In Round 8, Modena entertains Verona after the three points taken on the road in Perugia which allowed Piazza’s men to stay top of the table, tied with Civitanova. Except for one bad day in Piacenza, Verona collected six victories which confirms the fact this is the most threatening outsider of all. Giani’s men had another spectacular outing in Milan behind stand-out performances from Djuric and Kovacevic.
Trentino keeps flying high, having registered a superb four-set win in the latest battle in Ravenna. Lorenzetti’s men came back from behind to win the first set while they went beyond the 25 points to clinch the second. Ravenna then snatched the third before surrendering in the fourth. Trento will take on Milan, who will try to bounce back from Tuesday’s home loss against Verona.
Eleventh with 4 points, tied with Latina following its 3-1 loss against the latter on Tuesday, Molfetta has really been struggling in the last three rounds. They will try to get back on track when they take on Sora, who could not add up to the promising 3-0 win over Monza of the fifth round. They indeed registered back to back defeats in Verona and then home against Piacenza.
Padova moved up to sixth thanks to an impressive 3-0 win over Monza and seven points taken in the last three rounds. They will try to get this winning run going against Vibo Valentia, currently bottom with the other promoted team, Sora. After its tie-break win over Milan away, Vibo has lost three straight.
Seventh with ten points, Monza’s run was however stopped by Padova in the last round. Padova moved above them in the standings but Falasca’s men are hoping to leapfrog them again when they challenge Ravenna, who could themselves move above Monza with a victory. In the last round, they gave it a good fight against Trento, taking the third set only to surrender in the fourth.
Piacenza is 8th in the table thanks to 9 points taken so far. Giuliani’s men have a game in hand. They found Hernandez as their inspiration in attack as they won four in a row, three at the tie-break against Verona, Molfetta and Milan, and the latest in Sora. Next opposition is Latina, who won its first encounter of the season following Nacci’s sacking. That was home against Molfetta (3-1) with Massimo Franchi on the bench.
Top of the league with Modena, Civitanova will take on Perugia, who had beaten them in the SuperCup semi-final earlier this season. Perugia is coming off a home loss against Modena but they had Atanasijevic back after three months out.
SuperLega UnipolSai Round 8
Sunday 6 November at 6pm
Azimut Modena – Calzedonia Verona Live on Lega Volley Channel
Diatec Trentino – Revivre Milano Live on Lega Volley Channel
Exprivia Molfetta – Biosì Indexa Sora Live on Lega Volley Channel
Kioene Padova – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Gi Group Monza – Bunge Ravenna Live on Lega Volley Channel
LPR Piacenza – Top Volley Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 6 November at 6.10pm
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live RAI Sport 1
Live streaming su www.raisport.rai.it
League table
Cucine Lube Civitanova 20, Azimut Modena 20, Calzedonia Verona 18, Diatec Trentino 17, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 13, Kioene Padova 11, Gi Group Monza 10, LPR Piacenza 9, Bunge Ravenna 7, Revivre Milano 5, Exprivia Molfetta 4, Top Volley Latina 4, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 3, Biosì Indexa Sora 3.
1 game in hand Diatec Trentino e LPR Piacenza
Azimut Modena – Calzedonia Verona
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 24 (20-4 Modena)
Roberto Piazza (coach Azimut Modena): “Before the Perugia game, I had told the players that it was one of those many intense moments of a season that will be long. Tuesday’s game is behind us. It did give us an idea of our potential, but now we’re focused on the future. Verona is an excellent team and they have proved it in the beginning of season. They have experienced players like Djuric and Baranowicz, talented stars like Kovacevic and a great coach like Giani. This will be a tough game, we’ll need to make more improvement in blocking and dig. We’re working on it every day. Modena favourite ? I’m not interested in who is favourite, I know the boys are in good shape and ready. We’ll be home in our PalaPanini arena, a big advantage and we have to make the most of it ».
Andrea Giani (coach Calzedonia Verona): “Modena is a team that really strengthened its roster this summer. It’s a tough team, especially at home. They serve extremely well. We have to go there and play with intelligence and patience, and do so while playing our game ».
Diatec Trentino – Revivre Milano
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 4 (All Trento)
Sebastian Solé (Diatec Trentino): “The three three-point victories obtained sicne we got back from Brazil have been very important, but that should not stop us from staying humble. We’ll need to be as determined and focused in order to beat Milan. We have the big advantage of playing home. We have to make the most of it to reach our goal and keep adding points in the table ».
Luca Monti (coach Revivre Milano): “Before Padova, we could not have had any tougher game to face. Trento is a top quality team, and they prove it even more when they play home. They really put you under pressure with their serve, they don’t let you to get in the game. We have to be realistic but we will still go there to give it a fight. We’ll try to play our game and as well as we can ».
Exprivia Molfetta – Biosì Indexa Sora
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 4 (2 each)
Joao Rafael de Barros Ferreira (Exprivia Molfetta): “It’s definitely a difficult period for us in terms of results. We have to start getting points again. We improved on various things in Latina but that was not enough. We’ll have the fans on ours ide, we can’t get this important one wrong ».
