Serie A1
Round 6
Another exciting weekend of action is ahead of us. Round 6 will begin as usual on Saturday with Latina versus Trento. Undefeated until its last round against Macerata, Latina will try to repeat the feat of beating Trento (3-1) which they achieved last season. The two teams had also met in last year’s playoffs semi-finals. Sunday’s highlights will bring a huge game between Cuneo and Piacenza, separated only by one point in the table.
Serie A1 round 6
Saturday November 10 at 5.30pm
Andreoli Latina – Itas Diatec Trentino Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Cipolla-Santi)
Sunday November 11 at 5.30pm
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Copra Elior Piacenza Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(La Micela-Caltabiano)
Sunday November 11 at 6pm
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Sir Safety Perugia
(Sobrero-Piana)
BCC–NEP Castellana Grotte – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia Live on Sportube.tv
(Sampaolo-Gnani)
Altotevere San Giustino – Marmi Lanza Verona
(Satanassi-Balboni)
Casa Modena – CMC Ravenna
(Vagni-Bartolini)
League table
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata 15, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 11, Andreoli Latina 10, Copra Elior Piacenza 10, Itas Diatec Trentino 9, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 9, Sir Safety Perugia 7, Marmi Lanza Verona 7, Casa Modena 6, Altotevere San Giustino 2, BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 1, CMC Ravenna 0.
1 game in hand: Itas Diatec Trentino, Casa Modena
Andreoli Latina – Itas Diatec Trentino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 22 (15-7 Trento)
Andreas Fragkos (Andreoli Latina): “Trento is as powerful as Macerata. It’s a very strong team in the block-dig department. If they serve hard and force us to play out of the three meters it will be very tough. We also have similar characteristics so if we can be sharp on the serve like we have in certain recent games, we have our chance”.
Roberto Serniotti (ass.coach Itas Diatec Trentino): “I remember what happened last season, when we deservedly lost in regular season in Latina. They played good volleyball last season and are even better now. They’re always dangerous at home, so I think it was important not to go back to Trento after Wednesday’s game in Perugia, to stay in the area and get ready for this difficult encounter. We want to take points and get closer to Macerata before our meeting next week. To do so, we’ll need an excellent performance”.
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Copra Elior Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 38 (25-13 Cuneo)
Emanuel Kohut (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “We played very poor volley in Trento but the loss got us down back to earth. Hopefully, we’ll do better on Sunday against Piacenza. We know they’re strong but we have to take those three important points”.
Davide Delmati (ass.coach Copra Elior Piacenza): “The game against Modena has not been easy by any means. The most important thing is that we took three important points, got back to winning at home and stayed in the top part of the table. Another positive note was De Cecco’s come-back, which is important for our training and the understanding with his teammates. As for Sunday’s game, Cuneo should be finishing in the top 4 and consequently, this is a direct opponent of ours. This will be an open game. Cuneo is coming off two consecutive defeats (Latina and Trento), they will be up for it at home, keen to bounce back as they’ll be led by their main men, the experienced Sokolov and Grbic”.
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Sir Safety Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Davidson Lampariello (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Our only goal against Perugia is to win and stay unbeaten. We want to prove we’re still strong despite the injuries to two important players, Kovar and Savani. This situation should motivate us to be even more determined on court, Perugia is a good team, but we should not be afraid of anyone”.
Aimone Alletti (Sir Safety Perugia): “We’re in good shape, there’s a good spirit in the group. We’re a bit tired, this will be our third game in 7 days, but on Wednesday against Trento, we proved in certain moments that we could play face to face with anyone. Macerata is a great team, and the fact they can sent on such a strong line-up in spite of having Kovar and Savani out injured proves it. They play to win the league but we will be determined and we’ll try to make it as difficult for them as possible”.
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 4 (3-1 Vibo Valentia)
Flavio Gulinelli (BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte): “ViboValentia and Latina have worked very well to become serious alternatives to the big guns of this league. Vibo had a spectacular start to the season with a win in Trento, they won in Piacenza too and were only defeated by Cuneo. This is a strong team that deserves to be where it is now. Still, I think that behind Cuneo, Trento, Macerata and Piacenza, the other teams can be beaten. They are stronger but we have what it takes to make it hard for them. It’s true they’re having a great run, it won’t be easy but I think the boys can step up and give them a game”.
