SuperLega UnipolSai
Round 20
Three days of volleyball ahead with round 20 kicking off on Saturday night with Verona versus Monza, and finishing on Monday night with three games.
SuperLega UnipolSai round 20
Saturday February 21 at 5.30pm
Calzedonia Verona – Vero Volley Monza Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Bartolini-Piana)
Sunday February 22 at 5.15pm
CMC Ravenna – Sir Safety Perugia Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Cipolla-Pol)
Domenica 22 febbraio 2015, ore 18.00
Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino – Top Volley Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Boris-Goitre)
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia Live on Lega Volley Channel
(La Micela-Florian)
Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta – Modena Volley Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Braico-Cesare)
Monday February 23 at 8.30pm
Revivre Milano – Tonazzo Padova Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Pozzato-Satanassi)
Rested: Copra Piacenza
League table
Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino 46, Modena Volley 45, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia 40, Calzedonia Verona 35, Sir Safety Perugia 33, Top Volley Latina 31, Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta 27, CMC Ravenna 25, Copra Piacenza 19, Vero Volley Monza 15, Tonazzo Padova 10, Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro 10, Revivre Milano 6.
1 game in hand: Modena Volley, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia, Sir Safety Perugia, Vero Volley Monza, Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro, Revivre Milano
Calzedonia Verona – Vero Volley Monza
The big come-back win over Latina has given Verona another boost as it now occupies fourth place on its own. The Australian Zingel had 7 blocks and a total of 21 points. Monza conceded its second defeat in the return games last week against Molfetta, which was a wasted opportunity to get closer to the playoffs zone, which is now 10 points away.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Verona)
Andrea Giani (coach Calzedonia Verona): “Monza is a team that has totally changed in this second part of season, they have been playing well and won a few games. If we want to win this one, we’ll need to play good volleyball, be focused, motivated and aggressive. Otherwise, we run the risk of making it difficult”.
Oreste Vacondio (coach Vero Volley Monza): “In sport like in life, the good moments come and go. This well-being of the players doesn’t last forever. It’s obvious that Molfetta was coming off great games and that they made it hard for us. We did not managed to keep our balance and respond with conviction to their serve. Just like it had happened in Modena, we accepted the rhythm they imposed. In Verona, there is a heated atmosphere, they will try to intimidate us. But we’ll try our best, if we think that 12 of our 15 points were taken on the road, we can find courage and win to get a result in Verona too. They have some excellent players: Sander is one of the surprises of the season. If we can stay solid and accurate, then we might have our say. These are not the kind of games we have to take points at all cost but we won’t lose it without fighting first”.
CMC Ravenna – Sir Safety Perugia
Slight dip in form from Ravenna, defeated without taking any points by Treia, Monza and Trento in the last three rounds. Molfetta moved above them in the table and now they occupy the last playoff spot. They have a six-point advantage on the main follower, Piacenza (who is rested this weekend). Here comes another tough task for Kantor’s men as Perugia is feeling good following their Champions League qualification into the playoffs 6. A great result in their first ever participation, which should give De Cecco and co some energy to try to catch up Verona and finish in the top four.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (Perugia 5-2)
Waldo Kantor (coach CMC Ravenna): “It’s a difficult spell for us, we have not played our best volley and we’re facing the top teams of this league. We’re trying to work hard now to get the results we need to reach our season goals in March. Perugia will clearly be favourite, we’re up against a team that will play for a place in the Champions League final four. But we’ll try to play at our best anyway and see if we can take advantage of any lapse from our opponents”.
Bino Rizzuto (sport director Sir Safety Perugia): “We’re heading to Ravenna following our great Champions League result. But we have to forget about Europe and focus on the league, in which we have not always been consistent. This is a tough road game, Ravenna has had a difficult time but this remains a quality team who can do some damage especially at home. The attitude we had in the Champions League game, together with the quality of play and consistency throughout the game are good signs for Sunday’s game, in which we need to take points to reach our goal to finish fourth”.
Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino – Top Volley Latina
Second consecutive home game for the league leaders, who will try to make it ten in a row and stay undefeated in their PalaTrento arena. Interesting game against a quality Latina team and fascinating match-up between some of the most prolific blockers in the league: Latina has the best blocker in Simon Van De Voorde (73), while Trento has the second, Sebastian Solé (51), and the fourth, Emanuele Birarelli (48).
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 29 (21-8 Trento)
Dario Simoni (Ass.coach Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino): “This will be a tough game, extremely tough even, Latina is definitely a quality team. They have a lot of possible alternatives in every position, their serve is always sharp thanks to the fact they have servers who can hit the floater or the jump serve, besides they are very effective at the net. The first match, which we won only at the tie-break after trailing 2-0, is a clear indication of how difficult this will be. I expect a similar game in terms of intensity and quality”.
Sasha Starovic (Top Volley Latina): “This will be a very difficult game against a top team that is playing excellent volleyball. We’ve been doing well of late, we’ve played some good games, shame we did not win against Verona. We’ve been training hard, we never stop. Hopefully, we’ll have a good performance. If we play at our best, we’ll have a chance to take points”.
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia
Cutting down on mistakes is coach Polidori’s main goal for his team. Castello will need a super game to be able to win over the Italian Champions, and maybe surprise them as they might struggle to recover from the Champions League knock-out in Poland. Giuliani’s men will have to focus exclusively on the SuperLega and try to put the disappointment behind them.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (Treia 4-1)
Renee Teppan (Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro): “Hopefully, we’ll play a good game for us and the fans who will come in numbers to watch us against Treia. We need a game like that to bounce back from that Padova match that was too quick. I think we’re capable of playing better compared to last week against this very strong opponent if we can cut down on our mistakes”.
Simone Parodi (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia): “Now out of Europe, we have to fully focus on the league. We’re right back on the road after our trip home from Poland. We’ve won four straight in the league and we want to keep it going. We need maximum focus because Castello can make it hard for us on their floor. But we really can’t lose points right now”.
Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta – Modena Volley
Another big game coming up in Molfetta. Di Pinto’s men have registered great games at home against Treia and Trento and now they want to surprise Modena. Last year, Lorenzetti’s men were defeated at the tie-break. The serve will be key: Modena is the best team in that department with 116 aces (2 aces a set), while Molfetta keeps getting better, they had 14 aces last Sunday against Monza.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (Modena 2-1)
Alen Sket (Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta): “We’ve been doing brilliantly of late. We need to keep playing like that against Modena, despite the fact we know they are a top team with quality players in every position. To make it hard for them, we need to serve well like against Monza. We have to play composed without thinking about the result, and we’ll just see what happens”.
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach Modena Volley): “Surely one of the toughest road game of the season, and it’s not me saying that, it’s the stats. They won 10 and beat some top teams, so it’s easy to understand that beating them is not easy at all. They play entertaining volleyball, they can be solid and spectacular at the same time. We have trained well this week, we still have some knocks here and there, but the season is long, it’s normal not to be hundred percent all the time. We’ll need maximum focus, we must respect our opponent but play without fear. We know we’re strong, we proved it, we need to keep playing well”.
Revivre Milano – Tonazzo Padova
Milan had obtained their first win of the season against Padova after five consecutive defeats on a 3-0 score. Same script so far in this second half of season. But Padova will remember that game too, a wasted opportunity to take three points despite a 2-0 lead.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (Padova 2-1)
Marco Maranesi (coach Revivre Milano): “It’s not about doing well anymore, it’s about winning and taking points. We’ll be home, we’ve been without a win for a long time and we’ll do everything possible to take points. I think we can beat Padova, it will be crucial to serve well. Hopefully, I’ll have everybody hundred percent fit to play. It won’t be easy, they are motivated, but we have gained confidence too from our performance on Treia’s court. I expect it to be a battle, like in our first match”.
Mattia Rosso (Tonazzo Padova): “All our hard work finally paid off with a win over Città di Castello. On Monday, we’ll face another opponent who, just like us, is desperate for points. We’ll need to play with the intensity, consistency and composure we had last Sunday, aware this is a game that we can win”.
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