The second game of the Challenge playoffs could already be key for the qualification into the semi-finals. The race to the fifth place and the consequent pass for European volleyball has already brought a surprise last Sunday at the Kioene Arena. The teams that won the opening encounter will have a chance to make their way to the next round this Wednesday night. Otherwise, a decider will take place on April 17.
CMC Romagna has no choice but win at home to earn the right to play Game 3 back in Verona. Only in the second set did they managed to give the hosts some trouble last Sunday. Verona enjoyed a good game that will allow them to partially recover from the league playoffs knock-out. Giani’s men are determined to fight for a place in the Challenge Cup, a trophy they have won just a few days ago.
Milan will try to make the most of playing home to tie the series. In the opening game, they failed to reach the 20-point mark on each of the three sets in Latina. Hesitant in reception, never sharp from the 9-metre line, Milan could not keep up with the hosts who had 7 aces in just over an hour of play. Monti’s men seemed to be on the right track as they had finished top of the group phase but that game got them right back down to earth. Latina had won the regular season game 3-2 at home and in Game 1 they had an even more convincing performance behind a superb outing from Josifov at the net and an excellent team work.
Monza will try to avoid an early holiday break and extend this series. In spite of going 1-0 up in the opening game, they ended up losing it 3-1. Molfetta comfortably won the second set and found winning spurts to clinch the third and fourth. Monza had stunned Molfetta twice in regular season and they will try to do it again on Wednesday night. Still hurt by their five-set heartbreak in the deciding Game 5 in Trento, it took time for Molfetta to get in their rhythm in the first game but then they showed all their quality in spite of being without spiker Hernandez. Rafael took over the scoring load while newcomer Armin Mustedanovic had a good game too.
Golden opportunity for Piacenza to seal the series at home as they stunned Padova on Sunday behind a terrific performance from Ter Horst, who froze the opposite crowd with 28 points. And the whole Piacenza team seemed regenerated from a good run in the preliminary group phase. Now they will have a chance to knock out one of the favourites of these playoffs. Padova’s good performances this season, including the hard-fought games against Modena in the league quarter-finals created big expectations, but they came out on the losing end at home against the team that finished bottom of the regular season.
Fixtures
Challenge playoffs, Quarter-finals Game 2
Mercoledì 13 aprile 2016, ore 20.30
CMC Romagna – Calzedonia Verona Live on Lega Volley Channel
Revivre Milano – Ninfa Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
Gi Group Monza – Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
LPR Piacenza – Tonazzo Padova Live on Lega Volley Channel
Game 3
Sunday 17 April at 6pm
Calzedonia Verona – CMC Romagna Live on Lega Volley Channel
Ninfa Latina – Revivre Milano Live on Lega Volley Channel
Exprivia Molfetta – Gi Group Monza Live on Lega Volley Channel
Tonazzo Padova – LPR Piacenza Live on Lega Volley Channel
Past encounters: 13 (8-5 Verona)
This season: 2 games: Verona won both regular season matches, first 3-0 away then 3-1 home
Andrea Giani (coach Calzedonia Verona): “We’re getting ready for this game in Forlì. If we do a good job we can seal this series, which would be just perfect. We need to do well in these playoffs in order to qualify for European competition next year. These results are crucial, we really want to be back in Europe next season. We’re expecting a difficult second game, Ravenna will be keen to get back in the series, they will play with fighting spirit. We’ll have all our players available, unlike in Game 1, as our three spikers were out with the flu”.
Waldo Kantor (coach CMC Romagna): “We made a lot of mistakes in Game 1, which led to that result. We could only give them a game in the second set. We had been training with intensity all week so such a poor display I did not expect it. Not much to do with the technical and tactical side, we just lacked fighting spirit, will to win. It’s a good thing that we get back on court so soon because this will be an opportunity to bounce back and prove we’re worth more than what we’ve seen in Verona. Whatever happens, this will be our last game at home so we’d like to say goodbye to our fans with a good performance”.