Niels Klapwijk (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “This will definitely be a very tough game. They have excellent players like Sabbi, Casoli and Yosifov. This is also a southern derby, which makes this game a special one. They will be determined and aggressive, we have to be ready for the fight. I heard our fans will come in numbers to support us. One more reason to give everything we have to get a good result”.
Altotevere San Giustino – Marmi Lanza Verona
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Giorgio De Togni (Altotevere San Giustino): “We wanted our first win last week in the derby against Perugia, this wasn’t to be. Now we’re playing host to Verona, a tough team with bags of experience. It won’t be easy but we’ll do everything possible to win, that would be nice both for us and our fans. Our supporters are brilliant, 500 followed us for the derby, that was great, they deserve the best. We’re working well in training, with intensity but that’s not enough. We have to step up, make the last qualitative leap. We’ll need a great performance against Verona, we need a good start, dictate a rhythm that will trouble them and take all the opportunities that will come our way during the game”.
Nicola Pesaresi (Marmi Lanza Verona): “We’re expecting a heated atmosphere but we really want to do well. We’ll try to get another result to get some consistency and more of the good volleyball seen at home against Castellana Grotte. First thing we’ll have to do is focus on our game to give them something to worry about”.
Casa Modena – CMC Ravenna
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (Modena won both)
Michele Baranowicz (Casa Modena): “We have to win it. We talked about what went wrong in Piacenza. We trained with intensity and now on Sunday we have to show what we can do. We know this will be a tough game, Ravenna is improving, they’ve made it very hard for Vibo. We play next against Ravenna and Perugia, then in seven days we’ll face Cuneo, Trento and Macerata. A crucial period is coming up, we have to take some points and to do so we have to be solid, focused and have no fear. And we have to play with the same attitude against everyone”.
Mauro Fresa (coach CMC Ravenna): “We’ve worked well this week , the spirit is good. I am confident ahead of this road game in Modena. The boys are quite tired physically, we’ve worked extremely hard in recent weeks, it’s true, but the atmosphere is excellent, we’ll face a strong team but we’ll go for it. At the end of the day, they have only six points, our last two opponents were certainly tougher”.
Serie A2
Round 7
Vero Volley Monza – Tonazzo Padova. Important match-up to stay close to the top teams. This will also be a battle of two setters, Tiberti and Mattera, who exchanged shirts during the summer. The two teams are tied at 10 and can take advantage of Molfetta resting to move up to fourth.
Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora – Sidigas Atripalda. Sora is going through tough times, they were coming off two losses before being rested last week. Coach Ricci will be without Patriarca, who injured his left hand in training. Second in the league, Atripalda has three former Sora players: Scappaticcio, Libraro and Di Marco. They have won their last three games and are just one point behind the league leaders, Città di Castello.
Caffè Aiello Corigliano – Conad Reggio Emilia. Corigliano debuted the season with a sweep over Loreto but then could not add any victories in the following four games. Fabroni and co will want to get a result as the club continued to put faith in the coaching staff. Reggio will try to bounce back following the home loss against Padova.
Elettrosud Brolo – Gherardi SVI Città di Castello. Brolo took four points so far on home soil and will try to add to that positive streak as they host the league leaders, Città di Castello, only unbeaten team left. Rosalba and co will try to stay top by registering a sixth win in as many games.
Pallavolo Loreto – Coserplast Matera. Key game for Loreto, stuck at the bottom with only one point and no win. Fracascia’s team suffered many injuries in this start of season and will try to make the court advantage count against Matera, which pushed Ortona to the tie-break in the last round (15-13).
Sieco Service Ortona – B-Chem Golden Plast Potenza Picena. Ortona has taken points in each of the first six rounds (5 wins, and one tie-break defeat) and are third, tied with Atripalda. Potenza Picena celebrated its first ever win in this division in the last round, 3-1 over Corigliano.
Fixtures
Serie A2 Round 7
Sunday November 11 at 6pm
Vero Volley Monza – Tonazzo Padova<SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; COLOR: #464646; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-f
