A1 Sustenium Playoffs.
Wins for Trento, Macerata and Cuneo.
Playoffs quarter-final results:
Itas Diatec Trentino – Energy Resources San Giustino 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-22)
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Marmi Lanza Verona 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22)
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 29-27, 28-26)
GROUP A
ITAS DIATEC TRENTINO – ENERGY RESOURCES SAN GIUSTINO 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-22) – ITAS DIATEC TRENTINO: Kaziyski 9, Birarelli 10, Della Lunga, Juantorena 7, Zygadlo, Vieira De Oliveira 1, Sokolov 3, Colaci (L), Stokr 13, Bari (L), Burgsthaler 2. DNP Lanza, Djuric. Coach. Stoytchev.
ENERGY RESOURCES SAN GIUSTINO: Creus Larry 8, Rauwerdink 6, Patak 8, Mc Kibbin, Finazzi 5, Petkovic, Giovi (L), Sammelvuo 5, Urnaut 4. DNP Cozzi, Bartoletti, Tholse, Lo Bianco. Coach. Held.
The Italian champs did not get it wrong in their opening game of the playoffs. Trentino did not have much problem to get rid of San Giustino as Birarelli was elected MVP.
Jan Stokr (Itas Diatec Trentino): “We started off a bit tense and we struggled in the serve and attack. We felt the pressure, that we had to prove something but then we managed to loosen up and make this first step towards the semi-finals. We have to improve a lot but this result is a crucial one”.
Andrea Giovi (Energy Resources San Giustino): “We tried our best, especially in the first set but it’s not easy to play against Trento, they constantly put you under pressure. We knew our chance to win were slim but we could still have done more. Now we’ll try to get a good result against Roma”.
Standings group A
Itas Diatec Trentino 3, M. Roma Volley 0*, Energy Resources San Giustino 0
*one game in hand
GROUP B
LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA – MARMI LANZA VERONA 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22) LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA: Lampariello, Savani 21, Exiga (L), Parodi 15, Stankovic 8, Travica 1, Omrcen 17, Podrascanin 3. DNP Pajenk, Kovar, Monopoli, Van Walle. Coach. Giuliani.
MARMI LANZA VERONA: Popp 8, Kosmina 1, Ter Horst 1, Calderan, Meoni, Smerilli (L), Patriarca 8, Zingel 2, Casarin 1, Kromm 10, Postiglioni 9, Gasparini 15. Coach. Bagnoli.
Macerata defeated Verona 3-1 in the first quarter-final encounter. Giuliani’s team will watch on tomorrow as Verona takes on Monza, while it will be back on court Monday to try to qualify for the semi-finals against Monza. Savani finished top scorer with 21 points (58% in attack) and MVP of the game.
Alberto Giuliani (coach Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Our attitude was not good, maybe even predictable given this formula in which nobody can afford to miss a thing. We paid the price for our early hesitations, but Igor’s run of serves had already helped us to launch a comeback in the first set. You could see how much we wanted this win. This is an extremely important win for us, and now we’ll focus on what will be the key game against Monza on Monday. Zanini’s team offers some very interesting tactical schemes, we’ll have to be prepared”.
Bruno Bagnoli (coach Marmi Lanza Verona): “Despite the fact we had a couple of players not hundred percent fit, I am extremely satisfied with the way the team played. In the first set, we served like a top level team, while in the fourth it was their serve that made it hard for us. This means the difference between the two teams was what happened in the middle. In my opinion, with both teams serving normally, the difference was their more effective attack”.
On tomorrow’s game:
Facundo Conte (Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza): “We have no choice but take a three-point win to have a chance to qualify on Monday against Macerata. It won’t be easy by any means, Verona proved they could play excellent volleyball against Macerata. They served very well. We’ll need our best game to win it, it will be tough but we’re confident”.
Standings group B
Lube Banca Marche Macerata 3, Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza 0*, Marmi Lanza Verona 0
*one game in hand
GROUP C
BRE BANCA LANNUTTI CUNEO – TONNO CALLIPO VIBO VALENTIA 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 29-27, 28-26)
BRE BANCA LANNUTTI CUNEO: Mastrangelo 9, Henno (L), Ngapeth 12, Fortunato 6, Van Lankvelt, Wijsmans 22, Vissotto Neves 21, Grbic 2, Caceres 3, Patriarca 2. DNP Rossi, Pieri, Baranowicz. Coach. Placì.
