Italy started their participation in the friendly tournament AIA Aequilibrium Cup Women Elite in Genoa with a victory, dramatically overcoming Serbia 3:2(25:23,22:25,22:25,25:20,15:12) in front of 2500 spectators.
The world champions, led by Julio Velasco, achieved a comeback after a very contested match. The Italians won the first set, but then the Serbians turned it around to 2:1. In the fourth set, the hosts stabilized their block and, through a strong series by Omoruyi, equalized the score, and in the tie-break, Adigwe led the team to the final success.
Nervini was the top scorer for Italy with 21 points, Omoruyi added 18, and Adigwe finished with 12. For Serbia, Uzelac scored an impressive 28 points.
In the other match of the first day, Turkey defeated Poland 3:2(25:22,25:20,22:25,22:25,15:9). The Polish team started with difficulty, but gradually found their rhythm and brought back the intrigue by leveling the score from 0:2 to 2:2. Ultimately, the European champions from Turkey showed more stability in the tie-break.
After the match, Poland's libero Justyna Łysiak commented that the match was valuable material for analysis at the start of the national season, especially given the many rotations and new players in Stefano Lavarini's squad.

Both matches on the opening day offered maximum intrigue and a five-set battle. Italy and Turkey showed greater stability in the decisive moments, while Poland and Serbia left excellent impressions despite their defeats.
Photo:edervolley.it