Appointment with the “classic” for the play-off semi-finals of the championship: the Prosecco DOC Imoco Conegliano, reigning champion and still undefeated in the season, challenges tomorrow, Saturday, at 18.00 at the Palaverde the Igor Gorgonzola Novara, in the re-edition of last season’s semifinal, is played in the best of 5 challenges. A complete team for coach Daniele Santarelli, the Panthers faced and beat Bergamo 2-0 in the quarterfinals; to overcome Chieri, however, Novara went as far as the tie-break of game-3. It is one of the most recurring challenges in Italian volleyball, there are already 3 seasonal confrontations between the two teams, all won by Prosecco DOC Imoco.
MEDIA: The match will be broadcast live on TV on Rai Sport and streamed on DAZN, withlive updates and post-match interviews on Imoco Volley’s Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels.
PREVIOUS AND EX: There are 56 previous matches, with 43 victories for Prosecco DOC Imoco and 13 for Novara. Last year in the semifinal (best of three games) the “beautiful” in game 3 was needed to give the Panthers the pass for the final.
A great former player of the challenge is the central Cristina Chirichella, who in 10 years of militancy with Igor Gorgonzola has won, among others, a Scudetto in 2017 and a CEV Champions League in 2019. On the Novara side, the libero Eleonora Fersino and the central Federica Squarcini played in yellow-blue.
A great former player of the challenge is the central Cristina Chirichella, who in 10 years of militancy with Igor Gorgonzola has won, among others, a Scudetto in 2017 and a CEV Champions League in 2019. On the Novara side, the libero Eleonora Fersino and the central Federica Squarcini played in yellow-blue.
TICKET OFFICE: There are still tickets available for the match, online until the start of the match on Vivaticket.it and at the Palaverde in the pre-match, cash desks open from 16:30. The match is included in the subscription.
SPONSOR DAY VOLVO AUTOPOLAR
Volvo Autopolar will be the official sponsor of game 1 for the Playoff semi-final against Novara/Chieri. The Autopolar Group, historically close to the world of sport and the territory, confirms itself as a fundamental partner for Imoco Volley, sharing with the team the passion for quality and innovation The semifinal match promises strong emotions, and Volvo Autopolar will be alongside Imoco Volley to support the athletes in a crucial moment of the competition.
AWARDS
In the pre-match, the club will reward Isabelle Haak for having set the record for points (2576) scored in history by a Panther in the Bergamo match. After the initial line-up of the teams, on the other hand, a prize will be given for the absolute record of attendance (631) in the history of Italian volleyball won on Sunday by Monica De Gennaro, who is the “all time” player who has played the most matches in Serie A. “Moki” will be awarded by the Women’s Volleyball League for the 631 matches and by her historic personal jersey sponsor, Soligo Hills.
In the pre-match, the club will reward Isabelle Haak for having set the record for points (2576) scored in history by a Panther in the Bergamo match. After the initial line-up of the teams, on the other hand, a prize will be given for the absolute record of attendance (631) in the history of Italian volleyball won on Sunday by Monica De Gennaro, who is the “all time” player who has played the most matches in Serie A. “Moki” will be awarded by the Women’s Volleyball League for the 631 matches and by her historic personal jersey sponsor, Soligo Hills.
COACH SANTARELLI STATEMENTS
“Novara is one of the four teams to win trophies and they are proving it: they reached the Final Four of the Italian Cup, they put us in trouble in league games and they reached the final of the CEV Cup. They have many alternatives, flexible players and can beat anyone, they showed it against Scandicci and Milan. We will have to be careful, they have solutions that can put us in difficulty. We are called upon to put in a better performance than in the Coppa Italia semi-final where we suffered a lot against Igor, we need to limit mistakes and pay attention to their strengths.
It will be a long series with three full weeks of work, we are not used to working like this, we have not had the opportunity for months. We will be able to take care of the details, manage the energy and focus on different jobs than the rest of the season. The focus shifts a lot on the tactical level of the opponents at this stage, but also on technical aspects that we can still improve.
It will be important to start well also because we play in our Palaverde, we have the home factor in our favor and we will try to start in the best way. I expect a building capable of pushing the team to victory “.
It will be a long series with three full weeks of work, we are not used to working like this, we have not had the opportunity for months. We will be able to take care of the details, manage the energy and focus on different jobs than the rest of the season. The focus shifts a lot on the tactical level of the opponents at this stage, but also on technical aspects that we can still improve.
It will be important to start well also because we play in our Palaverde, we have the home factor in our favor and we will try to start in the best way. I expect a building capable of pushing the team to victory “.