Semifinals Game 1 – Play Off SuperLega Credem Banca
Itas Trentino – Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-18)
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Allianz Milano 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17)
Itas Trentino – Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-18) – Itas Trentino: Sbertoli 1, Lavia 13, Lisinac 7, Kaziyski 11, Michieletto 8, Podrascanin 9, Nelli 0, Cavuto 0, Dzavoronok 0, Laurenzano (L). N.E. Pace, Berger, Depalma, D’Heer. All. Lorenzetti. Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza: Brizard 1, Santos De Souza 6, Simon 9, Romanò 9, Leal 9, Caneschi 3, Scanferla (L), Recine 1, Basic 1, Alonso 3. N.E. Hoffer, Gironi, De Weijer, Cester. All. Botti. ARBITRI: Lot, Cesare. NOTE – durata set: 29′, 30′, 23′; tot: 82′.
The series of Semifinal Play Off Scudetto Credem Banca 2023 which celebrates the remake of the Del Monte® Italian Cup Final in Rome begins in the name of Itas Trentino. Tonight at the BLM Group Arena it was in fact the hosts who won the first of five potential acts of the match, immediately going ahead 1-0 and at the same time obtaining their first victory of the season against Piacenza. Before the match, a minute’s silence was observed to commemorate Julia Ituma, a player from Novara who tragically died during the night in Istanbul. As for the pitch, Lorenzetti’s team gained confidence and awareness of their abilities over time, withstanding the initial shock wave from the Emilians well and gradually increasing their game volume thanks to a great block test ( 11 winners, nine only from the Serbian pair in place 3) and the ability to capitalize on break point opportunities in important moments, as happened in the final of the first and second sets. Michieletto and Lavia (MVP and best scorer) from this point of view dragged their teammates who became absolute masters of the field in the third and final period, won hands down when Gas Sales Bluenergy lost consistency in attack and reception.
MVP: Daniele Lavia (Itas Trentino)
SPECTATORS: 2354
Daniele Lavia (Itas Trentino): “Since the first exchanges we had the right attitude, the one that allowed us to recover the initial advantage in Piacenza and become more and more protagonists on the pitch. It’s an important victory because it will offer us a little more peace of mind in facing Race 2 in Piacenza, but obviously the road is long”.
Massimo Botti (Coach Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza): “No, I don’t think the first set affected the game, we had the chance to win it, it’s true, but I think we wouldn’t have won this match because we didn’t play with the right spirit. We lacked that spirit that must distinguish us between now and the end of the season if we want to bring home something important, we haven’t figured it out yet, perhaps we think we are stronger than we are; we must be aware that we have many qualities but also defects that we must be good at masking when we take the field, and if we don’t accept this in the end we expose ourselves to difficulties. And if we don’t like difficulties, we need to be better at hiding our defects, which we didn’t do today”.
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Allianz Milano 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17) – Cucine Lube Civitanova: De Cecco 2, Yant Herrera 13, Chinenyeze 7, Zaytsev 10, Nikolov 17, Anzani 6, Balaso (L), D’Amico, Bottolo 0, Garcia Fernandez 0. N.E. Ambrose (L), Diamantini, Gottardo, Sottile. All. Blengini. Allianz Milano: Porro 1, Ishikawa 7, Loser 6, Patry 12, Mergarejo Hernandez 8, Piano 5, Vitelli 1, Pesaresi (L), Ebadipour 1, Lawrence 0, Bonacchi 0, Fusaro 0. N.E. Colombo. All. Piazza. ARBITRI: Florian, Puecher. NOTE – durata set: 24′, 31′, 25′; tot: 80′.
Home factor confirmed by the Italian champions. Game 1 of the Semifinal Scudetto ended with a home victory for Cucine Lube Civitanova in three sets (25-17, 25-22, 25-17) over Allianz Milano. At the Eurosuole Forum, Chicco Blengini’s men capitalized on the first face-to-face of the best-of-five series, determinedly chasing away the ghosts of the defeats in the Del Monte® Coppa Italia against Roberto Piazza’s Ambrosian sextet. Excellent game for Lube, performing on serve with 4 aces to 1 and many insidious hits, always on the attacking piece (65% against 47%) and protagonist of a commendable match both in block-defense and in reception.
Lube on the pitch with De Cecco dribbling diagonally with the opposite Zaytsev, Yant and Nikolov in the band, Anzani and Chinenyeze in the center, Balaso libero. Guests lined up with the Porro-Patry diagonal, Ishikawa and Mergarejo in band, Piano and Loser in the center, Pesaresi free. Before the match, a minute’s silence for the tragic death of Julia Ituma, a young athlete from Igor Volley Novara. A banner of Lube nel Cuore fans was present in the stands with the inscription “May our thoughts reach up there, bye Julia!”. La Lube takes control and closes 25-17 preventing the guests from returning with 6 points from Yant and a great lucidity from all the players. After an initial stalemate in the second set, Nikolov’s serve (9 points in the set with 1 ace) launches Lube who attacks and receives better than Piazza’s sextet sweating cold on 21-20 to then close without worries (25-22 ). The third act sees the Marches aggressive in attack and perky in service (19-11). Downhill final and match closed by Zaytsev’s ace (25-17).
MVP: Fabio Balaso (Cucine Lube Civitanova)
SPECTATORS: 2,964
Fabio Balaso (Cucine Lube Civitanova): “It was important to start off on the right foot and we succeeded. However, next Sunday in Race 2 it will be a whole different story. Tonight we played very well in the second row fundamentals, we managed to contain their strongest hitters, and in my opinion this was a fundamental key to the final victory.
Roberto Piazza (Coach Allianz Milano): “La Lube as well as being a great team played on Saturday and two days are not a few days to recover; we played in Perugia on Monday, we returned to Milan on Monday night, then we left again on Wednesday morning to get down, so it’s a bit different. These aren’t excuses, because when you get to the Semifinal you have to be available to play even at midnight the next day, it’s not a problem, but it’s not easy.
Play Off Scudetto:
https://www.legavolley.it/risultati/?Anno=2022&IdCampionato=886
Semifinals Game 2 – Play Off SuperLega Credem Banca
Domenica 16 aprile 2023, ore 18.00
Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza – Itas Trentino
Diretta Volleyballworld.tv
Allianz Milano – Cucine Lube Civitanova
Diretta Rai Sport e Volleyballworld.tv
