Another great weekend of volleyball is upon us with a clash of giants between Modena and Civitanova as highlight of the weekend. Lorenzetti’s men won its last league game in Piacenza but were severely shaken by the sweep conceded in the Champions League playoffs 12 in Ankara, and the tension around the attack in Turkey. Modena clearly had a dip in form since their cup triumph but they want to get back on track and push Civitanova out of the podium. Tied at the top with Modena, Civitanova ended Milan’s run with an easy three-set victory, while they dominated Izmir away from home in Europe. This clash comes at the right time for Blengini’s men, who could make it 36 wins each in the history between the two clubs.
Second consecutive home game for Latina, who could only take a point in the last one against Romagna. Their seventh place is at risk as they play host to Trento, who counts two former Latina stars in its roster: Tine Urnaut and Simon Van De Voorde. Trento quickly got back on its feet after the cup debacle. They took revenge on Modena and then disposed of Molfetta. They were effective in the Champions League too, beating the Belgium side of Asse-lennik away from home. Filippo Lanza is expected to be back after missing the Playoffs 12 game due to a knee worry.
Second change of head coach for Molfetta. Paolo Montagnani goes for personal reasons and to substitute him there is the come-back of Vincenzo Di Pinto, already at Molfetta last season. His task will be to help the team bounce back from three consecutive losses. Currently sixth, they host Perugia who won in Monza last Sunday at the death and consolidated its fourth place. However, they are coming off a severe defeat at home against Dinamo Moscow in the CEV Cup challenge round.
Last from Bottom after last Sunday’s defeat, Milan is trying to make its way up the table as they strengthened the squad this week with the arrival of Bulgarian international Krasimir Georgiev. The 203cm tall middle blocker was called to make up for the injuries. Milan entertains Verona, a team under pressure after its latest four-set defeat against Padova. However, they manage to react in Europe with a tie-break victory over the French of Sète in the Challenge Cup. They will be eager to cut the three-point deficit they have on fourth place Perugia.
Monza took four points out of its last two encounters. Beaten in the fifth set by Perugia, it is now tenth but very close to the playoffs zone. They play host to Piacenza, who’s bottom and fails to win a game since December 20. Monza’s Andrea Galliani is one point from a thousand.
Big match between Romagna and Padova, two teams tied on points and desperate to get closer to the playoffs zone. And Romagna proved it never gives up as its last four games ended in a tie-break, and the last three in victories over Trento, Piacenza and Latina. Padova is coming off a home win in the derby against Verona. They managed to take 11 points in the second half of season.
SuperLega UnipolSai Round 19
Sunday 21 February at 5pm
DHL Modena – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Sunday 21 February at 6pm
Ninfa Latina – Diatec Trentino Live on Lega Volley Channel
Exprivia Molfetta – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Revivre Milano – Calzedonia Verona Live on Lega Volley Channel
Gi Group Monza – LPR Piacenza Live on Lega Volley Channel
CMC Romagna – Tonazzo Padova Live on Lega Volley Channel
League table
DHL Modena 47, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova 47, Diatec Trentino 41, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 35, Calzedonia Verona 32, Exprivia Molfetta 24, Ninfa Latina 21, CMC Romagna 20, Tonazzo Padova 20, Gi Group Monza 19, Revivre Milano 11, LPR Piacenza 7
DHL Modena – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 71 (36-35 Modena)
Matteo Piano (DHL Modena): “It’s one of those great games, motivation is naturally extremely high. We’re up against a top class team, but we have what it takes to do well. We really want to win this one for the club, for us and our fans after our defeat in Ankara”.
Marko Podrascanin (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova): “We have to give everything we’ve got in this very important game between the two teams tied at the top. Both teams are coming off trips to Turkey but they’re definitely in a different mood. We’ve won while they lost. But each game is a different story. Modena is extremely strong and we know it, so we’ll need our very best to get a positive result in the PalaPanini arena, where there will also be our fans to support us”.
