A press conference to present the Del Monte® Italian Cup SuperLega Final Four and Serie A2 cup final will take place in Milan on Tuesday 26 January at 11.30am. The finals will occur inside the Del Monte® Volley Land 2016.
Time to get back on national ground after the European action in mid-week. The Saturday night game will put face to face Trento, 3-0 winner against the Greeks of Thessaloniki in the Champions League, and Perugia, fourth in the league just one point behind Stoytchev’s men. Perugia had the better of Milan in straight sets while they defeated Duren in four sets in the CEV Cup quarter-final first leg in Germany. Aleksandar Atanasijevic is looking for ace number one hundred, Christian Fromm his 100th block, while it will be Birarelli’s first game in the PalaTrento arena against his former club as he spent years of his career there.
On Sunday, important match for the playoffs between Romagna and Monza. The hosts are coming off a four-set home win over Molfetta, while Monza, who stands just one point behind, lost its fourth consecutive match at home against Latina. If Vacondio’s men were to make the breakthrough on the road they’d make it 3 wins each between the two clubs.
Tough home game for Verona, who stands in fifth place after the come-back loss conceded in Modena against the league leaders and the victory over Galatasaray in the Challenge Cup 8th of finals. They will play for big points against Molfetta, sixth in the table, coming off a disappointing trip to Forlì, which brought about a second consecutive defeat that leave them 9 points away from Verona.
Milan will be home following its bitter trip to Perugia that send them crashing at the bottom of the table. That added to the disappointment of the tie-break loss against Piacenza. Modena is getting to this match after a particular week marked by a helter skelter win over Verona at the tie-break followed by its first European Defeat of the season in Poland at the tie-break against Gdansk. They will be eager to bounce back.
At 6pm on Sunday, Latina will entertain Civitanova. Latina is coming off a four set road win against Monza, which was its second consecutive victory, while Civitanova stands one point from the leaders following their 3-1 victory in Piacenza last Sunday. And they gained more confidence out of the Champions League sweep over the Pols of Belchatow. Pasquale Gabriele will celebrate his 100th appearance in the league.
Second straight game in its Kioene Arena for Padova, who went close to a huge upset against Trento in the last round. They eventually surrendered at the tie-break. They are third from bottom but still have a lot of games at their disposal to get back into the playoff zone. They will be eager to get a result against Piacenza, who’s last from bottom and coming off a horrific home loss against Civitanova. Manuel Coscione will celebrate his 400th appearance in the league, while Zlatanov is one block from 800. Kohut’s next block will be his 300th in the league.
SuperLega UnipolSai Round 14
Saturday 23 January at 8.30pm
Diatec Trentino – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 24 January at 5pm
CMC Romagna – Gi Group Monza Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Sunday 24 January at 6pm
Calzedonia Verona – Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
Revivre Milano – DHL Modena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Ninfa Latina – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova Diretta Lega Volley Channel
Monday 25 January at 8.30pm
Tonazzo Padova – LPR Piacenza Live on RAI Sport 2
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
League table
DHL Modena 34, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova 33, Diatec Trentino 29, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 28, Calzedonia Verona 27, Exprivia Molfetta 18, Ninfa Latina 18, CMC Romagna 13, Gi Group Monza 12, Tonazzo Padova 11, LPR Piacenza 6, Revivre Milano 5
Diatec Trentino – Sir Safety Conad Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 12 (9-3 Trento)
Filippo Lanza (Diatec Trentino): “It’s definitely an important game between two teams standing in the top part of the table. Being home will surely be an advantage, we’ll have to make the most of it and keep our third place. This will also be Birarelli’s first game back at Trento, he was a teammate from whom I learned so much during his years spent here, and Trento owes him a lot. It will be nice to see him on court but we’ll obviously try to beat him because we need the three points”.
