The first half of season is over, both in the SuperLega and in the Serie A2. Here are underneath the cup match-ups and the schedule.
SuperLega UnipolSai
SuperLega standings
Cucine Lube Civitanova 32, Diatec Trentino 31, Azimut Modena 30, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 28, LPR Piacenza 24, Calzedonia Verona 22, Gi Group Monza 19, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 16, Kioene Padova 14, Bunge Ravenna 13, Biosì Indexa Sora 12, Exprivia Molfetta 12, Top Volley Latina 11, Revivre Milano 9.
SuperLega Italian Cup
8th of finals
Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 December at 8.30pm
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Kioene Padova (8 – 9)
LPR Piacenza – Exprivia Molfetta (5 – 12)
Gi Group Monza – Bunge Ravenna (7 – 10)
Calzedonia Verona – Biosì Indexa Sora (6 – 11)
All live on Lega Volley Channel
Quarter-finals
Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 January at 8.30pm
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Winner Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia/Kioene Padova
Sir Safety Conad Perugia – Winner LPR Piacenza/Exprivia Molfetta
Diatec Trentino – Winner Gi Group Monza/Bunge Ravenna
Azimut Modena – Winner Calzedonia Verona/Biosì Indexa Sora
One Thursday game live on RAI Sport 1
Del Monte® Italian Cup SuperLega – Final Four
Unipol Arena – Casalecchio di Reno (BO)
Saturday 28 January at 3.30pm
1st semi-final Live on RAI Sport 1
Saturday 28 January at 6pm
2nd semi-final Live on RAI Sport 1
Sunday 29 January at 5.30pm
Final Live on RAI Sport 1
Serie A2 UnipolSai
White group standings
BCC Castellana Grotte 22, Emma Villas Siena 21, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 19, Sigma Aversa 17, Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce 13, Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro 12, GoldenPlast Potenza Picena 12, Aurispa Alessano 11, Sieco Service Ortona 8, Club Italia Crai Roma 0.
Serie A2 UnipolSai
Blue group standings
VBC Mondovì 19, Monini Spoleto 19, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 16, Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana 15, Caloni Agnelli Bergamo 15, Conad Reggio Emilia 14, Pool Libertas Cantù 11, Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore 10, Videx Grottazzolina 9, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 7
Del Monte® Italian Cup Serie A2 – Quarter-finals
Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 December at 8.30pm
VBC Mondovì – Sigma Aversa (1st blue group vs 4th white group) Live on Lega Volley Channel
Emma Villas Siena – Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia (2nd white group vs 3rd blue group) Live on Lega Volley Channel
BCC Castellana Grotte – Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana (1st white group vs 4th blue group) Live on Lega Volley Channel
Monini Spoleto – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania (2nd blue group vs 3rd white group) Live on Lega Volley Channel
Del Monte® Italian Cup Serie A2 – Semi-finals
Thursday 29 December (Live on Lega Volley Channel)
Final
Unipol Arena – Casalecchio di Reno (BO)
Sunday 29 January
Live on Lega Volley Channel
SuperLega UnipolSai round 13 results
Azimut Modena-Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-2 (26-28, 25-23, 30-28, 20-25, 15-13); Sir Safety Conad Perugia-Revivre Milano 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18); Exprivia Molfetta-Diatec Trentino 2-3 (21-25, 25-19, 31-29, 21-25, 13-15); Top Volley Latina-Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 18-16); Kioene Padova-Calzedonia Verona 0-3 (15-25, 18-25, 21-25); Gi Group Monza-LPR Piacenza 1-3 (21-25, 25-16, 19-25, 13-25); Bunge Ravenna-Biosì Indexa Sora 3-2 (15-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-7)
Kioene Padova – Calzedonia Verona 0-3 (15-25, 18-25, 21-25)
Kioene Padova: Zoppellari 0, Maar 8, Koncilja 1, Giannotti 4, Fedrizzi 3, Volpato 5, Shaw 2, Balaso (L), Bassanello (L), Sestan 3, Averill 1, Milan 6. DNP. Link. Coach. Baldovin.
