The season is getting more and more lively: Prosecco DOC A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano hosts Igor Gorgonzola Novara in Game 1 of the Semifinals of the Serie A1 Tigotà Scudetto play-offs. It is played on Sunday at the Palaverde, kick-off at 17.15. It is a best-of-five series, the Panthers arrive there after beating Busto Arsizio in the quarterfinals, while the Mosquitoes have overcome Chieri. Game 2 will be played on Saturday 21 March at 21.15 at Pala Igor, while Game 3 will be played again at Palaverde at 20.30 on Wednesday 24 March. Sunday’s will be the fourth confrontation of the season between the two teams after the two in the Regular Season and the semi-final of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa: on all occasions the Panthers have had the upper hand.
PREVIOUS AND EX- It will be the fourth consecutive time that the two teams face each other in the Scudetto semifinals, the “classic” of Italian volleyball has also been 5 times Super Cup final, 4 times Italian Cup final, 3 Scudetto final and a Champions League final. It will be the 64th match between Conegliano and Novara, on 49 occasions the Panthers have prevailed. 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, now assistant to coach Santarelli, was part of the Novara staff. Federica Squarcini played with the Panthers, at Palaverde from 2022 to 2024.
REFEREES: Verrascina and Puecher
MEDIA: The match will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV on Rai Sport (channel 58 of the digital terrestrial) and in streaming on VolleyballWorld.tv (by subscription). Live updates and post-match interviews on Imoco Volley’s social profiles
TICKET OFFICE: A few dozen tickets are still available online on Vivaticket.com, cash desks open at the Palaverde starting at 3.45 pm, an hour and a half before kick-off
STATEMENTS BY COACH DANIELE SANTARELLI”
We are in the play-offs, the pace is very tight and a new series begins. We have played with Novara on several occasions this season, in some respects we know each other quite well. But now we play the best of 5, with close matches: in between we will play the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Palaverde against Zeren, a challenge that will take away some energy from a mental point of view. But we will have time to recover, we hope to have the enthusiasm on our side of the European games, a load of positive energy that pushes us to give even more in Game 1 and Game 2. Igor has had time to prepare, he has many alternatives in the center and strong forwards with the high ball: they can put anyone in trouble and they have amply demonstrated it, maximum respect for them. To win the final we have to do something beautiful, it will be an extraordinary sporting battle, the Scudetto semi-finals will be a spectacle for the fans. I know that many fans have already secured their place at the Palaverde, starting in front of our fans gives us the right motivation to give our best on the pitch; I already thank all the people who will follow us at the arena at home and away” .
OLD WILD WEST, THE COWBOY SHOOTS THE T-SHIRTS DURING THE INTERVALS BETWEEN SETS ACCOMPANIED BY THE BLUE CREW ROYALS- The Palaverde crowd this year has a new attraction, during the intervals between sets the cowboy of Old Wild West will “shoot” the OWW personalized t-shirts for the Panthers fans in the stands. This season, with the discount found on the digital ticket and subscription, the Palaverde public will be able to enjoy a 15% discount throughout the season in the Old Wild West restaurants. The OWW cowboy will be “escorted” by the breakdancing rhythm of Roberto “Blue” Baseggio’s Blu Royals dance crew.
ZHU TING PANTHER OF THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY- Da Ros Green rewards the Panther chosen by the public on social media as MVP of the month, for February 2026 the Chinese superstar Zhu Ting prevailed in the votes of the online fans, who will be awarded in the pre-match by Antonello Da Ros with a fine product signed Da Ros Green.
SPONSOR DAY DOLOMIA WATER- Acqua Dolomia is the Sponsor Day of Sunday’s race. Acqua Dolomia is a company of national importance based in Cimolais (PN), in the eastern Dolomites, The dolomite rock is one of the main components of the mountain groups of the Dolomites. It is this rock that gave its name to Dolomia Water and from which it draws the precious elements that make it unique. And Game 1 of the semifinals will be characterized by the initiatives of Acqua Dolomia: from the distribution of gadgets and souvenirs to the public to the photo of the representatives of the Prosecco DOC partner A. Carraro Imoco Volley at the end of the match with the players.
SPONSOR DAY MANPOWER Manpower is the Day Sponsor of Sunday’s race, which through Paride Grimani will award the MVP through a Manpower gift and will customize the VIP room of the Palaverde with the presence of 2 special hostesses for the occasion.
MONICA DE GENNARO VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF 2025 FOR VOLLEYBALL.IT
The “Volleyball Player of the Year 2025” award in Volleyball.it was awarded to Monica De Gennaro. The award ceremony will be held on Sunday in the pre-match of Game 1 of the semifinals between Prosecco Doc Imoco Volley Conegliano and Igor Gorgonzola Novara, a moment chosen to pay homage to one of the most representative protagonists of Italian volleyball. The recognition stems from the sum of the votes cast by a jury of journalists from the national press and those of fans who participated in the survey published on the Volleyball.it+ app, a voting system that combines the judgment of insiders with that of the volleyball public. With this award Volleyball.it wanted to pay homage to one of the most important figures in Italian and international volleyball. During 2025 Monica De Gennaro has once again confirmed her technical value and leadership, contributing to the successes of the national team and continuing to be a point of reference for the Conegliano club, with which over the years she has built one of the most successful cycles in the history of European volleyball. The Volleyball Player of the Year award, promoted by Volleyball.it, celebrates every season the athlete who has most marked the year of Italian and international volleyball. In 2025 this recognition finds in Monica De Gennaro an ideal interpreter: a champion capable of combining results, continuity and sporting values. The award will be presented by Luca Muzzioli, director of the Volleyball.it newspaper, promoter of the initiative.
ZEREN RETURN
PRESALEThe online pre-sale for the second leg of the CEV Zeren Group Champions League quarter-finals between Antonio Carraro Prosecco DOC Conegliano and Ankara Zeren Spor Kulübü is already open, it will be played on Wednesday 18 March at 20.30 at Palaverde. Info and tickets on Vivaticket.com