Emanuele Birarelli (Middle blocker Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “Important game as we aim to move up the grades in the table. It’s always tough to win there but I think we have what it takes to play a good game if we play our best volleyball. I know we’ll have to go through difficult moments because Trento is a competitive team that never gives up. People will play till the last ball but I’m sure we’ll have our chance. It’s obviously a very special game for me, and an opportunity to see many friends. I don’t know what the welcome will be like, but I’m sure it will be emotional for me at the beginning. But then the whistle of the ref will get things going and we’ll all be motivated to win it!”.
CMC Romagna – Gi Group Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (3-Romagna)
Fabio Ricci (CMC Romagna): “It will be a difficult game, they’re coming off a defeat against Latina, but we want to keep winning. They want to take revenge on the first meeting. They have tough players to handle: Renan has been playing well, we’ll have to watch out for him, the middle blockers are dangerous too. Both Verhees and Beretta are good players and they can have a big influence on the game. We don’t know yet if Jovovic will play or not, but I think right now the team has a good feeling with Daldello too. We’ll have to focus on our game and attitude, regardless of who will be lined up on the other side of the net”.
Thomas Beretta (Gi Group Monza): “We’re extremely up for it, we want to redeem ourselves from our performance on Tuesday against Latina. We have been training well in the last few days, we analysed carefully the things that did not work out in our first SuperLega outing of 2016. We don’t want to lose any more valuable points on the way so we have to get back to the level we had before the break: with that same flow, maintaining our rhythm and playing at our best. We know how important is this game, for our league position and for our confidence, so our intention is to get on court with more determination compared to the Latina game”.
Calzedonia Verona – Exprivia Molfetta
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (5-2 Verona)
Andrea Giani (coach Calzedonia Verona): “Molfetta is a team that made it very hard for us in the first game. It’s one of those clubs that can have big performances, from the serve to the attack. They have excellent players, with the Cuban setter and outside hitter who are very strong. We had players with physical problems at the end of December who are on their way back. We know Sunday’s game won’t be easy. We have to show all our quality, and keep doing as well as we’ve done so far. Quality and character is what we need”.
Daniele De Pandis (Exprivia Molfetta): “We had days to rest physically and reset our minds mentally. And we have worked on the things we clearly need to improve when we look at what we did in Ravenna. We have to give everything we have in every game from now on. Verona is in great shape but we should not make any excuses”.
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (Modena won them all)
Dante Boninfante (Revivre Milano): “The week went well, better than the previous one. Our target is to improve our performances against the top guns. We all know how strong Modena is, their team is well-balanced and extremely strong. We’ll just try to play our best volleyball. Hopefully the fans will enjoy a good game”.
Andrea Sartoretti (GM DHL Modena): “We’re facing a tricky game, another one in this season in which we have been playing at a very high level so far. We’re coming off a Champions League defeat at the tie-break against a good team, but we know it can happen. We’re determined to go as far as possible in every competition so the guys will give 110% in Milan and play with maximum determination”.
Ninfa Latina – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 41 (33-8 Civitanova)
Davis Krumins (Ninfa Latina): “This will be our third game in three months against Civitanova. We’ll try to snatch our first victory. We’ll have to change something to have a chance to get a positive result”.
Gianlorenzo Blengini (Coach Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova): “We’re going to Latina again and we’ll need another strong game. We want the win to consolidate the progress seen in the Champions league game against Belchatow”.
Tonazzo Padova – LPR Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 23 (15-8 Piacenza)
Santiago Orduna (Tonazzo Padova): “A very important encounter for us. It’s one of those key games to understand where we can go in this second half of season. Piacenza cannot be underestimated, they have experienced players who can lead the group. But it’s true it’s an opponent we can beat. We’ll have to make the most of the court advantage”.
Alberto Giuliani (coach LPR Piacenza): “Monday’s game will be a big one but all of the games right now are important. Padova is in front of us in the table, they’re the favourite to take this game but we’re convinced that with the work we’ve been carrying out in training that we can have a good game even if we know it won’t be easy”.
