VoV, 06-05-2024. 5:30 am. After an impressive national and international season, in which the first and only defeat was only suffered in the ‘best of five’ final series against Scandicci, Italian champion Conegliano faced Vero Volley Milano in the Champions League final.
In that match in Antalya in Turkey it is mainly an American and Italian clash with the American ladies Kathryn Plummer, Kelsey Robinson and Madison Bugg at Conegliano and Kara Bajema and Dana Rettke on the Milano side. Both teams also have the necessary Italian internationals in the selection. Marina Lubian, Sarah Fahr and Monica de Gennaro at Conegliano, at Milano Paola Egonu, Miriam Sylla, Alessia Orro and Raphaela Folie.
Of course, the playmakers clash between Joanna Wolosz (Conegliano) and Alessia Orro, the diagonal battle between Isabelle Haak (Conegliano) and Paola Egonu and the libero comparison between Brenda Castillo (Milano) and Monica de Gennaro are also interesting. And we are of course curious who will win the cup on behalf of the Netherlands. Was it Robin de Kruijf or Nika Daalderop, who had his birthday yesterday?
All statistics were in favor of Conegliano, but we all know that past results, on which these statistics are based, do not guarantee the here and now. And especially not when it concerns the last club match of the season, Milano had a much quieter run-up than Conegliano, which still had to play the final series for the title in its own country and last but not least when there was a lot of honor and a lot of euros are at stake.
The match: It was an exciting five-setter, in which Conegliano won the match against Robin de Kruijf 15-9. With the trio of Haak (23), Plummer (21) and Robinson (10) as better points scorers than Egonu (19), Sylla (13) and Cazaute (10). Robin de Kruijf scored 6 times, Nika Daalderop received no points. With an attacking score of 60 for 48 points, Conegliano made the difference in the 76 for 62 of his own points.
Conegliano dominated in the first set from the beginning (4-0) through the middle part (14-8) to the end (25-14). Isabelle Haak in particular, who was later chosen as MVP of the Super Final, scored a lot, and the heavy errors in the final of the set also contributed significantly to Conegliano’s win. Nika Daalderop and Robin de Kruijf both started in the starting line-up, Daalderop was replaced after 14-8 by the Frenchwoman Helena Cazaute.
In set two the roles were reversed. After a flawless start until 4-5 for Milano, a festival of errors followed until 8-11. With Miriam Sylla on serve, 2 aces, and Dana Rettke and Paola Egonu as finishers at the net, Milano ran to 9-17 and was able to maintain a reassuring lead well into the big points (18-23). Marina Lubian, who had come in for the serve, served Conegliano to 20-23, her error serve put Milano on set point. Alessia Orro then kept looking for Paola Egonu for the winning point, but Egonu missed again and again, hitting out three times in a row, up to 23-24. Despite that, the set up went to her again at the next rally and the fourth time she was successful. So 1-1.
De Kruijf blocked the first point in the third set on the scoreboard, Conegliano ran out to 6-2 and with Haak as the scoring diagonal, the margin became very wide at 18-10. Nika Daalderop came on as a substitute, Milano recovered somewhat through scores from Orro (2the ball) and Cazaute (ace) and had reduced the difference to five points at 23-18. Isabelle Haak scored 25-19 for the 2-1.
The teams were left tied in the fourth set the score is close for a long time. (7-8, 11-12), but the video challenge and Paola Egonu provided a potentially decisive difference at 12-15. Conegliano came back from 15-18 to 17-18 and also remained one point away from the equalizer at 18-19. Malual, who came on to serve, then served Milano to 18-23 and via 19-25 it became 2-2 and the tiebreak had to decide.
In the decisive fifth set came Conegliano with an ace from Joanna Wolosz in the lead at 3-1, Helena Cazaute and Miriam Sylla leveled the score at 5-5. Then Kathryn Plummer was important for Conegliano up to 11-7, scoring a total of six points in the tiebreak. Via 13-8 the win went to Conegliano 15-9.
Played for the women’s final the men of the Polish Jastrzebski Węgiel and the Italian Trentino Itas their final. Trentino won 3-0.
gh @ Visor on Volleyball. Photos CEV.
