Imoco triumph after Gray brings them back from beyond

Vero Volley were well in control of the first set, opening a seven-point lead at 18-11 and reaching set point at 24-18. Imoco woke up to deny it five times, before the opponents could finally close the set. The girls from Milan stayed on track and continued their strong performance in the second set, once again breaking away with a six-point advantage, but the Panthers kept fighting, led by their Canadian outside hitter Alexa Gray, who subbed in during the course of the set. She put away seven points towards a furious comeback, including the set winner in the overtime, 26-24. From that moment on, the momentum was on Imoco’s side. They prevailed in the next two sets and, after two hours of play, closed the match at 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-21), celebrating their fifth consecutive and sixth overall national crown and depriving Vero Volley of a historic first title.

Gray produced a total of 25 points in the match, putting away an ace and two blocks and spiking at a 69% success rate, to earn the Most Valuable Player award. Imoco’s Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak tallied another 25 points towards the victory, while middle blocker Sarah Fahr also reached the double digits with 12, including the match winner. She scored four kill blocks and an ace, and registered a 64% success rate in attack. Vero Volley’s American opposite Jordan Thompson was the best scorer of the match with 32 points to her name.