Results:
Sir Safety Conad Perugia-Calzedonia Verona 2-3 (25-17, 25-27, 24-26, 25-18, 12-15); Tonazzo Padova-DHL Modena 2-3 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 12-15); Exprivia Molfetta-Diatec Trentino 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19)
TONAZZO PADOVA – DHL MODENA 2-3 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 12-15)
TONAZZO PADOVA: Cook 17, Orduna 4, Giannotti 24, Balaso (L), Quiroga, Volpato 13, Berger 9, Milan, Diamantini 8. DNP Leoni, Bassanello, Lazzaretto. Coach. Baldovin.
DHL MODENA: Mossa De Rezende 2, Donadio, Casadei 3, Rossini (L), Ngapeth 28, Nikic 7, Bossi 7, Sens 3, Saatkamp 13, Vettori 13, Sighinolfi. DNP Soli, Sartoretti. Coach. Lorenzetti.
Modena qualifies to the semi-finals at the end of two hours of pure intensity. Padova played aggressive throughout pushed by over 3500 fans in the Kioene Arena but the visitors managed to clinch it at the tie-break . MVP Earvin Ngapeth (DHL Modena)
Valerio Baldovin (coach Tonazzo Padova): “We go out heads high. We played a great game in which we did not make many mistakes. They made the most of their super stars, who sealed it for them. We’re disappointed, we really wanted to send the series to Game 5. But congratulations to all the players and the staff who did a terrific job”.
Mossa De Rezende Bruno Bruniho (DHL Modena): “In these four games, Padova really made it hard for us, they played with their hearts. Congratulations to them on this great series. Today, we played more with our souls than our fundamentals, but we’ll finally have a break before playing the semi-finals”.
SIR SAFETY CONAD PERUGIA – CALZEDONIA VERONA 2-3 (25-17, 25-27, 24-26, 25-18, 12-15) – SIR SAFETY CONAD PERUGIA: Buti 11, Fromm 7, Holt, De Cecco 3, Kaliberda 13, Giovi (L), Russell 7, Tzioumakas, Elia, Atanasijevic 24, Fanuli, Birarelli 14. DNP Dimitrov. Coach. Kovac.
CALZEDONIA VERONA: Zingel 7, Kovacevic 17, Pesaresi (L), Gitto 1, Lecat 1, Spirito 1, Baranowicz 2, Starovic 21, Bellei, Sander 20, Anzani 6. DNP Frigo, Bucko. Coach. Giani.
Verona came out unscathed of a packed PalaEvangelisti arena. Giani’s men obtained a victory that will leave it all out to the fifth and last encounter of the series to be played in Verona. The visitors deserve credit for playing the big points without fear. As for Perugia, they paid the price for not being able to seal the second and third set. Besides, they did not get much from position 4 where neither Russell nor Fromm managed to be consistent. MVP Uros Kovacevic (Calzedonia Verona)
Slobodan Kovac (coach Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “Unfortunately, this game did not go as it should have or at least as we would have liked it to go. There are too many ups and downs in our game. There’s always something not working. We really need to step up a gear and very quickly”.
Giacomo Bellei (Calzedonia Verona): “We’re satisfied to have tied the series. From Game 3, we knew we had nothing to lose any more. We played with courage and without fear. This attitude has brought us some success”.
EXPRIVIA MOLFETTA – DIATEC TRENTINO 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19)
EXPRIVIA MOLFETTA: Candellaro 7, De Barros Ferreira 15, Barone 13, De Pandis (L), Porcelli (L), Hierrezuelo 7, Fedrizzi 11, Hernandez Ramos 19. DNP Kaczynski, Spadavecchia, Mariella, Del Vecchio, Mustedanovic. Coach. Di Pinto.
DIATEC TRENTINO: Kaziyski 13, Mazzone, Bratoev, Giannelli 4, Lanza 1, Solé 10, Djuric 17, Colaci (L), Urnaut 5, Mazzone 6. DNP Antonov, Van De Voorde. Coach. Stoytchev.
Molfetta needed a breakthrough, almost like in game 2, and they did it. Di Pinto’s men made the home court count again and earned the right to play the do-or-die game 5 in Trento. Djuric and co had taken the early initiative but then Molfetta regained confidence and counter punched. The tremendous intuition of Hierrezuelo, who was important at the net too (4 blocks, 3 aces), were crucial, while Rafael was firing bullets with accuracy (15 points, 75%). MVP Joao Rafael De Barros (Exprivia Molfetta).