Calzedonia Verona: Baranowicz 1, Kovacevic 17, Anzani 9, Djuric 19, Ferreira 14, Zingel 6, Frigo (L), Giovi (L), Paolucci 0, Mengozzi 0. DNP. Lecat, Stern, Randazzo. Coach. Giani.
MVP: Uros Kovacevic (Calzedonia Verona).
This was a one-way traffic derby. The hosts’ inaccuracies helped the visitors seal the deal in just over an hour. Led by setter Baranowicz and a feisty Kovacevic (MVP), Verona put an end to its losing streak.
Valerio Baldovin (coach Kioene Padova): “We are a little too inconsistent, we struggle in situations in which we shouldn’t. We got off to a poor start but then we found some rhythm and could have got back in it. We had a good start to the season and now we reached a dip. We have to work on the mental side of things as well ».
Simone Anzani (Calzedonia Verona): “We had a difficult time of late. We worked extremely hard and reacted, we played with heart and competitive spirit. We put Padova under pressure from the get-go with our serve and at the net. That win will do us a lot of good ».
Sir Safety Conad Perugia – Revivre Milano 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18)
Sir Safety Conad Perugia: De Cecco 4, Zaytsev 7, Podrascanin 8, Atanasijevic 14, Berger 14, Buti 10, Bari (L), Tosi (L), Russell 0, Della Lunga 0, Franceschini 0, Chernokozhev 0, Mitic 0. DNP. Birarelli. Coach. Bernardi. Revivre Milano: Sbertoli 1, Marretta 4, Tondo 6, Starovic 7, Skrimov 13, Galassi 5, Rudi (L), Cortina (L), Dennis 1, Boninfante 0. DNP. Hoag, De Togni, Nielsen, Galaverna. Coach. Monti.
MVP: De Cecco
In front of over three thousand fans in the PalaEvangelisti arena, a spectacular Perugia thrashed Milan and consolidated its fourth place. Bernardi’s men were effective in fast break plays, which got a few standing ovations. Setter De Cecco showed his whole repertoire helping his spikers finish with 62% in attack. Atanasijevic and Berger (63% and 55%) shared the role of top scorer with 14 points. There were some strong serves from the home side and solid blocking. Tosi was racking up some superb dig plays too. Without Hoag and De Togni, Milan could do very little.
Lorenzo Bernardi (coach Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “It took us a little time to settle in the game. We made a few mistakes which we have to cut down on. But overal we played a good game, but with less intensity than against Verona, we really have to learn to keep it high all the time. There’s so much work to be done, the excitement is a good medicine, but let’s not go overboard with it because it could turn against us ».
Dante Boninfante (Revivre Milano): “We could have done more, especially in the first two sets when Perugia did not serve too well. We hanged on in reception, but we have been inaccurate in certain situations, we gave away free points. And when you do that against a team like Perugia, you can only lose. If we want to go back up we have to think of every game as an opportunity to take points. The other teams manage to clinch points against the top guns, but we have yet to do it ourselves. We have to get our injured players back and then step up a gear ».
Gi Group Monza – LPR Piacenza 1-3 (21-25, 25-16, 19-25, 13-25)
Gi Group Monza: Jovovic 1, Botto 6, Beretta 3, Hirsch 19, Fromm 13, Verhees 7, Brunetti (L), Rizzo (L), Forni 0, Dzavoronok 2, Daldello 0, Galliani 0. DNP. Terpin. Coach. Cattaneo.
LPR Piacenza: Hierrezuelo 4, Clevenot 11, Tencati 3, Hernandez Ramos 26, Marshall 16, Alletti 4, Papi (L), Cottarelli 0, Manià (L), Yosifov 5, Parodi 0. DNP. Zlatanov, Tzioumakas. Coach. Giuliani.
Monza was defeated home in front of 2600 fans as Piacenza celebrated the fifth position at the end of the first half of season. Still, Botto and co finish seventh, a better result than the last two seasons after 13 games. They will face Ravenna in the cup and hope to get setter Jovovic back from his ankle sprain as soon as possible.
