Paola Egonu and teammates keep series alive

The Numia Vero Volley Milan is still alive. Coach Lavarini’s lineup is the protagonist of a masterful performance and after almost two hours of play imposes itself with the score of 1-3 (20-25; 25-20; 28-30; 20-25) on the Venetian Prosecco Doc A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano, thus spoiling the party for the defending Italian champions and bringing the Scudetto Final series to 2-1. The success bears the signature of captain Paola Egonu, a true leader and author of 34 points that crowned her MVP of the match. Also noteworthy was the performance of Eleonora Fersino, who with her defense and coverages gave a valuable contribution to the Lombardy women. Conegliano, on the other hand, didn’t need Isabelle Haak’s 27 points to close the file and celebrate in front of the Palaverde audience.

Coming onto the court with the right aggressiveness, Coach Lavarini’s lineup was determined to take the Finals series to Game 4; on the other side of the net, Prosecco Doc, due to some pressure, struggled instead to find the rhythm that distinguished it in the Allianz Cloud match. A rediscovered Egonu and a positive Piva put in trouble the second line of the Panthers, who, too foul at the service, saw the set slip away in favor of a more gritty Milan that moved ahead and kept alive the tricolor hopes. In the second set, Vero Volley committed a few too many errors, against a Prosecco Doc that was more incisive in attack (42% vs. 39%) and present at the wall, with the 4 monster blocks that barred the way for the Lombardy women who saw the partial slip away. Deciding tonight’s match was the third partial, the real needle of the scales of this match. Leading until 17-20, Milan accused the comeback of the opponents who, with Adigwe’s aces and on the wave of enthusiasm, managed to extend the set to the advantages. In a breathtaking finale it is Paola Egonu who takes Numia by the hand: author of 12 points in the partial, the Milanese number 18 is decisive and leads her teammates to the conquest of the set. In the fourth fraction, it is always Vero Volley leading and only in the final the Milanese suffer the shy comeback of the Panthers, who, however, are unable to interrupt the run of coach Lavarini’s girls.

Great team performance for Numia: in addition to Egonu, Serbian Hena Kurtagic(12 ground balls including 5 walls) also made a fundamental contribution. The number 14 powerhouse recorded 70% in attack (60% efficiency)being as incisive as in Game 1. Also Khalia Lanier made the difference in the fourth set: after an underwhelming start, the American setter found her rhythm again and scored 10 total points (5 in the last set). Francesca Bosio (4 points) also played a tidy game and made the difference on serve, putting the Panthers’ second line in trouble. Finishing in double digits for Coach Santarelli’s lineup, however, were Sarah Fahr (11), Cristina Chirichella and Gabi (both 10 points).

Milan’s success in Game 3 reopens the Scudetto Final series and sends everything back to Game 4. On Wednesday, April 22 at 8:30 p.m., the Allianz Cloud will host the fourth act that pits Numia Vero Volley Milan and Prosecco Doc A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano. It will be crucial for Egonu and her teammates to find the victory to take it all to Game 5.

“I am very happy with the girls’ performance, I think they showed how much they wanted to reopen this series and come back to play in Milan. In the beginning we benefited from a few too many mistakes by Conegliano, but we maintained the lucidity to take advantage of them. In the second set we struggled as they grew up playing with a lot of determination and limited our serving and attacking phase. We emerged with a lot of aggression in the third set and then completed the task with an equally good fourth set. It was a well-deserved victory, we performed at a good level for long stretches.”