Davide Candellaro (Exprivia Molfetta): “I think our serve was our secret weapon today. When you serve well, you make it hard both for the opposite reception and attack. Game 5 is another possibility to do well for us. We have to play loose, we have nothing to lose. They are the ones who will have to win at all cost”.
Massimo Colaci (Diatec Trentino): “Molfetta served well and forced our spikers to make tough plays away from the net. We are used to play in-or-out encounters, this will be a game in which experience will matter. We have won several of these games this season. We have to stay calm and prepare Sunday’s game just like any other”.
Fixtures
League playoffs quarter-finals Game 5
Sunday 3 April at 5.30pm
Diatec Trentino – Exprivia Molfetta Diretta RAI Sport 1
Wednesday 6 April at 8.30pm
Calzedonia Verona – Sir Safety Conad Perugia
Semi-finals Game 1
Saturday 9 April at 8.30pm (one game on RAI Sport, at 20.00, the other one live on Lega Volley Channel)
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova – Winner 4/5
DHL Modena – Winner 3/6
SuperLega UnipolSai Challenge playoffs
Quarter-finals Game 1
Sunday 10 April at 6pm
Best out of playoffs quarters – CMC Romagna (4th group phase)
Ninfa Latina (4th out of playoffs quarters) – Revivre Milano (1st group phase)
2nd out of playoffs quarters– Gi Group Monza (3rd group phase)
Tonazzo Padova (3rd out of playoffs quarters) – LPR Piacenza (2nd group phase)
Vibo Valentia won the regular season of the Serie A2 in spite of the tie-break defeat in the last round. This has been a brilliant season for the club, who also won the Italian Cup A2. That was on February 7, and there again the opposition was its great rival of the season, Sora, defeated at the tie-break.
The battle between Vibo and Sora has been the dominant aspect of a superb season. The league table has always been tight, so much so that the positions in the top 8 have been uncertain till the very last day.
Now eight teams will fight it out for one place in the SuperLega. The quarter-finals will be played on the best of three games (first to two wins), while the semi-finals and final will be on the best of 5 (3 wins needed).
There are no relegations in the Serie B.
Serie A2 Unipolsai round 26 results
Club Italia Roma-Aurispa Alessano 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20); Conad Reggio Emilia-Sieco Service Ortona 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 26-24); Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte-Potenza Picena 0-3 (22-25, 21-25, 25-27); Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora-Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 16-14); Cassa Rurale Cantù-Emma Villas Siena 0-3 (19-25, 23-25, 25-27); BAM Mondovì-Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 3-2 (28-26, 25-18, 19-25, 24-26, 15-9); Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania-Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-5)
CLUB ITALIA ROMA – AURISPA ALESSANO 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20)
CLUB ITALIA ROMA: Piccinelli (L), Margutti 10, Caneschi 5, Zoppellari 1, Zonca 16, Osak, Marta (L), Argenta 5, Gaia 3, Tofoli 2, Di Martino 11. DNP Galassi. Coach. Totire.
AURISPA ALESSANO: Muccio 3, Marzo 4, Piazza 1, Bolla 6, Torsello, Russo (L), Pellegrino, Lamb 3, Jeliazkov 12, Bisanti (L), Piscopo 5. Coach. Bramato. A
CONAD REGGIO EMILIA – SIECO SERVICE ORTONA 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 26-24) – CONAD REGGIO EMILIA: Cetrullo 19, Dolfo 18, Tondo 12, Kody, Benaglia 6, Silva 4, Marchiani, Morgese (L), Douglas-powell 3. DNP Cargioli, Bonante, Bevilacqua, Scaltriti. Coach. Cantagalli.
SIECO SERVICE ORTONA: Fiore 7, Simoni 2, Guidone 2, Matricardi, Sesto 1, Cortina (L), Di Meo 9, Lanci, Paoletti 20. DNP Toscani, Borgogno, Orsini. Coach. Lanci.
MATERDOMINIVOLLEY.IT CASTELLANA GROTTE – VOLLEY POTENTINO POTENZA PICENA 0-3 (22-25, 21-25, 25-27)
MATERDOMINIVOLLEY.IT CASTELLANA GROTTE: Bulfon 9, Nero (L), Primavera (L), Scopelliti 8, Primavera, Tartaglione 10, Pedron 2, Bonetti 14, Giosa 6. DNP Ratano, Latorre, De Serio, Ntotila. Coach. Fanizza.
VOLLEY POTENTINO POTENZA PICENA: Cavuto 16, Codarin 6, Pierotti 15, Partenio, Calistri (L), Moretti 18, Biglino 3, Quarta 1. DNP Miscio, Cristofaletti, Ferrini, Ippolito. Coach. Graziosi.
