Del Monte® Italian Cup SuperLega, 8th of finals results
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia-Kioene Padova 3-1 (25-14, 20-25, 25-16, 26-24)
LPR Piacenza-Exprivia Molfetta 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17)
Gi Group Monza-Bunge Ravenna 3-2 (25-18, 17-25, 25-22, 28-30, 15-13)
Calzedonia Verona-Biosì Indexa Sora 0-3 (23-25, 20-25, 18-25)
Gi Group Monza – Bunge Ravenna 3-2 (25-18, 17-25, 25-22, 28-30, 15-13)
Gi Group Monza: Jovovic 5, Botto 20, Beretta 13, Hirsch 10, Fromm 19, Verhees 11, Brunetti (L), Rizzo (L), Galliani 0, Dzavoronok 5. DNP. Forni, Terpin, Daldello. Coach. Falasca.
Bunge Ravenna: Spirito 5, Lyneel 18, Ricci 9, Torres 26, Van Garderen 14, Bossi 7, Grozdanov 0, Marchini (L), Goi (L), Kaminski 1, Raffaelli 0. DNP. Leoni, Calarco. Coach. Soli.
Early christmas present for the Monza faithful with a qualification into the Italian Cup quarter-finals. The hosts had the better of Ravenna at the tie-break. They led twice on the scoreboard but twice the unstoppable Torres led his men back in it. In the tie-break, however, the home side showed character with Botto sending missiles from the 9m line. He was named MVP with 20 points (3 aces and 1 block).
Iacopo Botto (Gi Group Monza): “This kind of victories are so exciting. We knew it was not going to be easy tonight, but I think determination was the key in the end. Unfortunately, at times we have some black-outs that could ruin it all, but I am sure we will solve this. The quarters against Trento are far ahead, we have to focus on Vibo on Sunday first ».
Fabio Soli (Coach Bunge Ravenna): “I think we lacked character tonight. We have a lot of quality an talent but If we don’t show it when it matters, it’s useless. We have to prove we can play with fighting spirit and character ».
LPR Piacenza – Exprivia Molfetta 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17)
LPR Piacenza: Hierrezuelo 7, Clevenot 11, Tencati 4, Hernandez Ramos 21, Marshall 15, Alletti 5, Parodi 1, Yosifov 2, Manià (L), Papi (L), Cottarelli 0. DNP. Zlatanov, Tzioumakas. Coach. Giuliani.
Exprivia Molfetta: Pontes Veloso 0, De Barros Ferreira 17, Polo 14, Hendriks 8, Jimenez 9, Leite Costa 7, Porcelli (L), De Pandis (L), Partenio 0, Olteanu 0, Del Vecchio 0. DNP. Vitelli. Coach. Gulinelli.
Nearly two hours were needed for Piacenza to clinch its pass into the cup quarter-finals at the expense of Molfetta. This was not easy as the hosts struggled to settle in, though they eventually snatched the first set on some key serves from their Cuban stars Hernandez and Hierrewuelo. But Marshall and co found it hard too in the second and Molfetta tied it. Some accurate attacking from Marshall (56%) and Clévenot (100%) allowed Piacenza to regain the lead, then Giuliani’s men used the momentum and some good serving to seal the deal.
MVP: Clévenot
Leonel Marshall (LPR Piacenza): “At the start of the game, we found it very hard. We were slow to find our rhythm, but there was a lot at stake and we increased our level as the game wore on. When we made less mistakes things improved in attack. Unfortunately, the in-or-out matches have an influence on the quality of play. Molfetta served well and had some good blocking. We turned things around with better reception ».
Flavio Gulinelli (coach Exprivia Molfetta): “We lost the third set with seven mistakes on the serve. In spite of the susbtitutions, we made too many mistakes in that area ; And we should have done better with the opportunities we had. In the fourth set, Piacenza hit the serve hard and we consequently struggled in reception and attack. Even if we had to do without Sabbi in the starting line-up, we managed to play face to face. We made mistakes, but we played some good volleyball too, we were excellent on the break, even if he’s absence was felt in attack ».
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Kioene Padova 3-1 (25-14, 20-25, 25-16, 26-24)
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia: Coscione 8, Geiler 11, Costa 12, Michalovic 16, Barreto Silva 8, Barone 7, Torchia (L), Marra (L), Diamantini 0, Alves Soares 7, Izzo 0. DNP. Maccarone, Rejlek. Coach. Kantor.
Kioene Padova: Zoppellari 1, Maar 2, Koncilja 6, Giannotti 18, Fedrizzi 3, Volpato 7, Milan 11, Balaso (L), Bassanello 0, Averill 0, Link 0, Sestan 9. DNP. Coach. Baldovin.
