SERIE A1 TIM
Cuneo e Trentino joint leaders
Cuneo ran the risk of losing its first place but, as it stood 2-0 down against Modena, it woke up from the dead to register its 11th consecutive win. The enthusiasm and 6 blocks from the yellow and blues took Wijmans and co by surprise. Cuneo’s attack was well-controlled in the second too, as Prandi changed half his line up in vain. Still, the game was going to change with Nikolov and Wijmans back to their explosive best. The fifth set was real tight, but Cuneo blocked twice in a row to remain top of the league and grab victory number 11 without defeat. This game was also Edoardo Ciabattini’s debut for Modena in the A1.
The prediction were respected in the games between Piacenza and Forli, and Montichiari versus Martina Franca, as the both hosts sealed it in straight sets and are now thinking of the Cup, which will take place on the 29th of January.
Treviso won the 61st derby against Padova. Papi and co won 3-1. However, Padova remains at the same distance from the safety zone given that Forli and Pineto lost as well.
Verona had another big beaten in its PalaOlimpia. After Trento and Cuneo, it was Macerata’s turn to surrender. It did it at the end of 5 sets, as Parodi stood out.
SERIE A1 TIM – 19th ROUND
Framasil Pineto – Itas Diatec Trentino 0-3 (20-25; 16-25; 22-25)
Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza – Yoga Forli 3-0 (25-22; 25-21; 25-15)
Marmi Lanza Verona – Lube Banca Marche Macerata 3-2 (20-25; 25-17; 25-21; 17-25; 15-13)
Sisley Treviso – Antonveneta Padova 3-1 (25-12; 25-20; 24-26; 25-18)
Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari – Stamplast Martina Franca 3-0 (25-14; 25-15; 25-23)
Trenkwalder Modena – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 2-3 (25-18; 25-15; 21-25; 23-25; 12-15)
Monday 26 January at 8.30pm
RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
(Cipolla – Longo)
TABLE
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo, Itas Diatec Trentino 43; Lube Banca Marche Macerata 41; Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza 39; Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari 33; RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia* 32; Sisley Treviso 30; Marmi Lanza Verona 28; Trenkwalder Modena 22; Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia*, Stamplast Martina Franca 20; Framasil Pineto 19; Yoga Forli 16; Antonveneta Padova 10.
*1 game in hand: RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia.
STATS AND QUOTES
COPRA NORDMECCANICA PIACENZA – YOGA FORLI 3-0 (25-22; 25-21; 25-15)
Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza: Rak 7, Pampel 11, Insalata, Meoni 2, Boninfante, Zingaro (L), Zlatanov 19, Durante (L), Bravo 9, Dunnes 1, Bjelica 2. DNP Grassano. Coach. Lorenzetti
Yoga Forli: Bendi, Henno (L), Molteni 12, Bittar 18, Haldane 6, Redwitz, Di Franco 2, Casadei, Loglisci 1, Dolfo, Patriarca 7. DNP Bozko. Coach. Molducci
Joao Paolo Bravo (Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza): “It’s been a tough game, despite the fact that one might think differently by looking at the scoreboard. The first two sets proved especially difficult, Forli made it very difficult for us. Now there is the Cup. Hopefully we will do well, even if in one single game anything can happen”.
MARMI LANZA VERONA – LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA 3-2 (20-25; 25-17; 25-21; 17-25; 15-13)
Marmi Lanza Verona: Latelli (L), Parodi 20, Popp 2, Sottile 1, Colaci, Lasko 15, Dehne, Szabo 2, Volpini (L), Maric 13, Semenzato 6, Bontje 13. DNP Mosterts. Coach. Giuliani
Lube Banca Marche Macerata: Lebl 6, Vermiglio 2, Bartoletti 17, Snippe 2, Saraceni 1, Martino 12, Monopoli, Corsano (L), Santana 14, Swiderski 19, Podrascanin. DNP Giovi. Coach. De Giorgi
Alberto Giuliani (Marmi Lanza Verona): “We made a good step forward tonight, we saw that playing at home was a factor, we have to learn from what we do here to do well away from home too. We did well to react every time we lacked composure, even when we were trailing by big margins”.
