Del Monte® Italian Cup SuperLega – Quarter-finals first leg
Gi Group Monza – DHL Modena 2-3 (24-26, 20-25, 29-27, 25-22, 13-15)
Calzedonia Verona – Sir Safety Conad Perugia 2-3 (23-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 12-15)
Ninfa Latina – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova 0-3 (20-25, 16-25, 20-25)
Exprivia Molfetta – Diatec Trentino 0-3 (22-25, 22-25, 13-25)
GI GROUP MONZA – DHL MODENA 2-3 (24-26, 20-25, 29-27, 25-22, 13-15) – GI GROUP MONZA: Galliani 9, Mercorio, Jovovic 2, Rizzo (L), Botto 12, Verhees 19, Beretta 8, Zanatta Buiatti 22, Rousseaux 6. DNP Copelli, Sala, Daldello, Brunetti, Gao. Coach. Vacondio.
DHL MODENA: Mossa De Rezende 9, Petric, Casadei 2, Rossini (L), Ngapeth 24, Nikic 7, Piano 9, Bossi, Saatkamp 13, Vettori 17. DNP Donadio, Soli, Sartoretti, Sighinolfi. Coach. Lorenzetti.
Monza was close to a great Christmas present. On its first ever participation into the Italian Cup, Vacondio’s men came back from 2 sets down to 2-2. And the tie-break was tight all the way, so much so that it was all tied at 13. Modena eventually found the winning points. This was a game played at a high level by both squads. Ngapeth finished top scorer with 24 points while Pieter Verhees was named MVP.
Pieter Verhees (Gi Group Monza): “We made a nice Christmas present to Modena. We’re disappointed because we had our chance in the end, we could have won it. But we had a good game, let’s not forget Modena is the league leader, and for us being in the cup is a great achievement. We played with our hearts, as a unit, I think this is something very positive which we have to build on next year”.
Salvatore Rossini (DHL Modena): “We knew Monza was not easy to play against. They have a lot of quality and they have been extremely dangerous of late. We have made some mistakes, the Champions League road games have taken its toll. In the end we clinched it in the tie-break but I think ending the year with a victory is the perfect fit for the season we’ve been having so far and for the one we concluded in May”.
CALZEDONIA VERONA – SIR SAFETY CONAD PERUGIA 2-3 (23-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 12-15) – CALZEDONIA VERONA: Zingel 10, Kovacevic 17, Pesaresi (L), Gitto, Lecat 16, Spirito 1, Baranowicz 1, Bellei 26, Anzani 9. DNP Frigo, Starovic, Sander, Bucko. Coach. Giani.
SIR SAFETY CONAD PERUGIA: Buti 10, Fromm, Holt, De Cecco 5, Kaliberda 14, Giovi (L), Russell 15, Dimitrov, Tzioumakas 1, Atanasijevic 32, Fanuli (L), Birarelli 7. DNP Elia, Franceschini. Coach. Kovac.
Five sets needed in the Italian Cup too between Verona and Perugia. This time however, it is Perugia who came out on top against a Verona side without Sander and Starovic. And that was another terrific tie-break. The visitors escaped 8-2, only to be pegged back on a Baranowicz ace. But in the end Bellei’s mistakes proved costly. MVP Pesaresi
Andrea Giani (coach Calzedonia Verona): “To be honest, we played a great game. A lot of quality, schemes, discipline. Even in the difficult times in which Perugia tried to escape, we managed to get back in it by playing as a team. We had our chances in the end, it’s a shame. I have to congratulate all the boys for this game. This is a group of guys who always train and play at their best, they never make excuses”.
Boban Kovac (coach Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “In my opinion, we shouldn’t be satisfied with this result. I see the guys don’t believe in themselves, this is a real problem. Verona played with heart but we had many problems ourselves, we should really be playing better in games like that”.
EXPRIVIA MOLFETTA – DIATEC TRENTINO 0-3 (22-25, 22-25, 13-25) – EXPRIVIA MOLFETTA: Candellaro 7, Spadavecchia, Randazzo 1, Mariella, Del Vecchio 2, Barone 5, De Pandis (L), Porcelli, Hierrezuelo 2, Fedrizzi 12, Hernandez Ramos 15. DNP Kaczynski. Coach. Montagnani.
DIATEC TRENTINO: Antonov 1, Bratoev, Giannelli 2, Lanza 9, Solé 4, Djuric 21, Colaci (L), Urnaut 9, Mazzone 4. DNP Nelli, Mazzone, De Angelis, Van De Voorde. Coach. Stoytchev.
