SuperLega UnipolSai
Round 10
There are four games to go to the halfway point of the regular season and the fight for a place in the Cup quarter-finals will get fiercer. The highlight of the weekend is a remake of last season’s playoff final between Treia and Perugia. Interesting derby too between Monza and Milan.
SuperLega UnipolSai Round 10
Saturday December 13 at 5.30pm
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia – Sir Safety Perugia Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Gnani-Bartolini)
Sunday December 14 at 5pm
Vero Volley Monza – Revivre Milano Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Zanussi-Puecher)
Sunday December 14 at 6pm
Modena Volley – Top Volley Latina
(Sampaolo-Satanassi)
Calzedonia Verona – CMC Ravenna
(Sobrero-Goitre)
Copra Piacenza – Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta
(Santi-Cappello)
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino
(Boris-Pasquali)
Rested: Tonazzo Padova
Rested
Modena Volley 24, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia 22, Sir Safety Perugia 19, Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino 18, Calzedonia Verona 15, Top Volley Latina 15, CMC Ravenna 15, Copra Piacenza 11, Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta 9, Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro 6, Tonazzo Padova 5, Revivre Milano 2, Vero Volley Monza 1
1 game more: Calzedonia Verona, Top Volley Latina, CMC Ravenna, Tonazzo Padova
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia – Sir Safety Perugia
One of the biggest game of the season, a remake of last year’s exciting playoffs final. Macerata had won it in four games. Today, three points separate the two sides, Treia is second and Perugia third. Important game for the hosts ahead of their tough road game in the Champions League against Belgorod. They will try to defend their second place in the league too. Grbic’s men have remained undefeated since October 29, they put together six consecutive wins between the SuperLega and the Champions League, in which they are top of their group.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 9 (6-3 Treia)
Giulio Sabbi (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia): “Perugia is a well-organised team, they have top quality players. So we have to make sure we contain their spikers right from the start. They win certainly come to win. But we’re aiming for victory too to stay close to the top and prepare the imminent and tough trip to Russia to face Belgorod”.
Thomas Beretta (Sir Safety Perugia): “We’re facing a very complicated game against one of the best teams. We’re motivated and confident. We have worked well during the week, we’ll keep doing so and try to get the best result we can, this would not only be important for the table but such a prestigious win would also be a boost in confidence for the boys. We know they have a great team. The main danger? I think they have an all-around squad. We have to play at our best, we really want to do well. This is also last year’s final, hopefully this will be a spectacular and exciting game”.
Vero Volley Monza – Revivre Milano
Much awaited game in the Lombardy region. This derby already occurred last year but that was at the level under in the A2. Both teams had won on the road. Big crowd expected for a crucial game for both clubs as Monza is still looking for its first win and Milan for its second.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (1 each)
Daniele De Pandis (Vero Volley Monza): “Against Treia, in spite of their quality, we showed great character, we made it hard for them in various spells. This is my first derby, I’m very excited. This is a very important game for both clubs and the fans. We’ll try to give it our best shot, as we always do, and get that first win. We’ll need a good start, motivated and aggressive. We need to avoid to make the mistakes that cost us dear in this start of season. If we can cut down on our mistakes and play loose we can get the three points”.
Giordano Mattera (Revivre Milano): “Definitely not a game like any other, both team particularly want to win this one. Like all derby, it will be a battle and hopefully, the fans will come in numbers for this important game for the region. Our goal is to increase our lead on Monza and stay close to Padova and Città di Castello. In order to do so, we’ll need to be good on the serve and block well”.
Modena Volley – Top Volley Latina
Modena is one 3-0 away from the club record registered in 1985-86 of eight consecutive 3-0 wins. The league record however is 9, achieved by Trento in 2010-11. In order to make history, they will first have to defeat the tough side of Latina before going on an incredibly challenging run against Trento, Verona and Treia. Latina has taken points in its last 6 outing: 4 wins and 2 tie-break defeats. Urnaut who came out of the game prematurely last weekend against Piacenza because of an ankle sprain, should be fit to play.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 25 (16-9 Modena)
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach Modena Volley): “I’m not just saying it like that, Latina is a very strong team, we need to face this game with that same focus as all the others, concentrated at all times. They have a top quality setter in Sottile, and they play a similar game to ours given that they can count on top spikers. December will be a very tough month, we’ll need to be ready, there’s a place in the Cup Final Four at stake, we really want to make it. Pressure? There is pressure, of course, but the boys are dealing with it fine, we keep working as we’ve done aware of the difficulties ahead but also with belief in our strengths”.