The Regular Season is back after the Italian Cup quarter-finals. On Saturday night, Reggio Emilia will play host to Mondovì. Cantagalli’s men got a boost from its four-set win in Brescia which got them within one point of the playoff zone as they tallied four more points than last year at the same time. But it won’t be easy to add some more against a Mondovì side that seems to have found some of its quality in their road breakthrough in Montefiascone. They stand just two points behind Reggio.
Still hanging on the last playoff wagon, Ortona needs a result after the defeat in Potenza Picena and the elimination of the Italian Cup in Vibo Valentia. There are the usual injury problems with outside hitter Matteo Paoletti out. He will be substituted by the 31-year-old Canadian Dallas Soonia and Andrea Lanci who’s not hundred percent fit. On the other side of the net, Castellana Grotte is coming off a home win at the tie-break against Cantù. They have Simmaco Tartaglione and Lorenzo Bonetti who have been firing on all cylinders of late.
Siena redeemed itself from the home loss against Vibo with a superb performance on the road against Civita Castellana worth a place in the Italian Cup semi-finals. Currently in seventh place, the team from Tuscany entertains the bottom team Brescia, who’s coming off a home loss against Reggio Emilia. They are without their outside hitter Fabio Bisi. They have yet to take a point in this second half of season in spite of having spiker Alberto Cisolla at the best of its form.
Beaten in the derby against Sora, the young talents of Club Italia will try to bounce back at home in another derby with Civita Castellana. The newly promoted side is back on track after a tricky period as they welcomed back their star outside hitter Paulo Da Silva. They’re coming off a 3-0 win over Alessano. Currently tied in fourth place with Potenza Picena, Civita was however prematurely knocked out of the Italian Cup.
On Sunday at 6pm, the unstoppable Vibo Valentia is coming off a 3-0 road win over Siena in the league and a 3-1 victory over Ortona in the cup quarters in spite of being without the injured Antonio De Paola. Spiker Cristian Casoli and setter Riccardo Pinelli will meet their former club, Potenza Picena, currently third and coming off convincing wins over Brescia and Ortona but out of the cup beaten in Montefiascone in the quarter-finals. Federico Moretti is on his way back but his participation is still doubtful.
Big opportunity but a risk at the same time for Cantù who will have a chance to take revenge on the team that knocked them off the cup quarter-finals at the tie-break, Sora. Cantù is also coming off another tie-break loss in the league against Castellana Grotte. In the last round, Sora won the derby over Club Italia with two last dominant sets. They are currently second, two points behind Vibo Valentia, the league leaders.
Alessano owes its low position in the table to its poor record on the road, while they are always at their best at home. They were totally crushed in the last round away by Civita Castellana, but back in Tricase they will try to bounce back against Tuscania, fifth in the league and coming off a disappointing home defeat against Mondovì. That upset was quickly put behind though with a quarter-final cup victory over Potenza Picena, finalist of the previous edition.
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 17
Saturday 23 January at 8.30pm
Conad Reggio Emilia – BAM Mondovì Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Traversa N.-Rossetti)
Sieco Service Ortona – Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Gasparro-Marotta)
Sunday 24 January at 12am
Emma Villas Siena – Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Oranelli-Rolla)
Sunday 24 January at 4pm
Club Italia Roma – Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana Live on Lega Volley Channel
(De Simeis-Guarneri)
Sunday 24 January at 6pm
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Potenza Picena Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Bassan-Prati)
Cassa Rurale Cantù – Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Piubelli-Del Vecchio)
Aurispa Alessano – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
(Nicolazzo-Scarfò)
League table
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 38, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 36, Potenza Picena 30, Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana 30, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 27, Cassa Rurale Cantù 26, Emma Villas Siena 25, Sieco Service Ortona 22, Conad Reggio Emilia 21, BAM Mondovì 19, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 18, Club Italia Roma 16, Aurispa Alessano 16, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 12
