Italian powerhouses to open fantastic Final Four weekend in Istanbul

As all three Italian sides which started the journey in this season’s CEV Champions League Women qualified for the Final Four in Istanbul, it was clear that two of them were going to face off in one of the semi-finals.

Those two are, incidentally, the two sides which played the Super Finals last season, when A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano and Numia Vero Volley Milano exchanged barbs, only for Conegliano to eventually emerge victorious, with a 3:2 win.

But the two rivals, which also met over the last two weeks in the Italian league final, where Conegliano secured the title with three wins, dropping a single set, will face off again on Saturday, at 15:00 CEST in Istanbul, as Milano are trying to make their own history and boost their chances for their maiden CEV Champions League Women trophy.

"It's great to be back playing the Champions League Final Four, we'll do it in Türkiye, where everyone is crazy about volleyball, it's a country that lives and breathes a lot of volleyball and I know it well, it will be nice to be back there. We'll play against Milano right away, in the semi-finalsit will be exciting to face them again, we know each other well and I'm sure it will be a high-level challenge,” said Conegliano’s Isabelle Haak.

The Swedish star is her team’s top scorer this season in the European premium competition, with 108 points, has won the Champions League twice, once with VakifBank and once with Conegliano, and is the reigning MVP of the competition.

Haak was also the top scorer in two of the three matches of the Italian league finals against Numia Vero Volley Milano, putting 27, 17 and 22 points respectively past Conegliano’s opponents in the last two weeks.

What also adds to Conegliano’s favourite status in this match is that the reigning champions have won the last 15 matches against Milano, including eight in this season (Italian league, Italian Supercoppa, Coppa Italia, and the FIVB Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship).

Numia Vero Volley Milano last competitive win against A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano was in the final of the 2022/23 Italian league. Vero Volley won the second, 3:0, and third match, 3:2, in that final, but they eventually lost the series 3-2.

Conegliano have also put together a fantastic eight-match winning streak this season, dropping a single set, while Numia Vero Volley Milano have conceded a loss, against VakifBank, earlier in the 4th round.

But in the play-offs and the quarter-finals, Milano were flawless, securing wins in straight sets against SSC Palmberg Schwerin and Eczacıbaşı Dynavit İstanbul respectively, projecting themselves as one of the teams to beat in this season’s CEV Champions League Women.

“We’ve played against Conegliano many times this season. We know their team – one of the best in the world – and we hope to deliver a strong match and put on a great show for everyone watching,” said Alessia Orro, Milano’s captain, before the match against Conegliano.

Provided that Conegliano win, they will be the third team to retain their title in the past 25 years in the European premium competition, after RC Cannes and VakifBank Istanbul managed this feature.