Tolok injured her shoulder. Hopefully nothing serious
Italy - Serie A1 2025/26
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Tolok injured her shoulder. Hopefully nothing serious
ugh not tolok 😭🙏🏻🙏🏻
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So happy Nemeth performed great against Milano. She is not popular opposite hitter, but She deserves to get praised!!!
Opposite players started this season on strong note!
Positive signed that Pietrini took starting role in the last two sets and that She performed in attack over 50% !Season just started and many players are far from reaching right shape. So I’m not surprised that some players are not yet there with their games. But for some players I do hope they will reach potential that they have.
Italy is so lucky with domestic players, so many good performances from locals!! -
Round two is done and dusted, a short view back to it before switching our attention to Wednesday.
Scandicci opened the day with a win against Perugia, but my impression from the debut is still the same. Gaspari is working hard to make his team solid and tidy, but here and there, they still have some problems to keep it together until the last rally. The impression is that the starting six is balanced, but they traded some blocking for attacking. Weiztel is building on a decent connection with Ognjenović, but she isn't Carol when it comes to blocking. Antropova does have a reliable second violin in Skinner, but the level dropped quite evidently when Franklin subbed her off. Bosetti is way past her prime and although still valuable in the second row, by now she hasn't anything special compared to our current NT pins.
Another solid effort from Perugia, they didn't score points but Perinelli looked better and Williams showed some interesting things. Another decent game from Gardini too, she still tends to go through some rough patches when her passing drops, but overall she seems more stable than last year. They're quite thin on rotations though, it should be enough to avoid problems but it's something they should look after.
After the big scare against Busto Arsizio on Monday, Conegliano managed to play a much more relaxed game against Cuneo. I must say Haak and her already good shape is hiding some small issues for the defending champions, like players out of form (Gabi and Lubian above all) and some mechanisms still to be fully fixed. On the other hand, Sillah took full advantage of the set and a half she played, even showing a better than expected passing and defence. Not a bad entry from Daalderop too, she played a limited amount of rallies but she did everything right when subbed in. No super Diop for Cuneo today, so Pucelj had to play the role of the go-to-girl for the day. The team is quite weak and should be super happy about the two points collected Monday on the road, but at least they battled in the third set and nearly prolonged the match with a great serving run by Keene.
Novara keeps its record immaculate but has to deal with an injury to Tolok. The curse wasn't over, it still isn't over I suppose, but it shouldn't be something very serious. Bernardi had to re-draw his team and got a bit lost in the substitutions in the third set, but found a super consistent Ishikawa to keep up with the deadly Igiede. I can't believe the American signed some sort of a pay-as-you-go contract, she seems a perfect fit for the team, especially considering Cambi hasn't forgotten her Pinerolo days. Despite the loss I do believe UYBA should be fine with the performance, they almost forced another tie-break against an almost guarantee Scudetto semi-finalist, showing some no-nonsense and balanced volleyball. Another solid contribution from both Obossa and Parra, but I liked the way Battista and Torcolacci entered the match and gave a bit of a spark to the offence.
Monviso bounced back from the tight loss against Scandicci with an imposing win against the newly promoted Macerata. Numbers are clearly inflated by the abysmal performance of the hosts, but credits where it's due. Excellent team display even if lacking two starters like Battistoni and Akrari. I'd like to praise Bridi, she played smart and managed to spread the ball well. I guess Dodson really likes being in Piedmont, she was an important player in Cuneo last year and she's picking up from where she left with Monviso too. Difficult to say something about Macerata apart from terrible blocking, poor passing and lack of quality in most of the key roles. At one point Bonelli really didn't know to who to set, because there was no one able to make a kill.
The queens of the tie-break, a.k.a. as Vallefoglia for the boring ones, didn't escape Firenze's law for the third consecutive time, in a head-to-head where already five times out of nine the fifth set was the decisive one. The hosts are still trying to adjust to the departures and Pistola is rotating the roster quite a lot, but at the moment the setter is the one where the difference is clearly showing. Bartolucci is struggling, way too many bad sets and she's not even being able to provide a game-managing performance. A bit more consistency from Omoruyi, but we're still a bit far from Lee's contribution.
