Savino del Bene Volleyball on the roof of the world: wins the club world championship

Savino Del Bene Scandicci is world champion. The Tuscan team in the all-Italian final of World Club Championship Of women’s volleyball held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, defeated the outgoing champions of Prosecco Doc A.Carraro Imoco Conegliano by 3 to 0 (set: 30-28; 25-19; 21-25; 25-23). Per Scandicci is the first world titlefor the Italian movement the fifth after the three of Conegliano (2019, 2022 and 2024) and that of Teodora Ravenna (1992).

The girls of Savino Del Bene Scandicci, coached by Marco Gaspari, had taken a 2-0 lead and then suffered a comeback attempt from the Venetians in the third set. The match which took place at the ‘Ginàsio do Pacaembu’ in Sao Paulo was very hard fought and ended 3 to 1 for the Tuscan capable of the feat of defeating the reigning champions who were aiming for their fourth title and, therefore, reaching the Turkish club Vakfbank stanbul.

In the first all-Italian final in 18 editionsthe absolute protagonist was Ekaterina Antropova capable of scoring 26 points. Antropova, born in Iceland to Russian parents, naturalized Italian since 2023, opposite of Savino Del Bene, was the symbolic player of the Club World Cup after having been one for Italian volleyball in the last two years. In fact, Ekaterina, one of the players in Julio Velasco’s Italy squad: in 2024 she won first the Volleyball Nations League in Bangkok and then the Olympics in Paris, and this year the Nations League in Lodz and the World Cup in Thailand. Second best top scorer for Scandicci, Avery Skinner with 18 points followed by Linda Nwakalor with 13. Caterina Chiara Bosetti took the winning point. Conegliano, coached by Daniele Santarelli, was a tough opponent with Isabelle Haak scoring 21 times, Braga Guimaraes ‘Gabi’ 19 and Ting Zhu with 13. After five editions without a medal but with only four fourth places, Brazil returns to the podium thanks to Osasco Sao Cristo’vao Sau’de who defeated their compatriots Dentil Praia Clube 3-0 in the final for third place.