Ferdinando De Giorgi (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “We haven’t been very consistent, both teams had ups and downs but the level of intensity was high and there was also a tie-break. We knew we were going to face a tough challenge, in the third set we failed to handle some important plays, being blocked a few times and making a few mistakes”.
SISLEY TREVISO – ANTONVENETA PADOVA 3-1 (25-12; 25-20; 24-26; 25-18)
Sisley Treviso: Fei 19, Hubner 1, Papi 13, Farina (L), Kohut 10, Antonov, Endres 11, Cisolla 16, Daldello (L), Garcia 2. DNP Saitta, Vedovotto. Coach. Dall’Olio
Antonveneta Padova: Garghella (L), De Togni 8, Maniero, Raymaekers 1, Kral, Mattera 2, Gato, Perazzolo 12, Kromm 18, Maruotti 10. DNP Gottardo, Meggiolaro. Coach. Bagnoli
Alessandro Farina (Sisley Treviso): “We’ve improved a lot, we got better in the fundamentals, which was still our downfall not so long ago. We’ve not reached our full potential yet, and it was clear in today’s third set when we had a blackout, but we reacted well and if we keep working on the fundamentals to get rid of our flaws, good times could come ahead for us”.
Gabriele Maruotti (Antonveneta Padova): “Treviso is extremely strong, many teams from the lower part of the table got some points here, but not against such a Treviso team, who’s going back to the level it had a year and a half ago when it dominated in Italy and Europe. Every time we were coming back, they put their foot on the pedal and it was impossible to do better tonight. We’ll try to get the points we need to stay up somewhere else”.
ACQUA PARADISO GABECA MONTICHIARI – STAMPLAST MARTINA FRANCA 3-0 (25-14; 25-15; 25-23)
Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari: Sala 5, Rauwerdink 14, Horstink 14, Tiberti, Esko 5, Howard 4, Gavotto 13, Zito (L), Mani� (L). DNP Pesenti, Paparoni, Forni, Bellei. Coach. Berruto
Stamplast Martina Franca: Ricciardello (L), Coscione 1, Stancu 5, Cernic 7, Guglielmi, Stoijkovic, Mastrangelo 6, Sequeira 7, Quartarone, Rodriguez 9. Coach. D’Onghia
Mauro Berruto (Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari): “I’m very happy with my team because we played a great game. We know that when we play at the maximum of our possibilities we can play really well. In the third set, we worked even harder because Martina Franca is an excellent team”.
Gianni D’Onghia (Stamplast Martina Franca): “We’re particularly struggling on the road. In the third set, we reacted and I’m glad we did but we keep having problems on the reception which make it difficult for us. We’ll work even more on that this week to resolve the problem”.
TRENKWALDER MODENA – BRE BANCA LANNUTTI CUNEO 2-3 (25-18, 25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 12-15)
Trenkwalder Modena: Lee 2, Ciabattini (L), Tencati 2, Kooistra 20, Dennis 18, Sartoretti, Santos 16, Smuc, Travica 3, Siebeck 1, Casoli 13. DNP Endres, Pagni. Coach. Zanini
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo: Wijsmans 18, Gonzalez 2, Fortunato 10, Vergnaghi (L), Nikolov 28, Nuti 1, Curti 8, Abbadi 7, Biribanti 1, Pieri (L), Platenik 1. DNP Ariaudo, Rossi. Coach. Prandi
Edoardo Ciabattini (Trenkwalder Modena): “I found out I was going to start in the changing room today. I wore my usual shirt, but then I realised I was the only one to have it. It was my turn. I have to thank my teammates. My performance was positive thanks to them. We’ll be back in the gym from Tuesday morning to work”.
Wout Wijsmans (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “At 2-0 down, we did a great job of finding our rhythm again. It was not easy. The work we’re doing right now for the big event, the Cup not to be top, surely helped. We wanted this 11th consecutive league win and, though it was hard work, we made it”.
