For the Prosecco DOC A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano, the spotlights are on the Final Four of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa. Today the Panthers travel strictly as per tradition aboard a Frecciarossa train, to Turin for one of the most anticipated seasonal events in Italian volleyball. It will be played in the evocative setting of the Inalpi Arena on 24 and 25 January: the yellow-blue Panthers, reigning champions, face the semi-final against Igor Gorgonzola Novara on Saturday at 3.30 pm, while Savino del Bene Scandicci and Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri ’76 will take the field at 6 pm.
The matches will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV on Rai Sport (channel 58 digital terrestrial) and streamed on Volleyballworld.tv (subscription required). The final will be played on Sunday at 3 pm and will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV on Rai 2.
For the trip to Turin, the presence of a few hundred fans from Conegliano is expected, coach Daniele Santarelli can count on his full roster.
Tomorrow morning at 11.00, in the Piedmontese capital, the press conference will be held to present the event, coach Daniele Santarelli and captain Asia Wolosz will speak at the Transparency Room of the Piedmont Skyscraper in Piazza Piemonte 1. Live on the social channels and Youtube channel of Lega Volley Femminile.
THE PLANT- Women’s volleyball lands for the first time in the magnificent Inalpi Arena, a building that hosts the very popular ATP Finals tennis every year, while from 2023 it is the venue for the LBA Final Eight. It was the Olympic sports hall for the 2006 Winter Games, and is the scene of shows and concerts, including the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. Women’s volleyball also had its event with the Champions League Superfinal won by Vakifbank in 2023, and now it is the turn of the top Italian teams in one of the most “pop” locations in Italian sport today. A perfect structure to host events of this magnitude for the maximum comfort it offers to enthusiasts. There are few tickets left available for the event, a sold out of about 12,500 spectators is expected for Sunday’s final
THE OPPONENTS- Never as in the 2026 edition, the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa appears very open on the field. The Panthers play for access to the final on Saturday against Igor Gorgonzola Novara, in a classic of Italian volleyball that also saw the Piedmontese win in the finals of 2018 and 2019. On the other hand, Savino del Bene Scandicci arrives at the Final Four as the main pursuer of Prosecco DOC in the championship, with the title of Club World Champion won in São Paulo in December in the final against the Panthers, while Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri ’76 returns to F4 after the participations of 2021, 2022 and 2024.
PREVIOUS AND FORMER NOVARA- It will be the 63rd challenge between the two teams, on 48 occasions Conegliano has had the upper hand, including the championship matches of the current Regular Season. Former players of the match on the yellow-blue side were the middle blocker Cristina Chirichella, 10 seasons at Igor, and the Dutch spiker Nika Daalderop, while Maurizio Mora, assistant to coach Santarelli, was part of the Novara staff. Federica Squarcini played with the Panthers, at Palaverde from 2022 to 2024. In the Italian Cup the teams have already crossed 8 times, last year in the semifinals Conegliano won, the overall balance is 5 yellow-blue victories and 3 of the “mosquitoes”.
HISTORY- Prosecco DOC reaches its eleventh participation, tenth consecutive, in the Final Four of the national cup. He has collected 7 victories in his palmarès so far, the last six of which have been consecutive: in 2017 in Florence in the final against Piacenza, in 2020 in Busto Arsizio in the final against the home team, in 2021 in Rimini and in 2022 in Rome, winning the epilogue against Novara both times. In 2023 again at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio victory in the final with Vero Volley Milano, in 2024 the fifth in a row in Trieste in the final with Vero Volley Milano, last year in Bologna again against Milan. In 2018 and 2019 the two finals lost in Bologna and Verona with Igor Novara. In 2015, at their first experience in F4, the Panthers went out in the semifinals in Rimini, again with Novara.
ROLL OF HONOUR- With the success of 2025, Prosecco DOC leads the roll of honour with 7 successes ahead of Olimpia Teodora Ravenna and Bergamo, both with 6 victories, Sirio Perugia (5) and Reggio Emilia (4).
It will be a great show and a great competition with teams of the highest level to compete for the Italian Cup, we at Prosecco DOC Imoco Conegliano are there, we will have to fight on every point, this year I see Scandicci as the favorite, it is the World Champion team, it beat us in the final in Brazil and will be the team to beat in this Final Four. We will start from a very tough semi-final with Igor Novara who will have the push of the Piedmontese public and will play practically at home, it is an opponent for us that has always been historically difficult, a battle awaits us on every ball. I see one of the most difficult Coppa Italia ever.”