Semi-finals Game 3 results:
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova – Sir Safety Conad Perugia 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 14-25, 27-25, 16-14)
DHL Modena – Diatec Trentino 1-3 (21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25)
CUCINE LUBE BANCA MARCHE CIVITANOVA – SIR SAFETY CONAD PERUGIA 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 14-25, 27-25, 16-14) – CUCINE LUBE BANCA MARCHE CIVITANOVA: Fei 7, Juantorena 27, Vitelli, Stankovic 6, Priddy 15, Kovar, Christenson 5, Cester 9, Grebennikov (L), Miljkovic 6, Corvetta, Cebulj, Podrascanin 6. Coach. Blengini.
SIR SAFETY CONAD PERUGIA: Buti 6, De Cecco 4, Kaliberda 10, Giovi (L), Russell 21, Dimitrov, Elia 1, Atanasijevic 25, Fanuli, Birarelli 5. DNP Fromm, Holt, Tzioumakas. Coach. Kovac.
Heart and courage were Civitanova’s secret weapons to overcome Perugia at the tie-break. A victory that will leave behind a difficult week of three consecutive defeats in the league and Champions League. And this win means they’re back in this semi-final series. In front of over four thousand fans (600 coming from Perugia), Blengini’s men lost the first set as the visitors played spectacular dig and had the trio Kaliberda-Atanasijevic-Russell firing from all angles in attack. The hosts were more solid in the second set, they took an early lead they would not let go. The third set was all one-way traffic for Kovac’s men, while an ace from captain Miljkovic sealed a thrilling fourth set. Perugia had the better start in the fifth set (4-1) but Civitanova quickly tied it led by MVP Priddy and Juantorena. It’s been tight all the way but a spike wide (confirmed by the video check) meant Civitanova eventually survived.
Ivan Miljkovic (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova): “We’re still alive and we’re back on the right track, even if we have a few things to sort out. Tonight, the team did a great job of handling the difficult rallies, and that made the difference. We can finally breath and we’ll now go to Perugia convinced we can push the series to a deciding Game 5”.
Boban Kovac (allenatore Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “We played against a great team. They showed all their will to bounce back. I’m disappointed we lost it, but we cannot have much regrets tonight because we gave it a great fight until the 14-16 of the tie-break”.
DHL MODENA – DIATEC TRENTINO 1-3 (21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25)
DHL MODENA: Mossa De Rezende 3, Petric 7, Soli 1, Rossini (L), Sartoretti 1, Ngapeth 16, Nikic 3, Bossi 5, Sens, Saatkamp 10, Vettori 23. DNP Donadio, Casadei, Sighinolfi. Coach. Lorenzetti.
DIATEC TRENTINO: Kaziyski 18, Antonov 7, Giannelli 3, Lanza, Solé 14, Colaci (L), Van De Voorde 11, Urnaut 10. DNP Nelli, Mazzone, Bratoev, De Angelis, Mazzone. Coach. Stoytchev.
In a sold-out PalaPanini arena, Modena had the better start but Trento hanged on and even found the spurt to go ahead and win it. Once again, the hosts were taking the initiatives and the lead on the scoreboard in the second set but at 18-15, Trento showed all its quality and fighting spirit to rally and take a 2-0 lead. Then, it was a nervous third set, with Bruno and Kaziyski sent off. Modena eventually clinched what was a very tight affair. In the fourth, Trento sprinted off the starting blocks and stayed ahead until the end.
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach DHL Modena): “We lost against a top team, they did a great job in the clutch moments of the encounter, but there is still a long way to go in this series. We’ll have a chance to bounce back already on Monday in Trento”.
Radostin Stoytchev (coach Diatec Trentino): “Congratulations to the players, they played top quality volleyball against a superb team. We know it will be extremely difficult, but in the meantime it was crucial to win here and we did it”.
League playoffs, semi-final Game 4
Sunday 24 April at 5.30pm
Sir Safety Conad Perugia – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova Live on RAI Sport1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Monday 25 April at 7.15pm
Diatec Trentino – DHL Modena Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Game 5 (if needed)
Wednesday 27 April at 8.30pm
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live on RAI Sport1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Thursday 28 April at 8.30pm
DHL Modena – Diatec Trentino Live on Lega Volley Channel
