Serie A1 TIM
Round 15
The outcome of the 15th round will reveal the match ups of the Italian Cup quarter finals, scheduled on the 30th of December. Trento, Cuneo and Modena secured home court advantage, but nobody knows just yet in which position it will finish. Trento plays host to Perugia, amongst the top eight too. Cuneo flies south to Taranto, while Modena entertains Pineto. Amongst the contenders for the fourth and last spot offering court advantage in the cup, there are Treviso, Macerata and Piacenza. Treviso travels to Latina, the Italian champs faces Monza, and Macerata will play in the first derby of the Marche region in the A1 against Loreto. Vibo Valentia and Verona, which just failed to make it in the cup, will respectively host Forli and rest.
Sunday 13 December at 6.15pm
Prisma Taranto – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo Live on Rai Sport Più – Live streaming on
www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/diretta.html
(Cipolla-Castagna)
Sunday 13 December at 6pm
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
(Boris-Pasquali)
Itas Diatec Trentino – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
(Pessolano-Caltabiano)
CoprAtlantide Piacenza – Acqua Paradiso Monza
(Sobrero-Rapisarda)
Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Yoga Forlì
(Saltalippi-La Micela)
Andreoli Latina – Sisley Treviso
(Gnani-Bartolini)
Trenkwalder Modena – Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto
(Barbero-Astengo)
Marmi Lanza Verona – RESTED
League table
Itas Diatec Trentino 33, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 30, Trenkwalder Modena 29, Sisley Treviso 27, Lube Banca Marche Macerata, CoprAtlantide Piacenza 25, Acqua Paradiso Monza, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia 22, Marmi Lanza Verona 20, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 17, Prisma Taranto 16, Esse-ti Carilo Loreto 11, Andreoli Latina, Yoga Forlì 7, Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto 3.
1 game more: Marmi Lanza Verona
Prisma Taranto – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 13 (12-1 Cuneo)
Paolo Cozzi (Prisma Taranto): “We will face Cuneo with the same spirit that we had before the game won against Treviso. We have very little to lose. They are very strong, they have put together a classy team, ready to win it all, they have experience and are powerful. Besides, they are in great form, recently they are winning easily against anyone. If we can play at our best, we could have a nice surprise. Mastrangelo ? I think he’s playing very well. The fact he’s surrendered by top level players makes it a lot easier. He would like to get back in the national team, just like me. No wonder we are amongst the top Italian middleblockers right now, but at the same time neither of us was elected to play in the All Star Game”.
Giuseppe Patriarca (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “We’ll try to get all three points in Taranto. We have secured a place amongst the top four but being second, third or fourth can make the difference. Taranto brought somebody in, so we are a bit in the dark regarding their line up. I have played for Taranto so I’m glad to go back there”.
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Luca Moretti (Esse-ti Carilo Loreto): “The derby is an opportunity to play a good game, we’ll try to make the court advantage count and get something out of the game. We’ll be facing a team full of champions, which will be going for the biggest prizes, while we can’t say our team is made of future champions given that we are fighting to stay up. We know we can reach our target only if we obtain good result in front of our fans, we’ll see what we manage to do on Sunday”.
Mirko Corsano (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “It’s an historical game, therefore very important for volleyball in the region. The two teams will have to be up to the event. Loreto has done very well so far, and they will do everything to make it difficult for us. I expect a tough game, but we can’t afford to lose points”.
Itas Diatec Trentino – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 18 (10-8 Trento)
Renaud Herpe (Itas Diatec Trentino): “Following Sunday’s defeat in Treviso, we want to get back on track straight away, not only for the league table for mainly to get our confidence back. To lose in Treviso is something that can happen, but against Perugia it’s time to win again. It won’t be easy, they will come here to grab some important points to benefit from a better ranking for the Italian Cup. It will be a nice game”.
Stefan Hubner (RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia): “I’m always glad to go back to Trento, where I had a great time. Despite the physical problems, the club remained very supportive. Some were a bit disappointed when I left, but I’m always happy to come here. Trento won everything in the past couple of years. We’ll play our game and try to get points. We want to win it”.
CoprAtlantide Piacenza – Acqua Paradiso Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Pietro Rinaldi (CoprAtlantide Piacenza): “I feel Ok, I’m physically fine after this first few training sessions in Piacenza. I settled in well in the group, there is a good atmosphere here, even if I’ve just arrived, I already feel like part of the family. I’m extremely motivated and aware that I am here to fill in a void. Best wishes to Gianluca Durante, hopefully he will be back in form as soon as possible. I was very sorry to hear of the death of chairman Gabana, who I knew from my three years spent in Montichiari, he was exceptional, a great man of sport. Monza plays good volleyball, it will be tough to beat them”.
