Serie A1 TIM
Round 24
In the 24th round of the A1, Taranto takes on Vibo Valentia on Saturday at 3.30. The big game of this round is on Sunday: Modena versus Trentino, just two weeks after their last meeting. Amongst the team fighting at the bottom, Latina will host Macerata, Forli entertains Monza, Loreto plays host to Perugia and Pineto, still bottom with 6 points, will fight it out with Treviso. Meanwhile, Piacenza travels to Verona. Cuneo is rested.
Round 24
Saturday 13 February at 3.30pm
Prisma Taranto – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Differed Rai 3 at 4.45
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Gnani-Bartolini)
Sunday 14 February at 6pm
Trenkwalder Modena – Itas Diatec Trentino – Live on Rai Sport Più
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Rapisarda-Pessolano)
Yoga Forlì – Acqua Paradiso Monza
(Cesare-Padoan)
Marmi Lanza Verona – CoprAtlantide Piacenza
(Braico-Barbero)
Andreoli Latina – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
(Boris-Caltabiano)
Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto – Sisley Treviso
(Cappello-Ravallese)
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
(Cipolla-La Micela)
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – RESTED
League table
Itas Diatec Trentino 56, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 51, CoprAtlantide Piacenza 48, Sisley Treviso 43, Lube Banca Marche Macerata 42, Trenkwalder Modena 40, Acqua Paradiso Monza 37, Marmi Lanza Verona 35, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia 26, Prisma Taranto 23, Andreoli Latina 19, Yoga Forlì 17, Esse-ti Carilo Loreto 14, Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto 6.
Note: 1 more game: Itas Diatec Trentino, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo, CoprAtlantide Piacenza, Marmi Lanza Verona, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia, Andreoli Latina, Esse-ti Carilo Loreto.
Prisma Taranto – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (5-2 Vibo Valentia)
Antonio Bongiovanni (Presidente Prisma Taranto): “The stake could have been higher for us and our friends from Vibo but instead we are both going through a difficult spell. As far as my team is concerned, I expect them to play with pride, everybody has to prove its worth before next season”.
Francesco Prestinenzi (Direttore Sportivo Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “I’ve had the opportunity to have a long chat with the team and staff and I agree that, despite the fact that the Verona defeat made it very difficult, we are mathematically still in with a chance to get into the playoffs. We must fight for it with conviction. We are aware of the fact that it will be difficult to catch up, a lot will depend on the results of the other teams, but we have to keep working with the same energy, no matter whether we can get in the playoffs or not. We have to finish this championship as well as we can”.
Trenkwalder Modena – Itas Diatec Trentino
PAST ENCOUNTER: 30 (18-12 Trento)
Cristian Casòli (Trenkwalder Modena): “It was not easy to get back to work after the severe defeat against Cuneo. However, we have now mentally recovered, the group is motivated and we know Sunday’s game will be an extremely tough one. Trento is dominating this league, they have proved they were the strongest, but that won’t stop us from giving it our best shot, playing with determination in order to try to get points out of it. We do know that will only be possible if we play at our best. We’ll certainly have a go at it”.
Raphael Vieira De Oliveira (Itas Diatec Trentino): “When I think of Modena, I immediately recall the 3-0 obtained 10 days ago in Montecatini Terme. In my opinion, this was a particularly great victory, because it was difficult and we showed character. This will surely be a different game on Sunday, Modena will have the court advantage. Still, we will face this encounter with the right concentration and will. We always focus on one game at a time, and not on the next one. We’ll think about the Champions League from Monday”.
Yoga Forlì – Acqua Paradiso Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Forlì won it)
Gilberto Marchi (Team Manager Yoga Forlì): “We did well in the first meeting. Our aim is to get points and make the court advantage count. We want to play well in front of our fans, we have trained well, taking care of every details. We know we’ll have a great support again on Sunday. We don’t want to disappoint our fans”.
Mauro Berruto (Acqua Paradiso Monza): “The first meeting against Forli was one of the very few regrets of the season. We had the possibility to win it but in the end, be that because they played well or because we made mistakes, Forli was the first team to beat us at home. We will therefore be extremely motivated and focused. Forli proved in Monza it was an excellent and well-balanced team in every area of the game and that it had some top class players. As far as we’re concerned, everything is going fine: we are working with discipline and quality. The atmosphere is good. We have fixed ourselves a precise target, to try to get points in every single game, against any opponent. The name of the opposite team doesn’t matter, what matters are the points at stake. I’ll ask the team to keep working with the same attitude: we should never consider a game over, be that when we are ahead or trailing. Then we must dig, make our opponent work hard with our dig. It’s a fundamental that makes us feel strong and we will work on that on Sunday too”.
Marmi Lanza Verona – CoprAtlantide Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 13 (11-2 Piacenza)
Dore Della Lunga (Marmi Lanza Verona): “We want to make this positive spell last, at least in terms of level of play and, if we can, with the good results too. We know our opponent, they will play without the pressure to get a result at all cost but with the desire to take revenge on the first meeting against us. We have improved lately in many areas and we are aware of our abilities”.
