Man, I can't stand midweek rounds, I really do… Personal discomforts aside, that I presume most of you care little enough to almost pass out, let's see what happened around the league.
In probably one of the worst time slot I've ever witnessed in my life, huge credits to Novara in sweeping Chieri. I think the hosts did what Milano wasn't able to do on Sunday. They kept composure, managed to get past the bad moments and were cynical when Chieri gave up some occasions (second set docet). Cambi had a very balanced distribution, riding once again a very inspired Igiede, but had a lot satisfaction from the pins too (Alsmeier-Ishikawa is becoming one iconic duo). Talking about oldies but goldies, mommy Leonardi at almost 38 is still one hell of a player.
Chieri kept in touch for most of the match, but the way they lost the second set kind of sealed the deal for them. They lost the battle in the centre and their block-defence wasn't as good as against Milano, but there's positive to build from. Nervini is getting more and more confidence and the game Negro is trying to install seems to really suits van Aalen. Having back Degradi should help them with rotations and keep Künzler fresher, which is important, especially for their European campaign.
I'm starting to be concerned about Sentenza_69 and his health, because his Firenze team should be known as the Cardiac Girlz for having their games decided in the very final moments. Once again Macerata blew away an important 0-2 lead against a direct competitor, almost like the team hasn't more than two sets in the leg, but Firenze didn't have much contribution apart from Knollema until there. I guess subbing Tanase for Villani and Bukilić getting more consistent helped Firenze getting out of the hole, but Kokkonen dropped quite a lot after a great start and the visitors basically stopped having a reliable contribution on offence. Just like their 2022-2023 team, Macerata tends to go through some very long moments of total blackout, which is something not affordable in the long term.
UYBA won an authentic marathon against Bergamo, taking a 2-0 lead and then nearly risked of getting reverse sweeped. The hosts lost gradually their attacking (Parra above all), getting more and more predictable and begun making tons of errors, but in the end they were able to take the win. An inspired Battista off the bench is in contrast to a very costly double change, because Diouf isn't cut for Serie A1 anymore and Boldini isn't as effective as Scola off the bench.
I'm sure Bergamo is a bit disappointed about the result, because they weren't cynical when they had the opportunity to close it out, but their potential is good and they have character, so the playoffs are more than doable. Cesé and Kipp had some difficulties in killing the ball, a pity because Mlejnková was quite stable, on the other hand their block-defence was quite solid and Armini gave great stability to the second row. Not a bad effort from Meli off the bench too.
Perugia confirms the good impressions they made in the first two match and snatched an important win against Monviso. I'm pleased Gardini is slowly transitioning into a decent all-rounder, her passing still has to improve but in this early phase of the season she wasn't served out and kept consistency throughout the whole match. Not a bad effort from Perinelli too, her best days are behind her but from time to time she's still able to deliver a solid game as a starter. Monviso lacked thoroughly the contribution from the pins, way too many mistakes and inconsistency from them, on the other hand another positive day from Bridi at the helm of the team and solid contribution from Akrari off the bench.
Milano bounced back from the loss against Chieri, but they had to really fight for a couple of sets against a strong-willed Vallefoglia. Lavarini's team showed a better defence, but a lot of things have much room for improvement. Great job by Lanier, she played a very good and consistent game, while Fersino is trying to make it clear to one and all that De Gennaro's jersey in NT is hers. Another positive thing for Milano is Pietrini, who's confirming she's on the right path of coming back to the level she should be able to keep. The real question mark is Bosio: she's still in an adapting phase I suppose, but her connections in the middle are bad and her sets seems all over the place a bit too often. The visitors found some more consistency in the middle, with Candi much closer to the level she had last year and Butigan much more involved in the game, but suffered the fickle performances from Bici and Omoryui. As much as Giovannini is useful in the back row, you need to pair her with a powerful (and, possibly, reliable) attacker.
Some sort of competitive training for Conegliano in Cervia against the hosts. I presume that Santarelli is resting Gabi in order to have her as fresh as possible, because the Brazilian wore the libero jersey and didn't play at all. The starters closed the match as fast as possible, then it was time for the bench to have some time on the court. By the looks of it Ewert should be able to follow Seki's path, Sillah is improving fast while Adigwe isn't finding the rhythm yet. Same old same for San Giovanni in Marignano, killing a ball is a titanic struggle and being well put on the court isn't enough. Playing without an opposite just makes it even harder.
I should have known, really, that Scandicci is mental, but this just reaches a whole new level of... I don't know, you name it and you'll be just right. I don't want to take any credit away from Cuneo, because the collective effort from the hosts was undeniable. Great contribution from the pins, Pritchard was everywhere but clean game from Diop too. Bardaro played like she was De Gennaro in person, I'd say crucial in giving stability to the back row. Amazing job with blocking too, Antropova had nightmares after the match I'm sure.
Still, suffering such a beatdown from a team that, although not as bad as I expected to be, I doubt will go much further from escaping relegation is simply embarassing. Resting Castillo when you're starting Franklin is a big no-no, especially if Ribechi is doing her bit to make it even messier. Just to make it worse, if possible, the MB unit was non-existent, almost like Skinner and block-defence correlation. It's better be one of these too bad to be true games, otherwise the derby will be very contestable and the whole season may take an unraveling turn.