Ninfa Latina – Diatec Trentino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 31 (23-8 trento)
Gianrio Falivene (President Ninfa Latina): “No matter how difficult it is to face the Italian champions of Trento, we have to play better than in our last outings. This will be an opportunity for the fans to see again two of last year’s protagonists in Latina: Tine Urnaut and Simon Van De Voorde”.
Tine Urnaut (Diatec Trentino): “This will be a tough game because Latina is keen to bounce back from Tuesday’s defeat in the PalaBianchini arena, they will give everything as they always do. This will also be a special game for me and Simon Van De Voorde, given that the good season we had there enabled us to be here in Trento. We’ll be motivated to play well in front of many friends and we’ll try to get another important result”.
Exprivia Molfetta – Sir Safety Conad Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (Perugia 6-1)
Francesco Del Vecchio (Exprivia Molfetta): “We’re glad to welcome back Di Pinto in Molfetta. This is our third coach but everybody reacted well. We all understand the situation, and we’re all close to Paolo Montagnani, we all wish everything goes for the best very quickly. As for the change of attitude, it’s definitely not easy in just a few days, especially when you play that often but nothing is impossible. At least we’ll give everything as always, we have maximum belief in our abilities. We really have to bounce back from our poor performance against Monza, though we know our strong is Perugia”.
Simone Buti (Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “We have a very important game on Sunday, they’re all important this year. It’s one game after another, just a couple of days to get ready and here we go. That’s why we have to forget immediately about the CEV Cup defeat against Dinamo Moscow and focus on Molfetta. Another difficult game and three more crucial points at stake. We really need them, even if we know that it’s never easy in the PalaPoli arena”.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (All 3 for Verona)
Dante Boninfante (Revivre Milano): “Our week has been a bit complicated, some players had physical problems and we had our new middle blocker, Georgiev, coming in. But the atmosphere is good in spite of the defeat in Civitanova, which was against a team built to win it all. Besides, we had two injuries and Kamil (Baranek) played out of position. Sunday’s game will be another tricky one, Verona is an excellent team, put together to do well and now they have everybody back to fitness. It won’t be easy, we’ll need to get on court with fighting spirit and we need to play at a high level in front of our fans”.
Andrea Giani (coach Calzedonia Verona): “This is an interesting game. We’re coming off a league defeat against Padova so we need to get immediately back on our feet in the SuperLega. We’re facing an in-form team with competitive spirit. We’re away from home but that should not take our sight away from our target. What matters the most is our determination to win this game, the important thing here are the three points”.
Gi Group Monza – LPR Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (2-1 Monza)
Nikola Jovovic (Gi Group Monza): “A fundamental encounter, we’re in the final rush of the regular season, we can’t afford to lose points on the way. Piacenza has a lot of experienced players, they play well but can’t seem to get the results. But that’s precisely why they’ll be even more motivated to get on track. After two good outings against Molfetta and Perugia, our intention is to show character again and get back to winning on home court. This week, we have worked with determination and consistency. Physically, we’re feeling good, and we’re extremely motivated. We’ll remain focused and we’ll try to get a victory with the help of our supporters”.
Roberto Di Maio (Scoutman LPR Piacenza): “I’ll be back in Monza for the first time on Sunday after four years. It will be nice to see some old friends, definitely a special moment. This will be an important game for them given that they’re still in the race for the playoffs. They’ll be eager to play a great game at home. As for us, we keep working hard in the gym, we always think we can get a positive result”.
CMC Romagna – Tonazzo Padova
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 55 (29-26 Padova)
Maurice Torres (CMC Romagna): “Padova is a good team, they’ve been doing well of late, they obtained some important results like in the derby against Verona. We’ll have to be careful. We had played rather poorly in the first meeting, we had severely lost in three sets. We’ll need to be sharp on the serve from the get-go to try to prevent them from building their game too comfortably. Then, we’ll need some good blocking, which is something we’re usually good at”.