Dante Boninfante (CoprAtlantide Piacenza): “The break due to the Italian Cup allowed us to work with intensity physically, and it was evident at the end of the Pineto game. On Sunday, I think the physical work done in previous weeks will have a minor influence. In Verona they have loyal fans. They have had ups and downs, but they have had great performances, you can’t do that by chance. They have been more consistent of late and found their identity. Pushed by their fans at the PalaOlimpia, they are very dangerous”.
Andreoli Latina – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 19 (16-3 Macerata)
Jan Willem Snippe (Andreoli Latina): “It’s always special to play against your ex teammates. It will be a strange but surely good game. They will want to bounce back after their Champions League defeat against Bled, it will be interesting to see how they approach the game. We have to play well, with enthusiasm to try and get some points, even if it won’t be easy against them. Still, nothing is impossible”.
Igor Omrcen (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “We have lost our last game in the Champions league, we can make up for it but it undeniably made us very angry. On Sunday, we’ll have a good opportunity in Latina to bounce back and get back up the table. Our target to finish in the top four at the end of the regular season is totally possible, but to make it we can’t afford to lose any points on the way. I will meet many ex-teammates in Latina, it will be nice to see them. Both teams need points, although we have different targets, so I expect it to be a tough game, which we will need to face with maximum determination”.
Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto – Sisley Treviso
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (2-1 Pineto)
Henrique Ronaldo (Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto): “We are facing a lot of problems in the end of championship. The most difficult part is to find the motivation given the fact that it becomes more and more impossible to stay up. Still, we try to keep playing to enjoy ourselves, without pressure, with the will to show our worth. We played a decent game last Sunday in Perugia. The game against Treviso will be more difficult: the important thing is to know we have given it our best shot at the end of the game”.
Roberto Piazza (Sisley Treviso): “We are taking care of the wounds suffered in the Italian cup, in which we did not play up to our potential. We’ve been training with great intensity during the break and we’ve also played a couple of friendly games to maintain our rhythm. Fortunately, we haven’t got any particular physical problems and are all fit to play, but we have to face the next three games being positive, in order to put that semi final cup loss behind us. We must not lose any points in these three games against Pineto, Taranto and Forli, in order to be psychologically fine before the final rush of the season, when we will want to have a starring role”.
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (2-1 Perugia)
Paolo Politi (Direttore Generale Pallavolo Loreto): “We know for well that the game against Perugia is important, hopefully we will get some points to maintain our hopes to stay up alive. I hope the team will play with the same intensity and focus seen against Trento. Perugia has big names in its squad but it has not played to the its full potential so far. It will be a tough game, we will need our fans and a little bit of luck to clinch it”.
Cristian Savani (RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia): “This will be a different team compared to the one we beat 3-0 earlier this season, when Loreto was without two starters. Today, they have their full squad. We both need points, despite the fact we have different targets: They want to be mathematically sure to stay up while we hope to make it in the playoffs. It will be a real “war” on court, a very tense affair”.
Serie A2 TIM
Round 22
Round 22 will kick start on Saturday with Cavriago versus Crema. On Sunday at 6pm, there will be Nava Gioia del Colle – Pallavolo Padova, Katay Geotec Isernia – Canadiens Mantova, Zinella Bologna – Quasar Massa Versilia and Città di Castello Pallavolo – M.Roma Volley, while BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte will watch on. The Sunday night game at 8.30pm will be Ravenna against Sora, which stands just four points above its opponent of the day in the table. Given that the gym is not available this weekend, Bassano’s home encounter against Santa Croce has been postponed to Tuesday 16 at 8pm.
Round 22
Saturday 13 February at 8.30pm
Edilesse Cavriago – Samgas Crema
(Costantini-Bertoletti)
Sunday 14 February at 6pm
Nava Gioia del Colle – Pallavolo Padova
(Gentile-Astengo)
Katay Geotec Isernia – Canadiens Mantova
(Zingoni-Carrara)
Zinella Bologna – Quasar Massa Versilia
(Andreoni-Cappelletti)
Città di Castello Pallavolo – M. Roma Volley
(Piluso-Perdisci)
Sunday 14 Fabruary at 8.30pm
Marcegaglia Ravenna – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora – Live on Snai Sat
(Vagni-Toso)
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte – RESTED
Postponed on Tuesday 16 February at 8pm
Bassano Volley – Codyeco S.Croce
(Oranelli-Feriozzi)
League table
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 50, M. Roma Volley 46, Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora 39, Zinella Bologna 38, Marcegaglia Ravenna 35, Samgas Crema 31, Codyeco S.Croce 30, Città di Castello Pallavolo 25, Pallavolo Padova, Edilesse Cavriago 24, Katay Geotec Isernia, Quasar Massa Versilia 23, Bassano Volley 21, Nava Gioia del Colle 17, Canadiens Mantova 15.
1 Game in hand: Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora, Zinella Bologna, Marcegaglia Ravenna, Samgas Crema, Pallavolo Padova, Canadiens Mantova
