In the last round of 2016, third from Bottom Padova will meet Modena. In spite of taking the first set, Padova surrendered on a 3-1 score against Trento in the previous round, while Modena fell home in the derby against Ravenna and slipped to fourth.
Sora seemed to have settled in just fine in the top division but a few games gone wrong meant they slipped to the bottom. They will play host to the league leaders, Civitanova, who had Latina has its last victim.
No time to recover from the severe defeat conceded against Civitanova that Latina has to face another top team, Trentino. The latter remains close to the leaders thanks to its 3-1 win over Padova.
Ravenna made the head lines of the last round with a thrilling victory over the Italian Champs of Modena in their own gym. They will try to use the momentum against Perugia, who put together an impressive run of 12 victories between league and Champions League.
Monza is going full speed following its derby win over Milan. Now in sixth position, they entertain Verona, who showed signs of revival on Boxing day with a dominant 3-0 win over Piacenza.
The second half of season did not begin as expected for Piacenza. Giuliani’s men were defeated three times in a row, the latest defeat coming in Verona after the ones against Perugia and Civitanova. They will try to get back on track against Molfetta, defeated home last Monday in the southern clash against Vibo Valentia.
Vibo Valentia continues to stun the Superlega. Eighth in the league, they had another solid performance full of fighting spirit in Molfetta in the last round and will now play host to Milan, beaten in the Lombardy derby by Monza.
SuperLega UnipolSai round 17
Thursday 29 December at 8.30pm
Kioene Padova – Azimut Modena Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Biosì Indexa Sora – Cucine Lube Civitanova Live on Lega Volley Channel
Top Volley Latina – Diatec Trentino Live on Lega Volley Channel
Bunge Ravenna – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Gi Group Monza – Calzedonia Verona Live on Lega Volley Channel
LPR Piacenza – Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Revivre Milano Live on Lega Volley Channel
League table
Cucine Lube Civitanova 41, Diatec Trentino 38, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 37, Azimut Modena 35, Calzedonia Verona 28, Gi Group Monza 25, LPR Piacenza 24, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 21, Bunge Ravenna 19, Exprivia Molfetta 15, Top Volley Latina 14, Kioene Padova 14, Revivre Milano 13, Biosì Indexa Sora 12
Kioene Padova – Azimut Modena
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 89 (73-16 Modena)
Fabio Balaso (Kioene Padova): “We proved in the first set against Trento that we could play excellent volleyball. What we’re missing is some consistency and that can cost us dear, especially against top teams like the ones we’re facing right now. We’re facing another extremely tough match on Thursday, we’ll need to work hard in training and play without fear, ready to fight until the very last point ».
Andrea Sartoretti (GM Azimut Modena): “We have to leave the Ravennna loss behind us and bounce back against Padova. We made too many mistakes in the last game, we analysed that so that it does not repeat itself. We have already proved we could play at a very high level, we just need that consistency. We face a tough match tomorrow, but we need an immediate reaction. The league is very tight, some team might not be as strong as others but at the end of the day they’re all competitive. And Padova is one of them, they play good volleyball ».
Biosì Indexa Sora – Cucine Lube Civitanova
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Civitanova)
Bruno Bagnoli (coach Biosì Indexa Sora): “Civitanova has basically got two teams, so the line-up can vary a lot. This will be a tough match but we’ll do our best. In the first meeting, we did pretty well until halfway through the third set. We’ll see what we can do this time around. They’re coming off an extraordinary performance in which they had 75% in attack. I expect a tough one but we have to do better than against Perugia with the push of our fans ».
Alberto Casadei (Cucine Lube Civitanova): “We know we’re up against a team that can make it hard for anyone on its home floor. That’s why we’ll be going to Sora extremely focused, we’re coming off some positive results and we’re determinaed to show our worth to seal this year 2016 on a high ».
Top Volley Latina – Diatec Trentino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 33 (25-8 Trentino)
Gianrio Falivene (President Top Volley Latina): “I have so many things in my mind that I don’t know where to start. This will be a crucial game after being thrashed by Civitanova. We have to prove we can give a game to the top teams too. This will be a great opportunity for the volleyball lovers to watch a top team like Trento in this holiday period, there will be various Italian internationals of last summer ».