Mauro Berruto (Acqua Paradiso Monza): “This game couldn’t have come at a better time. We are going to Piacenza knowing we have already reached a very important target for us: the top 8 at the halfway point of the league, which gives us our pass to the Italian Cup. On top of that, there is the excitement of facing the Italian Champions, and on their tricolour court. I don’t think we could have hoped for more after the first half of championship, no matter what happens this Sunday, this has been extraordinary”.
Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Yoga Forlì
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 11 (10-1 Vibo Valentia)
Luca Tencati (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “We are facing a very tricky game, we have to psychologically overcome the three consecutive defeats and the fact we didn’t make it to the Italian Cup. Despite the fact that Forli stands behind in the table, they are not playing badly, so it would be wrong to underestimate the opponent. We have to play with character and maximum fighting spirit to have an excellent performance and start to win again”.
Alberto Casadei (Yoga Forlì): “We really want to win, the Modena game left us a bitter taste in the mouth, a point was little considering what we did on court. We have to focus on ourselves and hopefully the fact they are out of the cup will make them a bit more vulnerable. However, what matters is that we are in good form and we want to move up the table. We want to end this first half of championship as well as possible”.
Andreoli Latina – Sisley Treviso
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 20 (17-3 Treviso)
Davide Saitta (Andreoli Latina): “We are not in the best of form to face such a top team like Treviso, but I am sure we’ll have the right determination and will to play a good game. I’ll face the team, to which I belong, so this will be special game for me. If we play with fighting spirit we’ll be able to make it difficult for them”.
Alessandro Farina (Sisley Treviso): “We are in great form right now, hopefully this will continue in this game. We are improving and working well, with enthusiasm. This game will be useful to keep getting better as it is a tough place to go to, we’ll need to fight hard because Latina feeds off its fans at home. Let’s not forget that it is also an important game for the Italian Cup, competition in which we really want to do well, so we’ll get on court ready to give it all to obtain a good position in the table”.
Trenkwalder Modena – Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (1 successo per parte)
Mikko Esko (Trenkwalder Modena): “I’ve seen Pineto’s last game, their victory over Loreto: I have to say that Osvaldo Hernandez impressed me. The team played well, they are gaining confidence and they fight for every point, playing with great energy to stay up. It won’t be an easy game, we obviously want to win it but to do so we’ll need to play our best volleyball”.
Robert Fant (Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto): “Sunday’s victory was crucial in order to remain not too far from the safety zone. This win has to give us belief in our ability and change our mentality in order to try to get points against the top teams too, which can be as decisive as the games we’ll play against the teams of our level. Our aim against Modena will be precisely to be focused and do anything possible to snatch a set and maybe try to take advantage of any possible mistake, if they make any, to get a point. They are very strong, you can see where they stand in the league table, I had Kooistra in Roma and I know how versatile he is. The setter-outside hitter pair is extremely dangerous. Esko’s game is difficult to read, he’s always unpredictable and Dennis never seems to miss any hit: but the whole team is well prepared and strong”.
Serie A2 TIM
Round 13
In the 13th round of the A2, league leaders Castellana Grotte will host Gioia del Colle in a derby scheduled on Saturday. On Sunday, the two seconds chasing Castellana are Roma and Sora, respectively facing Bassano and Santa Croce. In third place, Bologna will be live on Snai Sat at 8.30pm in Isernia.
Saturday 12 December at 5.30pm
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte – Nava Gioia del Colle – Differed on SNAI Sat from 7.30pm
(Parlato-Fiore)
Sunday 13 December at 6pm
Pallavolo Padova – Canadiens Mantova
(Guerzoni-Piubelli)
Codyeco S.Croce – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora
(Orpianesi-Perdisci)
Marcegaglia Ravenna – Edilesse Cavriago
(Prati-Bassan)
Bassano Volley – M. Roma Volley
(Longo-Zanussi)
Samgas Crema – Quasar Massa Versilia
(Costantini-Canessa)
Sunday 13 December at 8.30pm
Katay Geotec Isernia – Zinella Bologna – Diretta Snai Sat dalle ore 20.20
(Bellini-Feriozzi)
Città di Castello Pallavolo – TURNO DI RIPOSO
League table
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 27, M. Roma Volley, Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora 25, Zinella Bologna 23, Marcegaglia Ravenna 22, Samgas Crema 19, Codyeco S.Croce, Pallavolo Padova, Bassano Volley 16, Città di Castello Pallavolo 15, Edilesse Cavriago 11, Nava Gioia del Colle 10, Katay Geotec Isernia, Quasar Massa Versilia, Canadiens Mantova 9.
1 game more: Bassano Volley, Città di Castello Pallavolo, Edilesse Cavriago
