Bulgarian international Monika Krasteva played another strong match in the Italian Serie A2, but could not save Costa Volpino from their first loss of the season. Luciano Cominetti's team lost at home to Altafratte Padova with a score of 2:3 (25:18, 20:25, 25:22, 21:25, 10:15) in the derby of the seventh round.
Krasteva finished with 20 points and was second in scoring for her team. The Bulgarian opposite continues to demonstrate good form, after scoring 17 points in the previous round in the 3:0 victory over Altino.
The hosts started convincingly and won the first set with 25:18, but Padova equalized. Costa Volpino took the lead again after 25:22 in the third set, before the visitors imposed their will in the next two sets.
In the tie-break, Padova was decisive and won with 15:10, inflicting the first defeat on the leader after six consecutive victories.
The top scorer in the match was Krasteva's teammate - Dutch outside hitter Puk Hoogers with 24 points. Giulia Viscioni added 19, and Valeria Pizzolato finished with 10, including an impressive 7 successful blocks.
For the winners, Giorgia Mazzon scored 21 points and received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Cristina Fiorio added 16 points.
Interestingly, Costa Volpino had an advantage in all three main elements - 59:58 points from attack, 15:13 successful blocks, and 5:4 aces. However, this was not enough for the victory.
The match lasted 137 minutes of pure playing time and confirmed the trend of Padova being an extremely inconvenient opponent for Costa Volpino. The visitors also won the previous six encounters between the two teams in Serie A2.
Despite the defeat, Costa Volpino maintained first place with 19 points, but the lead over second-placed Busto Arsizio is now only one point. Padova climbed to third position with 15 points.
Monika Krasteva and her teammates will have an opportunity to return to winning ways on November 18, when they host Offanengo.

photo:legavolleyfemminile.it