Miguel Àngel Falasca (coach Gi Group Monza): “Not only have we lost but Jovovic got injured too. This is an extremely important player for us, hopefully he won’t be out too long. When we played our volleyball, with strong serves and consistency in attack, things went well. But then, they stepped up a gear and we did not respond. We struggled against their counters, which allowed them to get back in it. Hopefully, if we have everybody fit, we can conitnue to get positive results in the second half of season ».
Fernando Hernandez Ramos (LPR Piacenza): “We end this first half of season with a perfect result and three crucial points. At the start it was hard because they served well with consistency and we let them play their game. On the other hand, in the third and fourth set, we imposed our rhythm, we hit it strong on the serve and attacked with intensity. Our setter distributed brilliantly, thanks as well to an excellent reception. We lost our chance to finish fourth against Vibo, and this will be our goal for the second half of season ».
Top Volley Latina – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 18-16)
Top Volley Latina: Sottile 2, Maruotti 10, Rossi 11, Fei 19, Klinkenberg 10, Gitto 13, Caccioppola (L), Quintana Guerra 1, Fanuli (L), Pistolesi 0, Penchev 16. DNP. Strugar. Coach. Bagnoli.
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia: Coscione 2, Geiler 12, Costa 10, Rejlek 27, Barreto Silva 16, Barone 10, Torchia (L), Marra (L), Alves Soares 0, Diamantini 0. DNP. Izzo, Corrado, Michalovic. Coach. Kantor.
MVP Rozalin Penchev
Latina showed a lot of character to overcome Vibo in a marathon. In the fifth set, Latina trailed 8-4 but found a way back to clinch victory a get closer to the teams in front in the standings.
Rocco Barone (Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia): “We’re extremely disappointed not to have won this encounter. We made too many mistakes, but we still go home with a valuable point, it’s never easy in Latina. It’s been a good game, congratulations to Latina ».
Andrea Rossi (Top Volley Latina): “I am disappointed not to be in the cup. We will use this break to work. We’e starting to deal better with the pressure of needing the result at all cost. This tie-break has been a proof of our strengths, this is a good sign for the future ».
Azimut Modena – Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-2 (26-28, 25-23, 30-28, 20-25, 15-13)
Azimut Modena: Orduna 2, Ngapeth E. 18, Holt 9, Vettori 24, Petric 14, Le Roux 9, Cook 0, Rossini (L), Piano 0, Onwuelo 0, Massari 0. DNP. Ngapeth S., Salsi. Coach. Piazza.
Cucine Lube Civitanova: Christenson 5, Juantorena 13, Stankovic 11, Sokolov 29, Kaliberda 13, Cester 13, Grebennikov (L), Pesaresi (L), Casadei 0, Cebulj 0, Kovar 0. DNP. Larizza, Corvetta. Coach. Blengini.
In a sold-out arena, Modena came out on top in the fifth set, though it is Civitanova who celebrates the winter champ title.
Roberto Piazza (coach Azimut Modena): “We had a great game against an extremely strong opposition. We could have sealed it first but I am satisfied with what the boys have done today ».
Gianlorenzo Blengini (coach Cucine Lube Civitanova): “We were up against a top team. We knew it was going to be hard, I have nobody to blame in my team, we just lacked that little composure in the tie-break ».
Exprivia Molfetta – Diatec Trentino 2-3 (21-25, 25-19, 31-29, 21-25, 13-15)
Exprivia Molfetta: Pontes Veloso 1, De Barros Ferreira 23, Vitelli 10, Sabbi 28, Olteanu 12, Polo 9, Porcelli (L), De Pandis (L), Del Vecchio 0, Partenio 0. DNP. Hendriks, Jimenez. Coach. Gulinelli.
Diatec Trentino: Giannelli 9, Lanza 17, Solé 14, Stokr 8, Urnaut 19, Mazzone D. 6, Chiappa (L), Colaci (L), Van De Voorde 4, Antonov 0, Blasi 0, Nelli 0. DNP. Mazzone T.. Coach. Lorenzetti.
This classic offered another exciting game with a battle that eventually went Trento’s way in the tie-break. Molfetta served better (12 aces, 4 for Olteanu), the two teams were tied in the blocking department (7 for Giannelli), while Trento was the better side in attack with 53%. It was led by Urnaut, who scored 19 points (59%) and was named MVP, though the top scorer was Sabbi with 28 points.
