Conegliano, the toast is to the Italian Cup

Granitica Conegliano demonstrated once again that “province” can rhyme with “metropolis”, in fact that “small is beautiful” and winning. The girls of Prosecco Doc, in the final of the Italian women's volleyball cup, crushed the ambitions of Allianz Milano by winning 3 to 2 (25-21; 22-25; 25-19; 19-25 ; 15-11) ahead at 7,000 in Trieste.

From the first set, Plummer and her teammates made their intentions clear and the initial advantage already became irrecoverable at 18 against 11 and 20 against 12. All this despite the fact that beyond the net there were athletes from the caliber of Paola Egonu, Myriam Sylla and Raphaëla Folie. At the end of the first set, the gap was reduced to 21-19 and ended at 25-21.

This is all too simple to be true. Because Milan's ambitions could not collapse without even trying to put Conegliano's champions in difficulty. The national team “Paola (Egonu)” therefore tried to take on its shoulders the inertia of the match by finding powerful solutions at the net, establishing the score at 15 to 12. The draw was obtained thanks to some bad choices to the net. but it was just a drop in the bucket as the Milan team started to fine-tune their game and plans again with Egonu mastering the net and leveling the scores: 25-22.

Third set and 6 to 1 for Conegliano in 4 minutes with Kelsey Cook in the lead, capable of “piercing” the Milan wall diagonally and in parallel. Defense is the Achilles heel of Milan (11-4) who cannot get rid of the fear of risking winning shots. The 15 -9 in favor of the Venetian team effectively certifies the surrender of arms in the third set of Egonu and his teammates who saw Conegliano display volleys and bubbles with disarming lightness. 25 to 19 the final result of the partial.

The fourth set was decisive, the one in which Allianz Milano equalized the score and forced Conegliano into a tie-break. 7 to 5 for the Milanese at the start of the set where Myriam Sylla began to appear above the net again (9-6). The key to understanding is the wall, that of Madness, which keeps Conegliano away. This time Milan runs also thanks to the surgical attacks of Egonu which allow Allianz to reach 22-17 and close the partial at 25-19.

It is the Russian roulette tie-break which decides the match where individuals can tip the scales from one side to the other. From 4 equal to 6 to 4 for Milan, it's a flapping of wings, because the Milanese block works wonderfully as does Sylla's arm at the net. On the other hand, it is Haak who keeps the Italian champions afloat: uncatchable above the net. Fahr's fast teams then did the rest: overtaking and 11-9. Pathos in the final stages of the Trieste match with Conegliano ahead by two points (13-11). A double invasion from Egonu gave the match to the Venetian girls who did not miss the opportunity to once again celebrate the fifth consecutive victory in the Italian Cup. 15 to 11 in the last match and Prosecco Doc toasting the Cup. Again.