I guess Firenze was simply too bad to be true against Chieri, because today they showed that can play, with all their limits, some decent volleyball. They didn't manage the fourth set well and kind of wasted a point, but they made improvements in blocking, defence and passing. Knollema wasn't alone in the dark this time, Bukilić and Villani shared the load with the Dutch, Valoppi had a much easier time in holding the back row and the whole team looked more on point. Better bring this kind of game in the head-to-heads.
Easy win for Bergamo at home against San Giovanni in Marignano, leading comfortably from the start to the end. Eze looked much more at the helm of the team, relying more on Cesé and Strubbe but trying to involve more both Kipp and Manfredini. Much better contribution from Mlejnková, nothing flashy but solid on both sides of the net.
The visitors are suffering from having an old glory like Ortolani as a starter in a key position, poor Nardo and Piovesan are trying to do their best but they shouldn't be as involved as the opposite in attack. Straube had a difficult start, but I would've rested her for just some rallies and not for a set and a half. A few interesting glimpses from Kochurina, but the team will need so much more to have a real chance of surviving.
Chieri upsets Milano playing a solid good and doing what needed to bring it home. They struggled a bit when Milano was able to make a difference with the serve, but overall the team is looking very balanced and well complemented. Künzler and Nervini (what a step-up she made in the summer) are working well together, Németh is showing how big of an improvement is from Gicquel and when van Aalen can play her fast game Chieri is really enjoyable to watch. Good effort from Spirito too, I feel like she outplayed Fersino today.
Coming to Milano, they are taking one step forwards and two steps backwards. Lots of soft defences and despite the great effort from Kurtagić, I didn't like their blocking that much. Bosio was quite imprecise and didn't help the pins in getting rhythm, Lanier started well but then dropped, at least Pietrini dispelled some of my doubts about her full recovery. She had a good impact off the bench and looked fine physically, I guess she might have a chance as starter sooner than expected.
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Imo,for Chieri everyone played well and they should be happy for their performance,especially considering it's the second match of the season and they seemed to have good chemistry.Otoh,I think Danesi and Bosio were in a bad day and were the weaklinks for Milano.Danesi,seemed indifferent about the game to me.Some of her reactions were very bad for this level and she couldn't help her team in crucial points.As for Bosio,I'm disappointed.I thought that technically her setting was good in general,but her ball distribution was very bad today.After some point in the first set,it was like she completely forgot about Piva and she made Milano's game predictable.Last but not least,Lavarini is also to blame,imo,because he was very bad with his subs(apart from Pietrini) and he should have substituted Sartori in,instead of Danesi.Also,about Chieri's 41 errors,maybe they are also counting overpasses(which Milano couldn't really take advantage of).
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So happy Nemeth performed great against Milano. She is not popular opposite hitter, but She deserves to get praised!!!
Opposite players started this season on strong note!
Positive signed that Pietrini took starting role in the last two sets and that She performed in attack over 50% !Season just started and many players are far from reaching right shape. So I’m not surprised that some players are not yet there with their games. But for some players I do hope they will reach potential that they have.
Italy is so lucky with domestic players, so many good performances from locals!!you are right about Nemeth! Unfortunately, she is a same situation as Haak, strong OPP without a strong NT.. these players tend to be their beast mode in the season but in summer they decline a bit an the prime is short
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What is wrong with Gennari? Is she healthy? If she is healthy, she is on the road to break every record for the worst % in Serie's history. Even Lucia was better after her serious injury
.I hope that she will find herself again. She was a good player
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Good signs from some Italian OHs yesterday.
Nervini had an impressive game, both in defense and attack. She got blocked a few times, but she’s not afraid to hit hard and she’s damn quick.
