Queens again: A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano win back-to-back titles in #CLVolleyW

A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano finished yet another season unbeaten and clinched back-to-back titles in the CEV Champions League Women, with a dominating win, 3:0 (25:16; 25:21; 25:19) against fellow Italian side Savino Del Bene Scandicci in the last act of the Final Four in Istanbul.

The second consecutive final of the CEV Champions League Women featuring Italian sides was always going to be a challenge for both sides, but for Savino Del Bene Scandicci, being here for the first time in history surely brought some nerves. On the other hand, A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano were already here five times, winning two times, including in the previous season.

And the nerves were there on display for Scandicci even from the start, as they never held the lead in the first set, with Conegliano providing a flawless performance, where their attack delivered points at an efficiency of 56%, while Scandicci had a meagre 22% efficiency.

Fixating on Ekaterina Antropova, their top scorer, Scandicci’s gameplan was exposed by an excellent performance from Conegliano, which had an 8:6 lead at the first interval. But then, the MVP of the previous season of the European premium competition, Iseballe Haak, took over.

Haak finished the set with nine points and was excellently provided for spikes by setter Joanna Wolosz, with the gap growing as the time passed. While Conegliano had a 16:11 lead, Haak and Sarah Fahr – who had four points in the first set, helped the reigning champions, which had five blocks until the first break, jump to a clear 25:16 win.

The gap grew bigger and bigger in the second set, as Conegliano got another good head start, but this time with outsider hitter Zhu Ting starting to deliver, scoring quickly two points, as this time, Scandicci lead twice, 1:0 and 2:1, but then found themselves in a 10:6 hole.

Yet with the prospect of the second lost set in a row, Scandicci upped their game, despite a plethora of missed serves, which were either out or hit the net. Britt Herbots , Lindsey Ruddins and Ekaterina Antropova continued to dish points to keep their team close, but two crucial serves from Haak late in the set managed to put Conegliano up ahead, 21:16, with their prospects for a second consecutive trophy looking closer and closer.

A 25:21 win in the second set, as Scandicci made eight errors, with five points from Haak and Gabi Guimaraes each brought Conegliano closer to the title, with a single set needed to secure their third crown.

But the third set started with Scandicci’s maiden two-point lead, 5:3, as they were trying to figure out how to derail Conegliano’s bid, which started the match in a fantastic fashion. And they managed to stop the reigning champions, as they led midway through the third set, 11:13.

And then, there was Conegliano again. With Haak in great shape, leading by example, and followed by Zhu Ting, the Italian champions used a 7:2 run to turn the set into their favour and open an 18:15 lead, with Scandicci running out of steam.

A final push from Scandicci, which cut the gap to 21:19, went bust, after three consecutive points, including an ace from Haak, the writing was on the wall and Conegliano won the third set, with an excellent block from Cristina Chirichella, 25:19.

An MVP-calibre match from Haak saw her finish with 21 points, with Zhu Ting adding 14 and Gabi Guimaraes 11 more for Conegliano, as the top players from the winners delivered a fantastic performance.

This was Conegliano’s third title in the competition, after the ones in 2021 and 2024, when they won the finals against VakifBank and Numia Vero Volley Milano in five sets. The Italian side also extended their winning streak to 21 matches, as their last loss came in the 2022/23 season.

Conegliano are also the third team to record back-to-back titles in the CEV Champions League Women, after RC Cannes and VakifBank Istanbul, with their performance over the last two years making history in the European premium competition.