The regular season in the Italian Women's Serie A1 concluded with a dramatic finish, clarifying both the battle for survival and the final playoff bracket for the Scudetto. The intrigue remained until the very last plays, and the shifts in the standings shaped extremely interesting quarterfinal matchups.

The Determined Scudetto Bracket

After the final round, the playoff table took its final form. The eight best teams will compete for the title, with the quarterfinal pairings being:

Upper half of the bracket:

• Prosecco Doc A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano – Eurotek Laica Uyba Busto Arsizio

• Igor Gorgonzola Novara – Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri ’76

Lower half of the bracket:

• Savino Del Bene Scandicci – Volley Bergamo 1991

• Numia Vero Volley Milano – Megabox Ondulati Del Savio Vallefoglia

At first glance, favorites Conegliano and Milano seem to have a more advantageous starting position, but the Novara – Chieri clash is shaping up to be the most balanced in the first stage.

Novara overtook Chieri for fourth place

One of the key moments in the last round was the shift between Novara and Chieri.

Novara achieved a 3:1(22:25,23:25,25:18,17:25) victory over Il Bisonte Firenze and finished with 55 points. Despite having the same points as Chieri, the Piedmont team took fourth position due to a greater number of wins (19 versus 18).

Crucial was the comeback of the already relegated Bartoccini-Mc Restauri Perugia against Chieri with a 3:2(15:25,16:25,25:19,25:14,15:9) victory, which deprived Chieri of a direct advantage in the standings.

Thus, Novara will have home-court advantage in the quarterfinal series – a factor that often proves strategic in the Italian championship.

Milano finished third with a decisive victory

Numia Vero Volley Milano concluded the regular season in third place after a convincing 3:0(25:22,25:21,25:22) win over Savino Del Bene Scandicci.

Paola Egonu was once again the leading figure with 27 points, supported by Piva with 15. The Milanese team demonstrated squad depth and good game discipline, which places them among the real contenders for the title.

The third position means that Milano falls into the lower half of the bracket, where a potential semifinal against Scandicci seems entirely possible.

Conegliano enters the playoffs with confidence

The champions from Conegliano closed the regular season with a 3:1 (25:22, 22:25, 25:21, 25:18) victory over Wash4Green Monviso Volley.

Zhu (25 points) and Haak (22 points) were the main scorers. The team demonstrated control in key moments and enters the playoffs as the main favorite for the Scudetto.

What's next?

The Scudetto Playoffs and the Playoff Challenge start already next weekend.

The balance in the regular season suggests that despite the clear favorites, the differences between the third and sixth teams are minimal. This is precisely what makes the quarterfinals potentially the most contested stage of the competition.

Italy once again proved that its women's championship remains the most competitive in Europe – with its fate decided on the last day, and a playoff system that promises spectacle from the first to the last game.

Photos:legavolleyfemminile.it