SERIE A1 TIM
Sunday and Monday’s games
SERIE A1 TIM – 11th ROUND FIXTURES
Saturday 6 December at 6.30pm
Trenkwalder Modena – Lube Banca Marche Macerata LIVE ON SKY SPORT 2
(Santi – Pessolano)
Sunday 7 December at 6pm
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Antonveneta Padova
(Lavorenti – Giani)
Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza – Stamplast Martina Franca
(Rapisarda – Puecher)
RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia – Itas Diatec Trentino
(Gnani – Satanassi)
Marmi Lanza Verona – Framasil Pineto
(Boris – La Micela)
Sunday 7 December at 6.30pm
Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari – Sisley Treviso LIVE ON SKY SPORT 2
(Sobrero – Padoan)
Monday 8 December at 8.30pm
Yoga Forli – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia LIVE ON SKY SPORT 2
(Cinti – Cesare)
SERIE A1 TIM TABLE
Lube Banca Marche Macerata 26; Itas Diatec Trentino 25; Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza, Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari 18; Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 17; Sisley Treviso 16; RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia; Marmi Lanza Verona 15; Framasil Pineto 14; Stamplast Martina Franca 13; Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia, Trenkwalder Modena 10; Yoga Forli 8; Antonveneta Padova 5.
BRE BANCA LANNUTTI CUNEO – ANTONVENETA PADOVA
Past encounters: 42 (31-11 Cuneo).
Last game: In 2007/08, Final Eight TIM Cup, Quarter finals. Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Antonveneta Padova 3-0.
Record chaser: Francesco Biribanti only needs one block to reach the 300. On the other side of the net, capatain Giorgio De Togni is only 2 points away from the 500 in the league.
Daniele Vergnaghi (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “The Padova game will be a tricky one, because they need points. They won on Sunday and are looking for balance in the team. Padova took time to settle in the league but if you look at the names, you see that it’s an excellent team. So we’ll have to be careful. We have to get some points. All the good things done so far would not count if we stopped now, just a few games before the 8 for the Cup are decided”.
Bruno Bagnoli (Antonveneta Padova): “Sunday’s game will be a very interesting one. After a disappointing start to the season, our opponent seem to have found the consistency to stay in the first half of this league. Cuneo plays very well on high balls, taking advantage of Nikolov and Wijmans’ qualities. Besides, Platenik, an old friend of us, has improved game after game and we know his presence adds quality to their attack. We’ve just had two positive results in the league and Thursday’s 3-1 win in our joint-training session with Verona proves that the team is feeling good. We’re going to Cuneo really motivated and with the will to get important points”.
RPA-LUIGIBACCHI.IT PERUGIA ITAS DIATEC TRENTINO
Past encounters: 16 (9-7 Trento) Last game: In 2007/08, 4th round return games. Itas Diatec Trentino – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia 3-1.
Record chaser: Matey Kaziyski is 4 spikes from the 500. Leandro Vissotto could also reach a new milestone, he needs 25 points for the 1000. Goran Vujevic is 2 aces away from the 300.
Vincenzo Di Pinto (RPA-LuigiBAcchi.it Perugia): “Trento has an extraordinary serve, probably the best in the league. They also excels at the net and rebuilding the plays. But we have to prepare the game as well as we can and not be afraid of anyone”.
Cosimo Marco Piscopo (Itas Diatec Trentino): “Perugia has just lost home against Cuneo in terrible fashion and it will surely want to take revenge on Sunday, taking advantage of playing home for the second consecutive time. Our will to keep up with Macerata will have to be stronger than their need to bounce back. Our game doesn’t flow as well away from home, but I’m sure that if we keep playing with the determination that we showed against Montichiari, we can win the game”.
MARMI LANZA VERONA – FRAMASIL PINETO
Past encounters: 2 (Both for Verona)
Last game: Serie A2 TIM, s2007/08, 9th round return games. Framasil Cucine Pineto – Marmi Lanza Verona 1-3.
Daniele Sottile (Marmi Lanza Verona): “Sunday’s game will be important both in the race to stay up and for the Italian cup qualification. It’s important to try to take the points at stake because we’re at home and that we can’t afford to lose. We’ve just lost two consecutive games, even though we played rather well in the last one. It’s been an intense week of work, as we prepared to clinch the win against Pineto on Sunday at the PalOlimpia gym. It won’t be an easy game, Pineto is an excellent team, we’ll try to grab a nice win”.
Emanuele Sborgia (Framasil Pineto): “We’ve trained with intensity this week. We recovered from the Piacenza game and have the will to do well in the next game. As time goes by, the group is getting more and more united and this shows on our game. It won’t be easy in Verona. They have lost twice in a row, and they’ll want to bounce back in front of their fans. We”ll go there for the win, aware of our qualities and with the will to fight all the way”.
ACQUA PARADISO GABECA MONTICHIARI – SISLEY TREVISO
Past encounters: 55 (47-8 treviso)
Last game: In 2007/08, 2nd round return games: Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari – Sisley Treviso 1-3.
Record chaser: Treviso’s libero Alessandro Farina will celebrate his 400th league game. Teammate Stefan Hubner is 3 aces from the 100 in the league and he needs 7 points to reach the 2000 in career. Meanwhile, 10 points required for Robert Horstink to reach the 500.
Andrea Sala (Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari): “It will be a real battle against Treviso: we are two teams that are desperate to win. Treviso is in crisis and given that the points at stake are crucial at this time of the season, it will surely be a tense and nervous game. If we manage to get the three points against Treviso, we’ll almost be sure to go to the Italian Cup Final Eight”.
Samuele Papi (Sisley Treviso): “We have a really tough game ahead of us in Montichiari, but after the two home defeats and the change of coach ten days ago, we have to work hard and improve on every area of the game to be competitive again. The games are coming one after another and they’re tough ones right now, like the one in Montichiari, but we can’t afford another poor performance, and result aside, we want to prove that we can play good volleyball against a top level opponent”.
YOGA FORLI – TONNO CALLIPO VIBO VALENTIA
Past encounters: 9, all in A2 (8-1 Vibo Valentia)
Last game: In 2007/08, 10th round return games: Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Mare&Volley Forli 3-1
Record chaser: On Monday night, Tuomas Sammuelvo will celebrate his 100th league appearance.
Piero Molducci (Yoga Forli): “The one against Vibo will be the first of two important games. We have to get back on track, we need more fighting spirit and we need to be clever. We have to turn things around. We are not and we can’t be the ones seen against Padova”.
Chico Prestinenzi (DS Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “Monday’s game against Forli is for us the ridge between a championship played at a good level and a frantic race to stay up. A victory in Forli would give us some precious points, which would keep us in the race for the Italian Cup Final Eight. I think we have everything it takes to get a good result in Forli, but we need to play at our best, because Forli is a balanced team with players capable of making the difference”.