TONNO CALLIPO VIBO VALENTIA: Falasca 19, Coscione 1, Serafini, Cernic 10, Diaz 13, Grassano, Rak 7, Klapwijk, Barone 7, Fanuli (L), Nikolov 11. DNP Mignolo, Banderò. Coach. Blengini.
Cuneo takes game one at the expense of Vibo Valentia. MVP: Wijsmans.
Hubert Henno (Bre Banca Lannutti): “The only thing that matters now is the win, the rest does not matter. We had time to prepare ourselves, now it’s time to play. No need to talk anymore at this point of the season, we just have to play. On Monday, we’ll have to get on court and win the game”.
Manuel Coscione (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “We had so many problems this week. First Klapwijk was out, then Falasca had a problem on his feet, he played with pain tonight, and now Rak’s injury. The positive thing is that we gave it a good fight, but we’re a bit disappointed not to have forced a tie-break. Credit to them. A bit disappointed but we know we have done our absolute best”.
On tomorrow’s game:
Luca Monti (coach Copra Elior Piacenza): “There was a lot of pressure on court today but that’s normal when there is so much at stake. When a game is that important, with no chance to redeem yourself, it’s always tough. It will be difficult again tomorrow, there will surely be a lot of pressure on too”.
GROUP D
SISLEY BELLUNO – ANDREOLI LATINA 0-3 (26-28, 23-25, 21-25)
SISLEY BELLUNO: Abdelaziz 1, Fei 16, Horstink 10, Dolfo, Farina (L), Kohut 10, De Togni 5, Suxho 2, Antonov 1, Ogurcak 6. DNP Szabò, Curti, Sorato. Coach. Piazza.
ANDREOLI LATINA: Rivera Caamano 2, Pantaleon, Gitto 8, Sottile 2, Jarosz 27, De Pandis (L), Troy 1, Diachkov 6, Cester 7, Fragkos 4. DNP Guemart, Tailli, Galabinov. Coach. Prandi.
Alessandro Fei received the prestigious Gazzetta award at the beginning of the game as the MVP of the regular season. Then, it proved to be a tight affair between Belluno and Latina. In the end the guests provided the upset of this first day of playoff action.
Silvano Prandi (coach Andreoli Latina): “We have won because we did a better job of handling the mistakes. It’s not been a spectacular game from any team, but in those games the winner is the one that make the least mistakes. In the second part of the game, we made some good plays and played a little more loose than Belluno, which did not play its best volleyball. Now we have a day rest before meeting Modena on Monday, another top level team like Belluno. This win gives us a lot of motivation, we’re extremely excited but we expect another battle in which we’ll need another good performance”.
Roberto Piazza (coach Sisley Belluno): “We had two set points in the first set, we could have sealed it at 24-22 but we failed to do so. The great teams have the killer instinct to resolve those situations, we still have a lot to learn. Our game was not brilliant but we were still in it thanks to our blocking, but that was not enough because we made too many mistakes and allowed them to take confidence. I knew Latina was an excellent team, and they proved it during the whole season, I’m sorry I was right. Tomorrow, we’ll play the most important game of the season, we have to bounce back immediately because Modena is a great team. We’ll have to play better than today and try to win, although this would not guarantee us the qualification. We’ll have to play all out and try our best until the end, unfortunately whatever happens, our destiny will be in the hands of others”.
On tomorrow’s game:
Daniele Bagnoli (coach Casa Modena): “Belluno did not play at its usual standard today, this was a surprise but that goes to show how unpredictable the playoffs can be. They won’t give anything away tomorrow, Belluno never gives up, this will be a different game, they’ll be eager to redeem themselves. In those situation, every game has its own story, we’ll have to be focused and stop them from developing their game in what I expect to be an extremely hard-fought encounter. It’s true that today’s result goes in our favor but we’ll have to make sure we take advantage”.
Standings group D
Andreoli Latina 3, Sisley Belluno 0, Casa Modena 0*
*one game in hand