In the tie-break, the hosts had the better start on a Sabbi point (7-4). But Trento fought back and moved ahead with Lanza scoring (8-9). There were some controversy with the refs towards the end as Olteanu’s mistakes in attack handed Trento the victory (13-15).
Simone Giannelli (Diatec Trentino): “It’s always tough to play in this arena. We did a great job of never givign up but we could have done better. They made it hard for our reception in the first three sets but in the end we snatched victory. This is a great feeling to finally win in this PalaPoli arena ».
Joao Rafael de Barros Ferreira (Exprivia Molfetta): “We played well but we made mistakes in the clutch time. We fought as a team against a giant like Trento. We’ve been improving, the team has mentally changed, we have more confidence in one another. The second half of season will be interesting as we fight to reach our goals ».
Bunge Ravenna – Biosì Indexa Sora 3-2 (15-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-7)
Bunge Ravenna: Spirito 8, Grozdanov 4, Ricci 6, Torres 27, Van Garderen 10, Bossi 7, Lyneel 16, Goi (L), Leoni 0, Raffaelli 1, Marchini 0. DNP. Kaminski, Calarco. Coach. Soli.
Biosì Indexa Sora: Seganov 3, Kalinin 3, Gotsev 7, Miskevich 26, Rosso 20, Sperandio 6, Santucci (L), De Marchi 1, Mattei 0, Mauti 0. DNP. Tiozzo, Marrazzo, Lucarelli. Coach. Bagnoli.
Mvp: Torres.
Ravenna came back from 2-0 down to celebrate a tie-break triumph at the expense of Sora. Thanks to this result, both teams made it into the cup 8th of finals although Sora will be disappointed not to have added to its winning streak, which stops at three. MVP Torres was decisive in the final set, while Lyneel showed his quality and character as he came back after a month out.
Fabio Soli (coach Bunge Ravenna): “We were just out of it in the first set and a half, credit also to Sora who was playing brilliantly. They were not making mistakes in attack nor on the serve. We looked scared and were not running our schemes. But then we managed to change our attitude, we started to work harder. The ones who came on during the game, like Lyneel, did a great job. Van Garderen too did well once he was called back into play. The boys are in good shape, we could see that in the tie-break, in which we were better than at the start of the game. The tie-break was almost perfect ».
Mattia Rosso (Biosì Indexa Sora): “It was almost too easy in the first two sets. Everyhting was going in for us and Ravenna seemed paralysed. We got back in the third too, coming back from 6 behind but unfortrunately we lost our rhythm, Ravenna gained confidence and got back in it. Our attack was nowhere to be seen in the fourth and Ravenna did well to turn things around, they deserved to win it. One could have predicted a five setter but the way it came about was a bit strange. Even if we were coming off three straight wins, this remains a valuable points that allow us to take part in the Italian Cup. This is definitely a very positive first half of season for us ».
Fixtures
SuperLega UnipolSai Round 14 (first return games)
Saturday 10 December at 7.30pm
Calzedonia Verona – Top Volley Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 11 December at 6pm
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Diatec Trentino Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Biosì Indexa Sora – Azimut Modena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Revivre Milano – Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
Calzedonia Verona – Top Volley Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
Bunge Ravenna – Kioene Padova Live on Lega Volley Channel
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Gi Group Monza Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sir Safety Conad Perugia – LPR Piacenza Live on Lega Volley Channel
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 9 results – BLUE GROUP
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania-Sieco Service Ortona 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20); Emma Villas Siena-Sigma Aversa 3-2 (20-25, 25-12, 25-15, 21-25, 17-15); GoldenPlast Potenza Picena-BCC Castellana Grotte 2-3 (25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 25-17, 11-15); Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce-Club Italia Crai Roma 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-16); Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro-Aurispa Alessano 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-19)
Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce – Club Italia Crai Roma 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-16)
Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce: Bertassoni 1, De Leon Guimaraes 16, Elia 8, Tamburo 18, Bonetti 7, Benaglia 3, Taliani (L), Bonami (L), Del Campo 0, Ciulli 5, Colli 0. DNP. Da Prato, Mazzone. Coach. Bertini.