GLOBO BANCA POPOLARE DEL FRUSINATE SORA – TONNO CALLIPO CALABRIA VIBO VALENTIA 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 16-14) – GLOBO BANCA POPOLARE DEL FRUSINATE SORA: Fabroni 5, Mariano 4, Festi 4, Santucci (L), Bacca 13, Rosso 10, Hoogendoorn 21, Buzzelli 4, Giglioli 12, Marrazzo, Mauti, Sperandio 12. DNP Lucarelli. Coach. Soli.
TONNO CALLIPO CALABRIA VIBO VALENTIA: Pinelli 2, Korniienko 4, Marra (L), Casoli 6, Michalovic 22, Forni 4, Vedovotto 12, Maccarone 2, Corrado 2, Silva De Araujo 2, Presta 11. DNP Ferraro, Torchia. Coach. Mastrangelo.
CASSA RURALE CANTù – EMMA VILLAS SIENA 0-3 (19-25, 23-25, 25-27)
CASSA RURALE CANTù: Monguzzi 4, Butti (L), Groppi 1, Riva 1, Tiozzo 10, Gerosa, Preti 16, Krolis 16, Robbiati 5. DNP Molteni, Rudi, Mazza, Cominetti, Gaggini. Coach. Della Rosa.
EMMA VILLAS SIENA: Di Marco 10, Majdak 11, Scappaticcio 2, Raffaelli 8, Tamburo 1, Pistolesi, Bortolozzo, Braga 11, Marchisio (L), Noda Blanco 14. DNP Fantauzzo, Mengozzi, Snippe, Granito. Coach. Caponeri.
BAM MONDOVì – CENTRALE DEL LATTE MCDONALD’S BRESCIA 3-2 (28-26, 25-18, 19-25, 24-26, 15-9) – BAM MONDOVì: Menardo 8, Peirano, Ghibaudo 2, Peluffo (L), Parusso 8, Thei (L), Manassero 16, Longo 16, Cortellazzi 6, De Luca 12, Fabiano, Perla 8. DNP Roberts. Coach. Barisciani.
CENTRALE DEL LATTE MCDONALD’S BRESCIA: Norbedo 10, Agnellini 11, Montanari 9, Bergoli, Tiberti 3, Fusco (L), Bisi 29, Sorlini, Bonisoli, Cisolla 20. DNP Cruz, Turla, Zanardini, Statuto. Coach. Zambonardi.
MAURY’S ITALIANA ASSICURAZIONI TUSCANIA – GLOBO SCARABEO CIVITA CASTELLANA 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-5)
MAURY’S ITALIANA ASSICURAZIONI TUSCANIA: Calonico 11, Bonami (L), Vitangeli 5, Ottaviani 9, Mrdak 26, Mazzon 1, Monopoli 4, Shavrak 19, Esposito 8. DNP Straino, Hueller, Pieri. Coach. Tofoli.
GLOBO SCARABEO CIVITA CASTELLANA: Cesarini (L), Paolucci 3, Da Silva Costa 28, Marinelli 8, Sacripanti 1, Marsili, De Matteis, Puliti 11, Alborghetti 6, Menicali 9. DNP Tataru, Santilli. Coach. Spanakis.
League table
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 58, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 57, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 49, Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana 49, Conad Reggio Emilia 44, Emma Villas Siena 42, Potenza Picena 41, Cassa Rurale Cantù 39, BAM Mondovì 33, Sieco Service Ortona 32, Club Italia Roma 29, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 26, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 24, Aurispa Alessano 23.
Teams taking part in the UnipolSai Serie A2 playoffs
Quarter-finals:
1th Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia
2nd Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora
3rd Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania
4th Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana
5th Conad Reggio Emilia
6th Emma Villas Siena
7th Volley Potentino Potenza Picena
8th Cassa Rurale Cantù
Fixtures
League playoffs quarter-finals Game 1 (Series to be played on the best of 3 games)
Sunday 3 April at 6pm
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia (1) – (8) Cassa Rurale Cantù
Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana (4) – (5) Conad Reggio Emilia
Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora (2) – (7) Volley Potentino Potenza Picena
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania (3) – (6) Emma Villas Siena
7 teams promoted from the B1 division
Seven teams will be promoted from the B1 division. Six of them will earn their place in the Serie A2 from their regular season position, while the last one will come out of the playoffs, which will end on June 11-12.