A historical night for Molfetta which would have been even more special if they had managed the breakthrough they had been capable of in the SuperLega. But this time Trento won it in straight sets thanks to a terrific performance. Molfetta gave it a good fight in the first two sets, especially in the second in which it had a chance to win it after a great come-back but then they let it slip away in the third set. Urnaut was outstanding and named MVP. Djuric had 21 points, while Lanza scored 4 aces and a total of 10 points.
Filippo Lanza (Diatec Trentino): “Winning here today was extremely important for us to be able to rest well during the break with free minds. We played much better than in the league fixture. We found it hard in reception but we did extremely well in attack”.
Paolo Montagnani (coach Exprivia Molfetta): “We got to this game with little energy. Trento let us a couple of opportunities but we did not make the most of them. Shame we stopped playing in the third. Now we have to recharge our batteries. Let’s not make a big deal out of this game, Molfetta can still do great things”.
NINFA LATINA – CUCINE LUBE BANCA MARCHE CIVITANOVA 0-3 (20-25, 16-25, 20-25) – NINFA LATINA: Krumins, Mattei 3, Sottile, Sket 6, Romiti (L), Tailli 3, Hirsch 10, Rossi 5, Maruotti 6. DNP Ferenciac, Yosifov. Coach. Placì.
CUCINE LUBE BANCA MARCHE CIVITANOVA: Juantorena 22, Stankovic 8, Christenson 3, Cester 6, Grebennikov (L), Miljkovic 9, Cebulj 9. DNP Fei, Gabriele, Parodi, Vitelli, Corvetta, Podrascanin. Coach. Blengini.
A superb Juantorena showed the way for Civitanova, who swept this quarter-final first leg against Latina. However, it’s not been that easy with Placì’s men staying in the game for most of the time. But in the end, the Italo-Cuban star was always there to sort things out, often with his aces. He was logically named MVP.
Osmany Juantorena (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova): “I think we really deserved this win, we played very well. But credit to Latina who hanged on tight in spite of all the things that happened to them. We have new group but I think 2015 has been very positive. Now we have to keep working hard to reach our goals”.
Andrea Mattei (Ninfa Latina): “At times, we played excellent volleyball. But at the end of the game and in the clutch time, they proved they were the stronger side”.
Fixtures
Del Monte® Italian Cup SuperLega – Quarter-finals return leg
Thursday 14 January at 8.30pm
DHL Modena (1) – (8) Gi Group Monza Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sir Safety Conad Perugia (4) – (5) Calzedonia Verona Live on RAI Sport 1
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova (2) – (7) Ninfa Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
Diatec Trentino (3) – (6) Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
Del Monte® Italian Cup SuperLega – Final Four
Mediolanum Forum – Assago (MI)
Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February
Serie A2 UnipolSai Round 10 postponed game:
Conad Reggio Emilia – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora 3-1 (29-27, 17-25, 26-24, 25-23)
CONAD REGGIO EMILIA – GLOBO BANCA POPOLARE DEL FRUSINATE SORA 3-1 (29-27, 17-25, 26-24, 25-23) – CONAD REGGIO EMILIA: Cetrullo 1, Cargioli 6, Bonante, Dolfo 9, Tondo 11, Bevilacqua, Kody 22, Benaglia, Silva 6, Scaltriti, Marchiani 7, Morgese (L), Douglas-powell. Coach. Cantagalli.
GLOBO BANCA POPOLARE DEL FRUSINATE SORA: Fabroni 4, Mariano 5, Festi 2, Santucci (L), Bacca 2, Rosso 17, Hoogendoorn 24, Giglioli 9, Marrazzo 1, Sperandio 6. DNP Lucarelli, Buzzelli. Coach. Soli.
In a postponed game of Round 10, Reggio Emilia managed to put an end to a five-game losing streak by beating the second team in the league, Sora. The latter missed an opportunity to close the gap on the leader Vibo Valentia, who stands three points ahead. This was Reggio’s first home win of the season and thanks to that victory Cantagalli’s men leave the bottom place of the table and catch up Club Italia in 11th place.
League table
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 29, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 26, Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana 25, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 21, Potenza Picena 21, Sieco Service Ortona 16, Cassa Rurale Cantù 16, Emma Villas Siena 14, VBC Mondovì 13, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 12, Club Italia Roma 10, Conad Reggio Emilia 10, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 9, Aurispa Alessano 9
Fixtures
Serie A2 UnipolSai Round 12
Sunday 27 December at 6pm
Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora – Potenza Picena Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Scarfò-Palumbo)
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania – Sieco Service Ortona Live on Lega Volley Channel
Cassa Rurale Cantù – Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana Live on Lega Volley Channel
Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia Live on Lega Volley Channel
VBC Mondovì – Emma Villas Siena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Club Italia Roma – Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Monday 28 December at 8.30pm
Conad Reggio Emilia – Aurispa Alessano Live on Lega Volley Channel