Vibo Valentia made the most of the court advantage in the Italian Cup 8th of finals with a 3-1 win over Padova. Both teams had ups and downs, though Coscione and co got off to a strong start in the first set, and when Padova got back with Giannotti on the serve, the hosts responded with serves from their captain. Baldovin changed his spikers in the second set and sent on Milan and Sestan, and that paid off. The hosts werer on fire in the third though and flew back in front behind some big plays from the MVP Michalovic and some Marra digs. Padova was 24-23 ahead at the end of the fourth but Geiler and a Costa block on Giannotti made the difference.
Peter Michalovic (Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia): “It’s been a strange game with a lot of ups and down but it was important to win, especially with a good fight at the end of the fourth set. It was not easy after our game against Trento but now we’re in the quarter-finals and anything can happen. We know that when we hit the serve hard, we have our chance against anyone ».
Sebastiano Milan (Kioene Padova): “It’s been a hard-fought encounter and the fourth set is testimony, but we should have done better in certain situations. We had to make substitutions along the way, which allowed us to find balance, but it was not enough. I’m glad I could play, I am young, this was a gratifying experience for me ».
Calzedonia Verona – Biosì Indexa Sora 0-3 (23-25, 20-25, 18-25)
Calzedonia Verona: Baranowicz 0, Kovacevic 16, Anzani 3, Djuric 11, Ferreira 4, Zingel 2, Frigo (L), Randazzo 0, Lecat 4, Paolucci 0, Giovi (L). DNP. Mengozzi, Stern. Coach. Giani.
Biosì Indexa Sora: Seganov 7, Kalinin 11, Mattei 8, Miskevich 21, Rosso 4, Sperandio 3, Santucci (L), Marrazzo 0. DNP. Tiozzo, Gotsev, De Marchi, Mauti, Lucarelli. Coach. Bagnoli.
Verona had beaten Sora in the league 3-1 but were knocked out of the Italian Cup on a 3-0 score in its own gym. MVP: Radzivon Miskevich
Bruno Bagnoli (Coach Biosì Indexa Sora): “This is a big achievement for us, we played without pressure and we left it out on the floor. Congratulations to the players and my staff. We had Kalinin back and he gave us balance, but the whole team did well ».
Stefano Magrini (President Calzedonia Verona): “This defeat really hurts, especially in front of our fans. We have never been in the game. There will surely be some changes made ».
Fixtures
Del Monte® Italian Cup SuperLega
Quarter-finals
Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 January at 8.30pm
Cucine Lube Civitanova (1) –Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia (8)
Sir Safety Conad Perugia (4) –LPR Piacenza (5)
Diatec Trentino (2) – Gi Group Monza (7)
Azimut Modena (3) – Biosì Indexa Sora (11)
One game live on Thursday 12 on RAI Sport 1
Del Monte® Italian Cup Serie A2 – Quarter-finals results
VBC Mondovì-Sigma Aversa 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16)
BCC Castellana Grotte-Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana 2-3 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 14-16)
In the Serie A2, Mondovì and Civita Castellana are the first to teams to qualify for the Italian Cup semi-finals. Civita made the upset on the road against the leaders of the white group. The other two quarter-finals will be played tomorrow.
VBC Mondovì – Sigma Aversa 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16)
VBC Mondovì: Cortellazzi 5, Manassero 13, Parusso 5, Bolla 20, Menardo 6, Picco 11, Garelli (L), Prandi (L), Perla 5, Cattaneo 2. DNP. Turco, Miola. Coach. Barisciani.
Sigma Aversa: De Rosas 2, Montò 2, Giacobelli 10, Santangelo 3, Hister 8, Robbiati 1, Attanasio (L), Vacchiano (L), Valla 3, Di Florio 18, Razzetto 5. DNP. De Paola. Coach. Bosco.
BCC Castellana Grotte – Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana 2-3 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 14-16)
BCC Castellana Grotte: Garnica 2, Moreira 29, Ferraro 6, Cazzaniga 28, Scio 3, Presta 11, Pace (L), De Santis 1, Parisi 0, Canuto 2, Cavaccini (L), Quarta 0. DNP. Astarita, Barbone. Coach. Lorizio.
Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana: Marchiani 2, Preti 25, Valsecchi 10, Banderò 24, Marinelli 14, Bortolozzo 6, Saturnino (L), Sacripanti 1, Cicola (L), Pellegrino 0, Scrudato 0. DNP. Ippolito, Gaia, Santilli. Coach. Spanakis.
Del Monte® Italian Cup Serie A2 – Quarter-finals
Thursday 15 December at 8.30pm
Emma Villas Siena – Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Monini Spoleto – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
Del Monte® Italian Cup Serie A2 – Semi-finals
Thursday 29 December at 8.30pm
Semi-finals
