SuperLega UnipolSai
Round 8
Can we ask any better than a match between the leader and the runner-up? Civitanova versus Modena will be the highlight game of a thrilling weekend ahead.
Modena and Civitanova have left behind their group of followers and they intend to make this regular season a fight of two clubs. Civitanova are still unbeaten following their home win over Milan, while Modena surrendered at the tie-break in Trento last Sunday before bouncing back against Piacenza. This fixture is perfectly tied with 35 wins each. Marko Podrascanin is just 4 points away from the 2000.
Trento will try to bounce back from its shocking loss in Molfetta when they take on the ambitious Latina team, who defeated Romagna on Wednesday but threw away a point in a fourth set that seemed theirs.
Perugia and Molfetta are full of confidence coming into this 8th round. Perugia got rid of Monza in straight sets, while the Apulia team stunned the Italian champions in just over an hour of play. Strangely enough on the back of such breakthrough, Molfetta will have a new head coach, Paolo Montagnani, who comes in to substitute Gulinelli.
Thanks to its win over Padova, Verona caught up Trento in fourth place. They will play host to Milan, who has yet to feel the thrill of a victory this season but who took a valuable point against Latina in the last round.
Padova needs to get on track as they entertain CMC Romagna. The hosts are stuck with three little points, while Romagna have the momentum in their favours as they took five points in less than a week thanks to wins in Piacenza and against Latina at the death. Stefano Mengozzi is just seven spiked from the thousand in regular season.
One game will be played on Tuesday between Piacenza and Monza. Coach Giuliani will be on the bench as the club decided to turn his suspension into a fine. Piacenza is coming off a defeat in Modena and are still stuck with just three points but they have shown some progress in the level of play. As for Monza, their mini run of two consecutive wins was interrupted in Perugia. Stefano Patriarca is just 3 points away from a thousand in regular season, while Zlatanov could reach 800 blocks in the league with 3 more.
SuperLega UnipolSai Round 8
Sunday 29 November at 5.45pm
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova – DHL Modena Live on RAI Sport 2
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Saltalippi-Bartolini)
Sunday 28 November at 6pm
Diatec Trentino – Ninfa Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Boris-Pozzato)
Sir Safety Conad Perugia – Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Simbari-Sampaolo)
Calzedonia Verona – Revivre Milano Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Satanassi-La Micela)
Tonazzo Padova – CMC Romagna Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Zucca-Cipolla)
Tuesday 1 December at 8.30pm
LPR Piacenza – Gi Group Monza Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
(Tanasi-Piana)
League table
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova 19, DHL Modena 18, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 15, Calzedonia Verona 14, Diatec Trentino 14, Exprivia Molfetta 13, Ninfa Latina 9, CMC Romagna 9, Gi Group Monza 7, LPR Piacenza 3, Tonazzo Padova 3, Revivre Milano 2
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova – DHL Modena
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 70 (35 each)
Jenia Grebennikov (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova): “This is an extremely important game for the standings, it’s first versus second. A true battle between two very strong teams, I’m excited to take part in games like these. There will be my teammates of the French national team, NGapeth, on the other side of the net. All the games are important for us because we want to reach our targets. Beating Modena would be a big boost for our confidence, a great gift to our fans and a big plus for the league table”.
Andrea Sartoretti (GM DHL Modena): “We have great belief in our abilities, we have great respect too for Blengini’s team but we’ll play without fear. The two clubs have shown their quality in the first games of the season, both in the SuperLega and in the Champions League. I think this will be a very tight game, composure in the clutch time will be key. The boys have been working well, they know each other well, and many fans will follow us, there’s everything for a great game”.
Diatec Trentino – Ninfa Latina
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 30 (22-8 Trento)
Mitar Djuric (Diatec Trentino): “The loss against Molfetta was a real slap in the face. Congratulations to our opponents for the way they played but we just can’t play again like we did there. We’ll try to prove this was just an accident in this difficult game against Latina. At times, severe defeats like the one conceded in the Apulia can do you some good, but only if we manage to get back on our feet and work constantly with dedication. I want to think this will be the case for us and we’ll try to show that by giving everything we have against Latina”.
Candido Grande (Sport director Ninfa Latina): “We’re up against one of the best teams in the league. It’s tough to win there but I expect a reaction from the team after the poor outing in Ravenna. If we lose but play well, fine, because Trento is stronger. But we must give it our best shot, to prove that Wednesday’s defeat was only an accident”.
Sir Safety Conad Perugia – Exprivia Molfetta
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 6 (5-1 Perugia)
Georgios Tzioumakas (Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “We’ll face a very difficult team to manoeuvre. Molfetta has been playing exceptionally well, they proved it by beating Trento 3-0. We’ll need maximum focus and our best volleyball to try to take three points, which would be crucial. It would be nice to finish this week on a high”.
Paolo Montagnani (coach Exprivia Molfetta): “I’m glad to be here, I want to thank the club for the faith shown in me. I arrive in Molfetta after a 3-0 win over Trento. Definitely an unusual situation, I have a nice heritage. I take over a team in great shape, now I’ll try to leave my mark too on this group. I don’t have much time to start working because the trip to Perugia is imminent. We’re talking about a team with big ambitions, but the boys have the momentum. Adriano Di Pinto will have a fundamental role to play as he will be the bridge between the previous and new direction. We’ll just play our game, without any worry. The atmosphere the other night was beautiful, a real celebration. That was a historical moment, this will stay in the memories of many. After this one, we’ll take on Civitanova, which I think is the best team of all. Hopefully, we’ll be able to relive similar emotions”.
