UnipolSai MVP
Giannotti MVP in February
Stefano Giannotti was named the UnipolSai MVP for the month of February. Born in 1989, the Padova outside hitter was nominated twice in round 19 and 20. He helped his team defeat Città di Castello and Milan. In those two games, the home grown talent scored a total of 46 points.
SuperLega UnipolSai
Round 22
Five rounds to go in the regular season and a lot to play for. On Saturday night, the league leader Modena plays host to Città di Castello, while the rest of the games will be played on Sunday.
SuperLega UnipolSai round 22
Saturday March 7 at 5.30pm
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Parmareggio Modena Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Puecher- Rapisarda)
Sunday March 8 at 5pm
Calzedonia Verona – Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Satanassi-Gnani)
Sunday March 8 at 6pm
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia – Vero Volley Monza Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Vagni-Saltalippi)
Copra Piacenza – Top Volley Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Lot-Pasquali)
Revivre Milano – Sir Safety Perugia Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Piana-Zanussi)
CMC Ravenna – Tonazzo Padova Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Simbari-Zucca)
Rested: Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino
League table
Parmareggio Modena 51, Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino 50, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia 45, Calzedonia Verona 41, Sir Safety Perugia 39, Top Volley Latina 34, Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta 27, CMC Ravenna 25, Copra Piacenza 19, Vero Volley Monza 18, Tonazzo Padova 12, Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro 10, Revivre Milano 7
1 game more: Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino, Calzedonia Verona, Top Volley Latina, CMC Ravenna, Tonazzo Padova
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Parmareggio Modena
Modena regained first place last week and now must take advantage of the fact Trento is rested to extend its lead. Città di Castello will try to obtain its second win in the return games in order to leave Milan behind. Matteo Piano will be up against his former club. He played three years in Castello, two in the Serie A2 and one in the elite.
PAST ENCOUNTER: 5 (3-2 Modena)
Federico Tosi (Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro): “A very tough game, just like the ones we’ll have in those last few weeks, Milan included. The league leaders play excellent volleyball, they played very aggressive on the break in the first match against us and there was very little we could do. At home, we’ll try to stay in the game, hoping to play as well as in the first set against Monza and against Treia two weeks ago”.
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach Parmareggio Modena): “This is one of those games in which we have everything to lose while they have no pressure at all. That’s why this becomes a tricky game. The boys are working extremely hard in training, it’s important because we’re reaching the climax of the season. I want to see the team play as a unit, with conviction, determination and maximum focus. It’s too early to think about the match against Trento and Treia. Now we have Città di Castello, one game at a time I always say, one at a time”.
Calzedonia Verona – Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta
Giani’s team has already secured its place in the post season but there is still the fourth place to play for. They will need to take as many points as possible considering the fact they will be rested in round 22. But Molfetta needs points too. They have an 8-point advantage on Piacenza, first team out of the playoffs, but they can’t afford to relax just yet if they want to make it in the post-season for the first time in history.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (3-2 Verona)
Alessandro Blasi (Calzedonia Verona): “An important and difficult encounter like all the others. Besides, Molfetta has done very well of late. They rested in the last round, so I expect an intense game. Our goal is to impose our game from the first rally in order to prevent them from imposing theirs”.
Rolando Jurquin Despaigne (Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta): “Verona is an extremely strong team that always plays to win. They have top quality players, talented spikers and an excellent setter. But we’re confident, we want to keep our winning run going by taking one game at a time. Last weekend was useful to rest. We’ll need to stay focused and play our game. We want to keep fighting to go as high as possible, we know we have a great group. We always work as a unit and that’s why we obtain certain results”.
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia – Vero Volley Monza
Treia bounced back from its Champions League exit with an important win over Trento. This sixth straight victory in the league means Giuliani’s men will have a chance to move within two points of Trento, rested this weekend, and get back in the chase of the second place. But their opponent of the day is the surprise team of this second half of season, Monza, who collected four wins and 12 points.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Treia)
Dusan Bonacic (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia): “We want the three points against Monza, it’s crucial to stay in the race for the top places. We’ll have the advantage of being at home but let’s be careful, they have been playing very well, we’ll need our best volleyball”.
Oreste Vacondio (coach Vero Volley Monza): “I think those games represent a great source of motivation for my team. There will be a great atmosphere, we’ll be against the Italian champions, who will put all their energy into the league now they’re out of Europe. I’m sure they will be confident but without underestimating us. We have clearly gotten better compared to the first meeting. We have nothing to lose, we’ll try to play our best volleyball to keep the positive run going. Now that we’re far away from the bottom places in the league, we’ll be able to play without pressure and take a few extra risks to trouble Treia”.
Copra Piacenza – Top Volley Latina
Change of coach this week in Piacenza, Andrea Radici is off, Marco Camperi takes over. Piacenza will have one last go at the playoffs, they are six points away from the 8th place and Ravenna, who still has to be rested. They will need Zlatanov at his best in order to collect their first win in the return games. Latina dominated Milan in the last round. They will try to put an end to a six-game losing streak against Piacenza. Their last victory in this fixture goes back to October 30, 2011. And they have failed to win in Piacenza since 2002.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 27 (18-9 Piacenza)
Marco Camperi (coach Copra Piacenza): “The first of five finals for us. We have to face this game like an in-or-out encounter. The boys know they have to give everything they have and even more, and I am sure they will play to the best of their ability and with determination, they’re used to these types of games”.
Todor Skrimov (Top Volley Latina): “Even if they are in a complicated situation, this will be a difficult game. They have a lot of experience and their knowledgeable fans give them great support. But we’ll go there to win it and show that we’re ready for the playoffs”.
Revivre Milano – Sir Safety Perugia
Milan’s goal is to try not to finish rock bottom. Still without a win in this second half of season, Milan probably face their toughest game this weekend before having four last games in which they’ll have a better chance to take points. Perugia is coming off a superb victory in the Champions League, they will be full of confidence as they keep fighting for fourth place in the SuperLega.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Perugia)
Marco Maranesi (coach Revivre Milano): “Even after our poor performance in Latina, the boys have kept training hard. The risk could have been to give up, but this has not happened and I fell like as long as I’ll be there it won’t happen. My players show dignity, we have to get off that bottom place, we can still do it. But we’ll have to give everything starting this Sunday, and try to get a set maybe even a point”.
Adriano Paolucci (Sir Safety Perugia): “One of the main difficulties this Sunday, besides the technical aspect, will be our psychological approach. We’re coming off this Champions League game that took a lot of physical and mental energy out of us. Besides, we’ll have the return leg in Poland on Wednesday, in which we’ll play for a place in the final four. So the most important matter will be our concentration against Milan. We have to overcome that aspect and keep our winning streak going in order to go into the Belchatow game with a victory. We know it will be difficult in Milan, they will be up for it. But we need a good one, we need the three points badly”.
CMC Ravenna – Tonazzo Padova
Huge game for Ravenna. Defeated in the Challenge Cup in Belgrade 3-2, Kantor’s men must make the most of this home game considering that they still have to be rested. Ravenna occupies the last playoff spot but Piacenza and Monza are lurking. Padova is already out of the top 8.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 53 (28-25 Padova)
Waldo Kantor (coach CMC Ravenna):<SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Trebuchet MS','sans-serif'; COLOR: #464646; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Ro