I was also particularly happy to see Elena Pietrini in good shape again. She replaced Lanier and clearly showed she’s the better option. She still made a few avoidable mistakes, but give her a couple more matches and she’ll reclaim her natural spot as a starter.
Valeria Battista was excellent for Busto against Novara. I’ve been following her since her days at Club Italia, and yesterday I really appreciated her work in reception and defense, usually her weak points, considering she’s always been known as a strong attacker.
Finally, Loveth Omoruyi seems to be back at a good level. She scored 22 points and took responsibility in many key moments during the match. Yes, she did miss two key balls in the fifth set, but she kept her team afloat for long stretches of the game.
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Good signs from some Italian OHs yesterday.
Nervini had an impressive game, both in defense and attack. She got blocked a few times, but she’s not afraid to hit hard and she’s damn quick.
I was also particularly happy to see Elena Pietrini in good shape again. She replaced Lanier and clearly showed she’s the better option. She still made a few avoidable mistakes, but give her a couple more matches and she’ll reclaim her natural spot as a starter.
Valeria Battista was excellent for Busto against Novara. I’ve been following her since her days at Club Italia, and yesterday I really appreciated her work in reception and defense, usually her weak points, considering she’s always been known as a strong attacker.
Finally, Loveth Omoruyi seems to be back at a good level. She scored 22 points and took responsibility in many key moments during the match. Yes, she did miss two key balls in the fifth set, but she kept her team afloat for long stretches of the game.
Battista is indeed a great prospect but still she is very "raw". I am also happy for Pietrini but not for Piva. She looks really poor athletically and her spikes are not as powerful as they were the last season.
Generally in a team level, Milano and Vallefoglia signed good replacements but they luck of structure compared to how they were the last season.
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For Bisonte Firenze yesterday in Vallefoglia, Knollema and Bukilic delivered outstanding performances...
The Dutch wasn't a surprise, as it was known she could play at this level. However, the Serbian girl was a complete surprise: served consistently and accurately by Morello, she was the match's top scorer, scoring 30 points (45% positivity and 30% efficiency, on offense), with 4 blocks and 2 aces...
TATANKA...
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For Bisonte Firenze yesterday in Vallefoglia, Knollema and Bukilic delivered outstanding performances...
The Dutch wasn't a surprise, as it was known she could play at this level. However, the Serbian girl was a complete surprise: served consistently and accurately by Morello, she was the match's top scorer, scoring 30 points (45% positivity and 30% efficiency, on offense), with 4 blocks and 2 aces...
TATANKA...
Rachele could have been a very good setter. But time is passing by… Next month she'll turn 25.
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Rachele could have been a very good setter. But time is passing by… Next month she'll turn 25.
That's still fairly young for a setter. Seki is already 26. Morello has to improve now though she's still one of the worst tbh
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Tatiana Tolok will miss tonight's match against Chieri due to the shoulder injury she sustained in her last match against Busto Arsizio.
Her condition will be fully evaluated in the coming days.
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Chieri now has chance against Novara. Even though Mimk is really good replacemnt but Tolok is on another level. She can pull performance with 55-60% trought whole match.
Lets see what Nemeth and Nirvani can pull against them.This is definitly the most interesting match to watch
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After the World Championship, I've been following the league in a completely relax – I don't care much about team results – I'm more interested in the performance of individual players – for example: Nervini. Generally, if the more Italians play key roles on the court, the better, and the greater the chance we won't go the way of Turkey (and Orro and Sylla can play there and take the place of local players
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My two favourite teams of this season facing off tonight. Chieri seems to be a bit tired/off their game after the tiebreak vs. Milano, although they reduced their error rate so far
thank god. I think it's a nice close battle for the neutral spectator. Now Sarah/Charlie let's do your thing and gimme some more MB ball 
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Very entertaining game between Novara and Chieri. Van Aalen and Cambi are both playing really well
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Novara looks like they are in a very good shape!!
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Very entertaining game between Novara and Chieri. Van Aalen and Cambi are both playing really well
I disagree about van aalen. Her sets became all too predictable by set 2.