Club Italia Crai Roma: Tofoli 1, Gardini 9, Caneschi 5, Baldazzi 9, Margutti 4, Russo 7, Rondoni (L), Piccinelli (L), Baciocco 0, Maccabruni 0. DNP. Beltrami, Imbesi, Mosca, Garofolo. Coach. Totire.
Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro – Aurispa Alessano 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-19)
Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro: Kindgard 8, Galabinov 10, Cubito 11, Kvalen 7, Boscaini 11, Giosa 3, Fortunato (L), Maiorana (L), Pizzichini 0. DNP. Zonno, Da Silva, Gabriele, Boesso. Coach. Falabella.
Aurispa Alessano: Lemanski Salim 0, Cernic 14, Torsello 4, Argilagos Sogo 13, Borgogno 6, Muccio 1, Russo (L), Bisanti (L), Piscopo 1, Marzo 2, Bulfon 0, Bonante 0. DNP. Baldari, Jeliazkov. Coach. Mastrangelo.
GoldenPlast Potenza Picena – BCC Castellana Grotte 2-3 (25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 25-17, 11-15)
GoldenPlast Potenza Picena: Visentin 0, Lazzaretto 8, Codarin 12, Argenta 25, Bellini 10, Biglino 6, Casulli (L), Cristofaletti 5, Bucciarelli 2, Colarusso 0. DNP. Zonca, Marcovecchio. Coach. Di Pinto.
BCC Castellana Grotte: Garnica 2, Canuto 16, Quarta 0, Cazzaniga 14, Moreira 20, Presta 7, Pace (L), Parisi 0, Cavaccini (L), De Santis 1, Ferraro 11. DNP. Scio, Barbone, Astarita. Coach. Lorizio.
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania – Sieco Service Ortona 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20)
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania: Pinelli 5, Shavrak 14, Sesto 7, De Souza 11, Ottaviani 15, Calonico 6, Pieri (L), Marchisio (L), Mazzon (L), Dellepiaggi 0, Bondini 0. DNP. Vitangeli, Buzzelli. Coach. Montagnani.
Sieco Service Ortona: Pedron 0, Di Meo 2, Miscione 3, Buchegger 12, Holt 12, Simoni 7, Provvisiero (L), Toscani (L), Ferrini 2, Lanci 0. DNP. Listratov, Casaro, Ceccoli. Coach. Lanci.
Emma Villas Siena – Sigma Aversa 3-2 (20-25, 25-12, 25-15, 21-25, 17-15)
Emma Villas Siena: Fabroni 4, Russomanno Dos Santos 9, Spadavecchia 19, Padura Diaz 27, Noda Blanco 9, Patriarca 10, Battista (L), Cesarini (L), Cannistrà 1, Di Tommaso 0, Vedovotto 3. DNP. Menicali, Gradi.
All. Tofoli. Sigma Aversa: Putini 2, Libraro 12, Giacobelli 5, Santangelo 22, Hister 12, Robbiati 11, Attanasio (L), Vacchiano (L), De Rosas 0, Montò 2, Di Florio 0, Valla 0, Razzetto 0. DNP. Coach. Bosco.
Fixtures
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 10 (first return games)– WHITE GROUP
Wednesday 7 December at 8.30pm
Club Italia Crai Roma – Emma Villas Siena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Thursday 8 December at 4pm
Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro – BCC Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
Thursday 8 December at 6pm
Sigma Aversa – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sieco Service Ortona – Aurispa Alessano Live on Lega Volley Channel
GoldenPlast Potenza Picena – Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce Live on Lega Volley Channel
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 10 (first return games) – BLUE GROUP
Thursday 8 December at 4pm
Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia – Pool Libertas Cantù Live on Lega Volley Channel
6pm
Conad Reggio Emilia – Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore Live on Lega Volley Channel
Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana – Caloni Agnelli Bergamo Live on Lega Volley Channel
7.30pm
Monini Spoleto – VBC Mondovì Live on Lega Volley Channel
Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte – Videx Grottazzolina Live on Lega Volley Channel