Calzedonia Verona – Revivre Milano
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (Verona won both)
Andrea Giani (coach Calzedonia Verona): “We have to make the most of this game to stay in good position in the table. We’ll need maximum focus, just like against Padova. We must aim at the victory, focusing on playing with our qualities. Milan, just like Padova, will go all out. If you look at their team by taking their players one by one, you realise they have excellent elements. This is why we’ll have to play with maximum concentration”.
Todor Skrimov (Revivre Milano): “Physically I feel fine, my shoulder is ok even if not hundred percent yet, but I’m getting there. We’ve been training well with the boys, we’re working hard to reach our potential, and we’ll need our best against Verona. We’re still looking for more consistency, we’re trying to get rid of those black-outs which have been penalising us a lot, too much”.
Tonazzo Padova – CMC Romagna
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 54 (28-26 Padova)
Valerio Baldovin (coach Tonazzo Padova): “On Sunday, we’ll take on a team against which we should have more of an opportunity compared to others that fight for the top spots of this league. But we have to realise that our level of play must be improved further and that we must stay extremely focused against every opposition. This is the only way to take points, so let’s focus on our game and try to cut down on the mistakes that often compromise our chances”.
Giuseppe Cormio (GM CMC Romagna): “I think this will be a tight encounter against Padova. We have already met them twice in pre-season and it was very tight, although it’s true the two teams were missing players. But I think this will be a long game, I don’t think any of the two teams can prevail in three sets. The key could be the serve, if we can force them to receive away from the net I think we’ll have our chance. Let’s not forget however that they play excellent dig so we’ll need patience as well as being mentally more ready than against Latina on Wednesday”.
LPR Piacenza – Gi Group Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (1 each)
Hristo Zlatanov (LPR Piacenza): “We know this is the umpteenth in-or-out game. We’ll see how much progress we’ve made. It’s more important to focus on our game than look at what happens on the other side of the net. We must first correct the things that have been going wrong. The sooner we can do that the sooner we’ll be out of the tunnel”.
Massimo Dagioni (Ass.coach Gi Group Team Monza): “No matter what the standings say, I think Piacenza is a very tough team to play. Not only because they have a winner as coach, but also because they have a roster full of champions, and they have a tradition in this club. This will be an important game for us, not only do we want to get into the top 8 but we want to bounce back after the defeat against Perugia. They will be extremely motivated to get a result to get back in a position that is more fitting for them. We’ll have to keep working with what have been our strengths so far: serves and blocks, and try to maintain a high level of play in attack”.
Serie A2 UnipolSai
Round 6
Crossroad for Alessano and Brecia. The two clubs are tied with six points after their respective wins against Mondovì and Siena. A win would propel any of the two clubs in a good position, something which was difficult to think before their recent victories. Excellent initiative from the Apulia team, who launched a collaboration with a local high school to broaden its press office, while it will work in the integration of young people with intellectual and relational disabilities.
Sunday’s game at noon will put face to face two teams on the rise: Tuscania and Castellana Grotte. The hosts moved up to third, tied with Civita Castellana, while Castellana proved they had many resources following the departure of spiker Tamburo as they defeated Siena in four sets on their own ground.
Another match-up between direct rivals in the standing will be Mondovì versus Cantù. Barisciani’s men came back from the long trip to Tricase empty ended, they will try to make the most of this coming home game to help make this first year in the A2 a thrilling one. Not easy though, the club has its fair share of physical worries. Enrico Perla had some muscle pain last week and is doubtful, while Michele Parusso had the flu, just like their head coach. Cantù too wants to bounce back as they’re coming off two defeats.
Derby time between Civita Castella and Sora, the only unbeaten team left in the league. The newly promoted side of Alessandro Spanakis, which won its last game 3-1 in Potenza Picena, will go for another breakthrough but that would be a massive one. Sora has only lost for sets since the beginning of the season.
Ortona entertains Vibo Valentia hoping to move up into a position that would be more satisfactory for the Lanci family. As for Vibo, they are second and firing on all cylinders, they have what it takes to trouble Ortona. The latter doesn’t want to lose ground after back to back losses against Castellana Grotte and Sora, while Vibo will try to keep its four-game winning streak going after the one over Brescia in the last round.
Reggio takes on Siena in a game between two quoted clubs that have met a lot of adversity. People come and go in the doctor’s room but Reggio is starting to see the light after the marathon tie-break win over Club Italia. As for Siena, the expert had described the team as one of the big favourites but currently stand at the bottom. The club called upon coach Massimo Caponeri to substitute Romano Giannini.
The two youngest teams of the league will meet up on Monday night. Beaten at the death by Reggio at home, Club Italia will try to put the disappointment behind and be more solid against Potenza Picena, who lost three in a row, all on a 3-1 score. The Serie A2 champions have everything to lose in this encounter. They sprinted off the starting blocks after the many changes in the summer market but then quickly faded.
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 6
Saturday 28 November at 8.30pm
Aurispa Alessano – Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Turtù-Feriozzi)
Sunday 29 November at noon
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania – Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Oranelli-Toni)
Sunday 29 November at 4pm
VBC Mondovì – Cassa Rurale Cantù Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Montanari-Lolli)
Sunday 29 November at 6pm
Sieco Service Ortona – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Zingaro-Somansino)
Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana – Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Marotta-Rolla)
Conad Reggio Emilia – Emma Villas Siena Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Luciani-Rossetti)
Monday 30 November at 8.30pm
Club Italia Roma – Potenza Picena Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Scarfò-Palumbo)
League table
Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 15, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 12, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 10, Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana 10, Cassa Rurale Cantù 9, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 8, VBC Mondovì 6, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 6, Potenza Picena 6, Aurispa Alessano 6, Conad Reggio Emilia 6, Sieco Service Ortona 5, Club Italia Roma 3, Emma Villas Siena 3