Past encounters: 5 (4-1 Latina)
This season: 2 games: Both won at home, first Latina 3-2 then Milan 3-1
Luca Monti (coach Revivre Milano): “I really hope not to finish this season playing that bad, because we don’t deserve that. We might have played our worst game of the second half of season in Latina. It’s true that Latina played at a high level but at the same time we never gave them any food for thoughts. We were definitely poor on the serve and in reception. I’m not thinking too much about the training in the gym because we have only two days, I believe more in our will to bounce back. I’m not saying we have to win, but at least try to play a good game”.
Candido Grande (Sport director Ninfa Latina): “We’re expecting a difficult game in Castellanza. We have to play with the same intensity and will as last Sunday. We did an excellent job in every fundamentals. We want to go as far as possible in this competition, and we’ll try to seal this series against Milan tomorrow night”.
Past encounters: 10 (7-3 Molfetta)
This season: 2 games: Monza won both on a 3-1 score, first at home then away.
Andrea Galliani (Gi Group Monza): “We have everything it takes to extend this series to Game 3. In the Apulia, we lacked a bit of determination even if we had our chances. In spite of some good reception from our part, they managed to hit the serve hard with consistency, something we hope won’t happen tomorrow. This season, we learnt that we have to give 100% in every single game in order to get a result. We are therefore ready and motivated to play a good game and win it with the help of our fans”.
Antonio Antonaci (President Exprivia Molfetta): “We’re trying to do something special in these playoffs. Monza made it very hard for us in Molfetta, which had already been the case in regular season. They are extremely motivated too and they’ll try to level things up at home. Before thinking about the final four we have to focus on getting a result away from our PalaPoli arena. We have to play the same volleyball that we’ve seen in Molfetta in recent months”.
Past encounters: 25 (16-9 Piacenza)
This season: 2 games, Padova won both regular season games, 3-1 away then 3-0 home
Valerio Baldovin (coach Tonazzo Padova): “We had a poor first game. Regardless of the result, I expect the boys to play much better and show character on Wednesday. We struggled to contain their spikers in position 4 in the opening game, and we had trouble to receive their serve. We’ll have to cut down on our mistakes and be focused. Our goal is get back home for Game 3”.
Samuele Papi (LPR Piacenza): “We’re facing a crucial game on Wednesday. It’s tough to make any prediction. Each playoff game tells its own story. This will be a totally different match from the one played on Sunday in Padova. We can’t afford to think we’re already qualified”.
Time for the semi-finals in which there are the top three of the regular season and Reggio Emilia, fifth.
The regular season champs and cup winners of Vibo Valentia learnt the lesson they can’t afford a soft approach like in their home debut in the quarter-finals against Cantù. They had to come-back from behind to clinch it at the tie-break. Coach Mastrangelo and his men wants to bring Vibo back in the SuperLega, and they can count on Casoli’s experience, who made two consecutive cup finals and won the Serie A2 last season with Potenza Picena. Vibo proved it was still the team to beat with the 3-0 win over Cantù in game 2. Reggio Emilia will try to win against the odds, and they have already showed all their worth in the second half of season, when they beat Vibo 3-0. Whatever the outcome, Reggio has already done better than last season when they had crashed out of the quarter-finals, knocked off by Ortona. The quarter-finals went much different this season, with a 3-0 on the road and 3-1 home at the expense of Civita Castellana.
Sora has been in the playoffs for six consecutive years. But every time they were knocked out in the quarter-finals or semi-finals. This time, they managed to get rid of Potenza Picena, which had caused them so many nightmares in the past. They swept them 2 games to nil behind some sharp serves and some solid overall performances. In the semi-finals, they will take on Tuscania, who reached the highest point of the club history thanks to 18 wins in regular season and a quarter-final won against Siena. A 3-1 breakthrough on the road followed a difficult 3-2 victory at home. Tuscania dreams of a surprise run like Potenza did last season.
Serie A2 playoffs, semi-finals game 1
Wednesday 13 April at 8.30pm
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Conad Reggio Emilia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
Game 2
Saturday 16 April at 8.30pm
Conad Reggio Emilia – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 17 April at 6pm
Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora Live on Lega Volley Channel
