Novara triumphed in Blaj and won the European trophy! 🏆

Igor Gorgonzola Novara won the CEV Cup after a clean 3-0 victory (30:28, 25:17, 28:26) against Volei Alba in the European final, historic for the Romanian team, played in the Polyvalent Hall in Blaj. The Italians secured the trophy after the first two sets, making the rest of the match a matter of statistics. 🏐

The hosts fought tooth and nail to win the first set, with the guests having five set points, but in the end, on the sixth attempt, Novara prevailed with 30:28. In the second set, Blaj's strength was enough to tie at 15:15, but from then on, the Italians simply steamrolled their opponent, allowing them to take only two more points, thereby practically securing the title.

In the third set, the hosts managed to take the lead, despite a lack of motivation, giving their all to record at least an honorary set, and even had a match point at 24:23, after which they could have closed the set twice more, but in the end, the guests triumphed, closing the set with 28:26.During this set, Monika Krusteva also entered, finishing with 5 points and 63% in attack.

Although the trophy went to Italy, for Blaj this match remains historic. No one can now say that the city has not hosted a European final – and in front of a packed hall! 🎉

Historic moment for Blaj

The women's team of Volei Alba experienced a historic moment, playing in their first European final in front of their home crowd. Expectations for an unforgettable evening in the city were confirmed – the atmosphere was incredible, and the stands were overflowing. Tickets for this emblematic match were sold out in a matter of hours, ensuring that the hall would be full to capacity.

The favorite took what was theirs

From a sporting perspective, the reality was clear – Alba entered as an underdog against one of the strongest Italian teams. The Italians proved their class over the weekend when they crushed Conegliano – considered the strongest club team in the world – 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-23) in the semi-finals of the Italian championship. This was Conegliano's first loss after 50 consecutive victories!

Novara had already won the first match against Blaj 3-1, which meant the Romanian team needed a convincing 3-0 or 3-1 victory to reach a "golden set." This did not happen, however, and the Italians unreservedly left with the trophy. 🏅

This is the second European trophy won by the "Mosquitoes" under the leadership of Lorenzo Bernardi, after the Challenger Cup last season. Three, if the WEVZA Cup is also taken into account. Novara also has the Champions League Cup from 2019 in its showcase.
Tatiana Tolok was chosen as the MVP of the finals.

For Lorenzo Bernardi, this is his tenth title as a coach, to which are added 29 with clubs as a player (including 9 Scudetti, 5 Italian Cups, 4 Champions Leagues, and 4 CEV Cups) and 15 medals won with the national team (including 2 World Championships, 3 European Championships, and one Olympic silver medal) -total 54🏅

CS Volei Alba BLAJ 0 - Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA 3 (30-28, 25-17, 28-26)

CS Volei Alba BLAJ:Ruban 11, Valkova 3, Ferreira Leao 5, Felix Costa 13, Kharchenko 8, Rotar 10, Veres (L),Krasteva 5, Partnoy, Kochkarevich 1. Did not enter: Chuku (L), Ioan, Skalitska, Roman. Coach: Naranjo Hernandez.

Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA:Bosio, Alsmeier 10, Ishikawa 7, Bonifacio 7, Aleksic 3, Tolok 22, De Nardi (L), Fersino (L), Bartolucci 1, Villani 1, Mims 11, Mazzaro, Squarcini 4. Did not enter: Akimova (L). Coach: Bernardi.

Notes:Game durations: 31', 22', 34'; Total: 87'.

MVP:Tolok