SuperLega UnipolSai
Last round
We have reached the last round of the regular season which will define the playoff draw. The winner of the regular season is still unknown and there are some thrilling encounters to be played to decide it: Piacenza versus Trento on Saturday, and Modena against Treia. Fasten your seat belt and get ready for the ride.
SuperLega UnipolSai round 26
Saturday April 4 at 8.30pm
Copra Piacenza – Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Cesare-Santi)
Sunday April 5 at 6pm
Parmareggio Modena – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(La Micela-Rapisarda)
Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta – Sir Safety Perugia Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Tanasi-Cappello)
Vero Volley Monza – Tonazzo Padova Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Satanassi-Piana)
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Calzedonia Verona Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Bartolini-Pasquali)
CMC Ravenna – Revivre Milano Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Florian-Saltalippi)
Rested: Top Volley Latina
League table
Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino 59, Parmareggio Modena 57, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia 57, Sir Safety Perugia 48, Calzedonia Verona 44, Top Volley Latina 41, CMC Ravenna 32, Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta 31, Copra Piacenza 25, Vero Volley Monza 20, Tonazzo Padova 15, Revivre Milano 11, Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro 10
1 more game: Top Volley Latina
Copra Piacenza – Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino
Prematurely out of the playoffs race, Piacenza will try to end their season with a special performance against Trento, who needs a win to make sure of winning the regular season. Piacenza could also celebrate the 8000 points of Samuele Papi, who’s just 6 away. If Trento was not to take three points, it would all be down to the result of the game between Modena and Treia (see all possibilities underneath).
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 45 (28-17 Trento)
Davide Marra (Copra Piacenza): “Trento is a strong team in every fundamental, no wonder they are top. We had a good game against Milan, we maintained a high level of play throughout, especially in dig and on the serve. This will be a tough game on Saturday night but we intend on playing till the end. We’ll do our best to make it hard for our opponents and give our amazing fans a good one in this difficult season, in which they never turned their back on us. They kept supporting us until the end”.
Sebastian Solé (Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino): “We have this great opportunity of winning the regular season if we beat Piacenza, and we don’t want to let it slip away. We know it will be tough, especially on the road, we never had any easy game, we’ll just have to give it our best shot to complete our positive run in this regular season”.
Parmareggio Modena – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia
Electric atmosphere expected for this 70th classic between Modena and Treia. Tied in second place (Modena has a better set difference), they play for second place, and even first place if Trento was to stumble against Piacenza. The court will be packed with players who are highlights ready to happen like the two Brazilian setters, Bruninho and Ricardinho (Olympic champ in 2004 and two time World champ in 2002 and 2006). The latter has just arrived in Treia but coach Giuliani has already thrown him in the mix in the last encounter against Molfetta.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 69 (35-34 Treia)
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach Parmareggio Modena): “We had a great game in Verona after two consecutive defeats. That gave us a boost, some games reminds us of what we’re capable of. This game will put face to face two top level teams. We play a different volleyball, but that makes it fascinating and tricky, for both sides. We’ll have the fans on our side, but the players are the one who play and they’ll need a great performance to take crucial points for the playoffs and the qualification into the Champions League”.
Dragan Stankovic (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia): “We’ll travel to Modena with a chance to clinch second place. It will clearly be tough, we’ll play in a heated atmosphere against a direct rival. They have the home court advantage, but we’ll have quite a few fans following us too. We have won ten straight, we’ve been training well, if we play at our best we have our chance to win this complicated game”.
Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta – Sir Safety Perugia
Molfetta made history by clinching a playoff spot and now they will have one last go at seventh place. They stand one point behind Ravenna. Perugia will come without any pressure as they are already certain to finish fourth. They will play Verona, fifth, in the playoffs quarter-finals.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (4-1 Perugia)
Antonio Antonaci (President Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta): “If we were to win we would tie the record of 13 wins of a team from the Apulia region in the top division. Taranto is the one that holds the record. We really want to make it, this would be a prestigious achievement in a season that is already unforgettable. This is only the second season in the elite in the club history, and making it into the record book of sport in the Apulia would really highlight the good work we have done. We know we’re up against a very strong opponent, but we have our fans on our side, they give us special emotions week in week out. We want to finish this season on a high”.