Sebastian Solé (Diatec Trentino): “We have struggled to express our volleyball with consistency of late. We really need a top preformance against Latina during the whole game. They will be eager to bounce back from their last defeat. We know how good is Latina, but we want to defend our second place and we will do everything to win it ».
Bunge Ravenna – Sir Safety Conad Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 11 (9-2 Perugia)
Fabio Soli (coach Bunge Ravenna): “We’re obviously delighted with the win in Modena, but we’re not satisfied yet. We were hoping to reach this level of play but we’re disappointed we lost some points on the way. We have to regain those lost points against any opponent we meet. The one against Perugia might be even tougher than last Monday’s game because we will not be underestimated. But we will not back down. This will be tough, we’ll have to go through difficult times and wait for our opportunities with patience ».
Marko Podrascanin (Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “We have been doing very well of late with a run of important victories and now we want to end 2016 with a good game in Ravenna as a gift to our fans. It won’t be easy, they’re coming off a superb win in Modena. We’ll need to prepare the game well and who them from the start that we intend on taking all three points. We took third place last Monday and we want to try to keep going up the ranks ».
Gi Group Monza – Calzedonia Verona
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (All Verona)
Thomas Beretta (Gi Group Monza): “We’re facing a very difficult game, we have never managed to beat them in recent seasons. I’d say a lot has change since the first meeting, they shook things up and bounced back, taking all three points against Piacenza. Our three consecutive wins between league and cup will motivate us to do better and better. Finishing 2016 on a high and reaching fifth place would be great. We know it won’t be easy but we will play with maximum energy and determination ».
Simone Anzani (Calzedonia Verona): “The win over Piacenza gave us a big boost but we have to keep working to get result with consistency. Monza is where it is because this is a top level team and we’ll have to be agreesive from the get-go ».
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 9 (6-3 Piacenza)
Alberto Giuliani (coach LPR Piacenza): “Definitely a complicated affair like the first meeting in which we did a great job of recovering from an early deficit to win it 3-2. That was tight game and that’s what we expect again this time round. This is a crucial game for us, we have been stuck for three rounds now, we have not been used to that this season. The CEV Cup was very positive, on the other hand, but we want to win in the league, we need a reaction in this last one of 2016 ».
Francesco Del Vecchio (Exprivia Molfetta): “We’re not consistent enough and we’re getting further away from the playoff zone. Playing Piacenza away from home is definitely not easy but we have to try to make it hard for them and get something out of it. We’ll try to end on a high this year 2016 who has been full of satisfactions for us ».
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Revivre Milano
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Vibo Valentia)
Carlos Eduardo Barreto Silva (Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia): “The win over Molfetta was crucial. It’s nice when individual performances help the team play well and win. But now we have to recharge our batteries quick, especially mentally, because it will be a battle against Milan. They have a good team, their league position does not reflect their real level ».
Riccardo Sbertoli (Revivre Milano): “We have to forget as quickly as possible the poor display against Monza and get back from Vibo with some crucial points. We’re not going to lie, we need a win at all cost, we really have to get back up the table. We cannot afford anymore to play games like the last derby ».
Time for the Serie A2 cup semi-finals with two teams from the white group and two from the blue.
Tuscania, who was already in the cup semis last season (beaten by Sora), is currently third of the white group. Montagnani’s men are coming off a three-set loss against Potenza Picena and the best way to get on track would be to beat Civita Castellana in the Viterbo derby. The latter lost the only two games played between the two sides so far. Spanakis’s men qualified as fourth of the blue group before knocking out BCC Castellana Grotte away from home on a 3-2 score.
Winter champ of the Blue group, Mondovì lost its last three encounters as it was without the injured Paoletti. They slipped to fourth but qualified in the cup semis thanks to a 3-1 win over Aversa. They will take on Siena, who’s coming off a tie-break win in the Tuscan derby against Santa Croce. The giants of coach Tofoli had qualified in the cup thanks to the second place of the white group, but they have now caught up with the first place. In the cup quarter-finals, they had the better of Brescia.
Del Monte® Italian Cup Serie A2 – Semi-finals
Thursday 29 December at 6.30pm
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania – Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana Live on Lega Volley Channel
Thursday 29 December at 8.30pm
VBC Mondovì – Emma Villas Siena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Del Monte® Italian Cup Serie A2 – Final
Unipol Arena – Casalecchio di Reno (BO)
Sunday 29 January at 2pm