Fabio Balaso (Tonazzo Padova): “The next ten days will be crucial for us. We’ll need maximum effort. On Sunday, we’ll face a direct rival: the excellent CMC Romagna team. They managed to take big points in Latina, Trento and Perugia, where it’s always difficult to get anything. They have a team capable of fighting on every ball. We’ll have to make the most of the momentum built up recently and take points. I’m sure this will be an entertaining game”.
The top teams, Vibo and Sora are in danger this weekend as they face some in-form clubs. Among the teams on the up, there is Brescia, who grabbed a second straight win and managed to catch up Alessano.
On Saturday night, Civita Castellana, who consolidated its third place in the derby against Sora, will take on Brescia, tied at the bottom with Alessano. However, they are on a run, having defeated Vibo Valentia and Alessano in the last two rounds. Alberto Cisolla is close to celebrate the 6000 points.
In the PalaManera arena, Mondovì plays host to Castellana Grotte following its recent defeat in Cantù. Beaten by Tuscania on home soil in the last round, Castellana is tied on points with Mondovì at 22. Huge game to keep alive the hopes of getting closer to the playoffs zone, which is 7 points away.
Sunday’s game at noon is Club Italia versus Vibo Valentia. The hosts are third from bottom but have registered some big upsets along the way like the ones over Civita Castellana or Potenza Picena. The youngest side in the league entertains the cup winners of Vibo, top of table with a three-point advantage on Sora, which they recently defeated 3-1. Marcello Forni will celebrate his 400th appearance in the Serie A.
At 4pm, Reggio Emilia will play host to Potenza Picena. The hosts had a terrible start to the season but they have gone on a superb run, beaten only once in their last eight games. The euphoria has taken over, the team climbed to seventh and now they aim at moving above Potenza, who stands just one point above after their marathon lost against Club Italia. Andrea Ippolito is doubtful, while Federico Moretti is one spike away from the 3000 in the Serie A.
Ortona can’t wait to put an end to a negative run that has been lasting five rounds (only one point taken). They’re out of the top 8 but are showing some promising signs as new Canadian outside hitter Dallas Soonias is starting to settle in. Beaten 3-1 by the leaders away from home, they need a good performance against Cantù, a quality opponent who thrashed Mondovì in the last round.
Tuscania has never won the derby against Sora. Fourth in the table thanks to their road win against Castellana Grotte in just over an hour, Tofoli’s men are facing a tough task against Sora. Soli’s men are three points away from the top. They have to bounce back from the cup final flop and the derby lost against Civita Castellana.
Alessano is deep in dark waters as Brescia stepped up a gear and left them behind at the bottom, though tied on point. They are on a four-game losing streak, which ruined the good work done based on its excellent home form. They’ll try to get back on their feet against Siena, who does have a more versatile roster but who has to start over after the tie-break defeat in Castellana and the home loss against Reggio Emilia. Roberto Braga is chasing his first thousand points.
Serie A2 UnipolSai Round 20
Saturday 20 February at 8.30pm
Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana – Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia Live on Lega Volley Channel
BAM Mondovì – Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 21 February at noona
Club Italia Roma – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia Diretta Lega Volley Channel
(Gasparro-Pecoraro)
Sunday 21 february at 4pm
Conad Reggio Emilia – Potenza Picena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 21 February at 6pm
Sieco Service Ortona – Cassa Rurale Cantù Live on Lega Volley Channel
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania – Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora Live on Lega Volley Channel
Aurispa Alessano – Emma Villas Siena Live on Lega Volley Channel
League table
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 45, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 42, Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana 37, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 33, Potenza Picena 31, Cassa Rurale Cantù 31, Conad Reggio Emilia 30, Emma Villas Siena 29, Sieco Service Ortona 23, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 22, BAM Mondovì 22, Club Italia Roma 20, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 17, Aurispa Alessano 17