Bino Rizzuto (Sport Director Sir Safety Perugia): “We’ve started to prepare for the playoffs, especially physically. The Molfetta game is an excellent test for us on a tough court and we’ll try to make the most of it to set ourselves on playoff mode, playing with maximum effort and focus. This will be another opportunity to see if we’re in good shape”.
Vero Volley Monza – Tonazzo Padova
Monza has greatly improved in the second half of season and they will try to finish on a high. Based on the return games, they would be in the top 8. They will finish with a match-up against their biggest rival of last season in the Serie A2, Padova. Certain of their 11th place, Padova will try to take revenge on the defeat conceded in the first half of season. The Monza court is a special one for Mattia Rosso and co, they not only won the Italian Cup A2 there last season but also celebrated direct promotion in the last regular season game.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 8 (6-2 Padova)
Williams Padura Diaz (Vero Volley Monza): “An important game for the fans given that Padova was already a big rival in the A2. Hopefully a lot of people will come. We did not go to the playoffs but had a lot of satisfactions. The first half of season was packed with problems but we bounced back with character and fighting spirit, and we proved we could give a game to anyone. Considering this was our first year in the top division, I’d say this is a very positive result. I think each one of us has grown during the season, both as athletes and humans. I hope the fans will see a good game of volleyball. It would be even nicer if we could win it”.
Mattia Rosso (Tonazzo Padova): “We want to take revenge on the one lost in the first half of season. This is our only goal given that none of the two sides can change their league position. It’s important to finish on a good note, to leave good memories from the season to ourselves, the club and the fans who will follow us in this last trip. We’ll go to Monza and try to get the three points, even if we know it will be difficult. They proved they were tough to handle and indeed we have never won this year”.
Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro – Calzedonia Verona
This is Città di Castello’s last chance not to finish bottom of the table. It’s been a much different season from the last when they had finished 8th and qualified for the playoffs. Corvetta and co want to say goodbye to their fans with a win. Verona has nothing left to play for, they will finish fifth and start preparing for the playoffs quarter-finals against Perugia by trying to stop a series of two consecutive negative results.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (2-1 Verona)
Antonio Corvetta (Altotevere Città di Castello-Sansepolcro): “The last one of this complicated season will be home and what matters to us is to finish on a positive note. We want a good performance for our fans, who have been extremely patient all season long. I insist on this aspect because the fans deserve our respect and maximum effort in this last encounter”.
Simone Anzani (Calzedonia Verona): “We’re going to Sansepolcro aiming to reach a record of points of the club. It’s important to us, and we want to get back on track after two defeats. This will also be an important test before the playoffs. We will play with determination to win it and get this extremely important record for the club”.
CMC Ravenna – Revivre Milano
Ravenna has to put the disappointment of the Challenge Cup knock out behind them to defend their seventh place in the league. They need to try to keep their one-point advantage on Molfetta. The latter would finish seventh in case of a tie as they have more victories. Milan will try to get their fifth win of the season in order to keep Città di Castello behind and avoid finishing bottom.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Ravenna)
Waldo Kantor (coach CMC Ravenna): “We want a good performance and win this last one for our fans, useful as well to finish seventh. We kept working hard after the Challenge Cup, I am confident ahead of this game against Milan”.
Marco Maranesi (coach Revivre Milano): “We will give everything again in this last road game. It won’t be easy because Ravenna needs points to keep their position. Besides, they proved all season long they have a lot of quality. No matter how they will perform, we have to do our best to take something out of it. Our serve will be key as always, especially to limit their middle blocker who are among the most dangerous ones”.
BATTLE FOR FIRST PLACE
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