Gianlorenzo Blengini (coach Top Volley Latina): “Modena does not only get good results but they play at very high level and they play fast. They have a great serve, and they vary their game a lot. We’ll try to play our game, knowing that we can’t afford to make too many errors or inaccuracies because against them you get punished”.
Calzedonia Verona – CMC Ravenna
The two clubs tied with Latina at 15 points, and they are all to be rested one weekend yet. A win would represent a big advantage. Trento is fourth just three points ahead, but they have already been rested. This is expected to be a tight affair between two in-form teams: Giani’s men have put together three consecutive wins over Monza, Padova and Molfetta for a total of nine points, while Kantor’s team is coming off an away win over Padova and a comfortable Challenge Cup victory in Estonia.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 8 (4 each)
Manuel Coscione (Calzedonia Verona): “Very difficult game against a team tied on points with us in the table. This is therefore an important game for the qualification in the Cup. They’re coming off an important win in Padova, while we want to add to our three-game winning streak”.
Waldo Kantor (coach CMC Ravenna): “Verona is a very good team, especially on the serve. I expect it to be a very tough game, we’ll need maximum focus and determination. Verona is definitely stronger than Padova, which we met last week. We’ll need to be at our very best to win it”.
Copra Piacenza – Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta
Piacenza eventually got off the mark after a somewhat complicated month of November. Zlatanov and co grabbed a Champions League win over Lugano and a league victory over Latina, which should give them a boost. Besides, they can now count on Cuban outside hitter Raydel Poey, who scored 35 against Latina. They will try to close the gap on the trio composed of Latina, Ravenna and Verona (4 points away) and improve on their current 8th place, the last qualifying spot for the Cup. But Molfetta is also a containder for that spot, they’re just two points behind and could move above Piacenza with a victory.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (Both for Piacenza)
Andrea Radici (coach Copra Piacenza): “Two particularities: the first is that our fans are really expecting us to get a home win that has been missing for two long, and the second is that we’re in the clutch time for the hunt for a cup participation. And Sunday’s game will be against a direct rival. We’ll need to make the most of this encounter to increase our chances to be in the cup. The boys have worked hard to improve the understanding with the newcomer Poey. We’re facing this game with confidence, though we know they have a good team with many international players. We have maximum respect for our opponent and but we’ll also face this game with maximum determination”.
Roberto Romiti (Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta): “This team should not have any limits. We know how difficult it is to be among the top eight, because we have some tough fixtures ahead but this goal should not represent an utopia. Piacenza has done well of late, testimony the 3-2 over Latina, which is the surprise team of the season. Piacenza showed character while going through a tough situation. They’ll want to beat us too. But we want to bounce back from our defeat against Verona, we have to get on track, that’s definitely going to be a difficult game for both sides”.
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino
Castello is still in the hunt for a place in the top 8 and the cup. They have to close the gap of 5 points between them and Piacenza, currently 8th. But it won’t be easy as Montagani’s men host Trentino. Kaziyski and co were rested in the last round, they are ready to defend their fourth place. Intense period for them as a trip to Israel to take on Tel Aviv will be next on December 17 in the CEV Cup.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (Both for Trento)
Valdemaro Gustinelli (Sport director Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro): “Extremely difficult game against Trento. They have proved how solid they were, they have top class players in position 4 with Kaziyiski and Lanza, who have done extremely well so far. Tough game but we expect our boys to take advantage of the opportunities they’ll have, if any will come their way. We had some of those opportunities against Macerata and Modena, but did not capitalize. You don’t get many chances against certain teams so you have to make the most of them. I hope that with the help of our fans, we can stay in the game as long as possible”.
Michele Fedrizzi (Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino):<SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS','sans-serif'; COLOR: #464646; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language
