Vero Volley Milano Women

Italy

Founded

1981

Arena

4,500 cap

Unione Sportiva Pro Victoria Pallavolo, also known as Vero Volley Milano, is the professional volleyball department of Italian sports club U.S. Pro Victoria and is based in Monza. It has male and female teams and is better known for its women's team which currently plays in the Serie A1. Unione Sportiva Pro Victoria volleyball department was created in 1981 to provide the local community with a regular and organized sports activity. In few years the club becomes more professionally structured with the men's team playing in the regional league and the creation of a women's team. When the men's team reached the national Serie B, the club lack of economic resources to remain professional forced it to focus on the youth teams. In 2002 the club created a technical department providing better support for its teams. On 9 September 2008, Pro Victoria Pallavolo was one of the seven volleyball clubs from the Lombardy region which formed a consortium called Vero Volley based in Monza. The consortium was designed to provide supporting structure to its members through organisational strategies to offer the region physical activity and sport socialization, with focus on young people. Pro Victoria teams grew and developed under the consortium, when the men's team gained promotion to Serie A2 in 2010, Pro Victoria sold its professional men's team assets and licence to Volley Milano, another member of the Vero Volley consortium. That allowed Pro Victoria to focus on the women's team and youth teams (men and women). In 2013 the women's team was promoted to Serie A2, eventually reaching the Serie A1 in 2016.

Igor Gorgonzola Novara Women

Italy

Founded

1984

Arena

5,000 cap

AGIL Volley is an Italian women's volleyball club based in Novara and currently playing in the Serie A1. The club was founded in 1984 as AGIL Volley and was based in Trecate. The club name is an acronym for Amicizia, Gioia, Impegno, Lealtà (friendship, joy, commitment, loyalty) and originally it started as a youth centre designed to help youngsters develop together through sport. The project grew over the years and investment was made to a build sports complex with a beach volleyball field and a multi-purpose sports facility for volleyball, futsal and basketball. After spending its first years competing in regional tournaments, in 1989 the club started moving through the Italian lower leagues. By the end of the 1990s it was making good progress playing in the Serie A2 until it struggled in the 1998–99 season and was relegated to Serie B1. As four teams renounced to play the Serie A2 in the 1999–2000 season, the club avoided relegation. During that season a new approach was made, with head coach Luciano Pedullà opting to prepare a team of young players with professionalism and commitment to secure investment for the future. The club was promoted to the Serie A1 (highest level) at the end of the 2000–01 season. Ahead of the 2001–02 season, the club moved its base from Trecate to Novara and Asystel became its main sponsor with club being renamed Asystel Novara. In its first season at the Serie A1, the club was runner up after reaching the playoff finals. In the following season it again reached the playoff finals, finishing second. The club made its debut in European competitions by winning the 2002–03 CEV Cup. At the conclusion of the season despite the two consecutive second places in the league, the European title and a guaranteed spot to play the CEV Champions League in the 2003–04 season, the club decided to focus on youth teams. It relocated to Trecate, revived its old name AGIL Volley and conceded its Serie A1 licence and the professional volleyball department to Asystel who established a new team called Asystel Volley. The licence concession meant AGIL was back to the Serie C of the Italian league. Ten seasons later, in 2013 the club gain promotion back to the Serie A1 and relocated to Novara. In 2014–15 the club won the Italian Cup for the first time. The first Serie A1 title came in 2016–17.