 he moved to the Imoco Next Gen nursery where he wore the Cortina Express Imoco San Donà jersey in the B1 championship, while with coach Stefano Gregoris’ U18 team he won the category Scudetto. In the 2024-25 season, Elena was aggregated in the pre-season to the Prosecco DOC Imoco group under the orders of coach Daniele Santarelli, entering the roster for the Courmayeur Cup and the Supercoppa di Roma won by the Panthers. In the same season Arici repeated herself as captain of the Panterine in the Juniores and B1, winning the U18 Scudetto for the second time at the end of the season.
HIS SEASON- In the season just ended, Arici won again: his Valsabbina Millenium Brescia won promotion to Serie A1 in the play-offs. In her first season among the big ones in Serie A2, Elena played 35 games receiving 385 balls in the second row. Her contribution was also decisive in the play-offs, where she was used on 7 occasions, responding punctually with defenses and a perfect reception at 32%. Waiting for Elena, soon, is the test of the Baccalaureate at the Bazoli-Polo Institute in Desenzano, specializing in Administration, Finance and Marketing.
ELENA ARICI STATEMENTS”
“The call from Conegliano allows me to make a dream come true, but it puts me in front of a considerable commitment and a great responsibility: I will have to train to the maximum to prove myself up to it, learning something every day from the best players in the world will be a huge stimulus. Imoco Next Gen is a quality reality that makes you feel like a little professional every day, it is an honor to be one of those who made the leap to the first team.
I will find Meme (Adigwe) who has always been a reference since the days of the youth sector in San Donà, so I am excited to be able to share this new path in the first team with her. The first few times I was lucky enough to work alongside De Gennaro, my heart was beating wildly and I felt really privileged: today, at the thought of sharing an entire season with her, I still feel an emotion that is difficult to describe. I will try to observe and learn from his every gesture, from every detail, on and off the pitch. For me she has always been a point of reference: she has been the best libero in the world for many years and has been, and continues to be, my idol. I am sure that being in the gym every day with her will offer me a unique opportunity for growth.
In the last season in Brescia I realized that in volleyball no one gives you anything, I had the opportunity to play continuously and this allowed me to accumulate experience, grow and gain greater awareness of my abilities. Thanks to the most experienced players in the group, I have matured on and off the court.
I will wear the number 13, which has a very special meaning for me and encompasses two fundamental values. The first is linked to my older sister, Chiara, a very important person in my life and in my sporting career. It was the number she played with and, when I was six, I chose to wear it just to look like her. The number 13 then took on an even more special value during my last year in the Under 18s, a season that I consider the most beautiful and significant of my career to date. A year full of emotions and satisfactions, culminating with the conquest of the Under 18 Scudetto, the crowning achievement of my journey in the nursery”.