Federico Marrazzo (Biosì Indexa Sora): “We have been getting better, game after game, we’re finding our identity. We’re young but some certainly don’t lack character. Molfetta is young too, they have two big prospects in the middle and as setter, while they have Sabbi as outside hitter. It will be tough in their gym, and even tougher to control the emotional side given the atmosphere there is there. But we’ll get on court ready to fight. I can’t see many weaknesses in Molfetta’s game. They have a balanced roster with quality. We’ll have to try to remain consistent, just like we did in the win against Monza. This is consistency that helped us give a game to all our opponents, this is the key to try to win the game ».
Kioene Padova – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 10 (9-1 Vibo Valentia)
Marco Volpato (Kioene Padova): “Another intense encounter ahead of us, and we’ll have to focus on our game. The difficult times will not go amiss but, just like against Monza, we’ll need to stay in the game and try to come on top in the clutch time ».
Thiago Alves Soares (Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia): “We have been training well to prepare the Padova game. We’ll be up against an in-form team, but after a series of matches against strong teams, we want to start getting points. The team has clearly been improving. We still have steps forward to make and the first thing to do to get results is to realise the potential we have ».
Gi Group Monza – Bunge Ravenna
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (4-3 Ravenna)
Thomas Beretta (Gi Group Monza): “We had some ups and downs due to injuries and improvised line-ups, but now we’re keen to play good volleyball again. We know it won’t be easy against Ravenna, a team on the up. We have been training fine, with our full squad I am sure we will be back at the level of our very first encounters. The fact we lost a few points on the way should not make us lose our spirit. We have a lot of games and on Sunday we’ll have another chance to bounce back and put a smile on our face like we had at the start of the season ».
Fabio Soli (coach Bunge Ravenna): “This is a very important game for both sides. The three points are worth double. At the start of the season, I had said that Monza was the best team behind the top guns. We must have the ambition to get a positive result. We’re up against a well-balanced team but difficult to read because of their physical and disciplinary problems of recent weeks. This is why we must focus on our performance and try to play to the maximum of our possibility ».
LPR Piacenza – Top Volley Latina
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 31 (20-11 Piacenza)
Viktor Yosifov (LPR Piacenza): “Latina will come over eager to have a good game and take some points after their win over Molfetta. The change of coach always brings a spark which shakes things up after a poor run. We have been making little steps forward, our rhythm is becoming more consistent too. We have been training better with our full squad, with more intensity and this is very positive. The result of the weekly training can be seen in the league games. I think this is why we play better than at the start of the season ».
Fabio Fanuli (Top Volley Latina): “Sunday’s win gave us a boost and some confidence. This is a starting point for us, a new beginning. We know it will be very tough in Piacenza, they have a very competitive team with big ambitions. We are on the right track, we have to keep working and try to find our balance as soon as possible ».
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Sir Safety Conad Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 18 (11-7 Civitanova)
Dragan Stankovic (Cucine Lube Civitanova): “The first big macth of the season has come. It will be home in a sold-out arena. We will face this game like any other, we’ll try to play our best volleyball to prove we can get a victory against one of the best teams too ».
Luciano De Cecco (Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “We definitely want to bounce back. We have the will and opportunity to prove we can play better and we can make steps forward. We’re up against a team who has a good roster, like us. They play very well, their serve is top quality and their block-dig department is superb. They have quality players like Juantorena and Sokolov. This will be a tough game, but I think this will be a good show thanks to the many stars on court. Hopefully, we’ll play better and take points. We need them because we’re far away from the leaders. We have to start now, we must all do a little something more, try to find the rhythm we’ve been looking for and missing of late ».
Club Italia Crai Roma is still without a point after four rounds. They’ll look for a breakthrough against Aversa. In the last round Totire’s men went close to come back from 2-0 down to 2-2 at home against ortona, while Aversa won on the road against Lagonegro.
Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro will try to bounce back from the poor outing against Aversa in a second consecutive home game against Santa Croce. The latter needs to get back on track after a loss in the Tuscan derby against Siena which lasted hardly 80 minutes.
Alessano will be on court on Sunday at 12am against Tuscania. The hosts could not get a point out of the Apulia derby in Castellana Grotte (0-3), while Tuscania was severely defeated in Civitanova which ruined their unbeaten run. They had won the first set but Potenza took the next three. This will be their second consecutive road game.
Siena is rolling over any opponent that dare to present itself. They are unbeaten after four ‘clean sheets’ in four games. They take their perfect record against Potenza Picena, who has taken points in the last three games, the latest won 3-1 over Tuscania.
Ortona is looking for consistency following the 3-1 win in the capital against Club Italia. In their first home game they had lost 3-1 against Santa Corce and now they will try to do better against BCC Castellana Grotte, the only team who manage to keep up with Siena. Lorizio’s men want to beat Ortona and Club Italia in order to reach the game against Siena with maximum points.
Bottom of the blue group but with the away game against Spoleto in hand, Castellana Grotte entertains Bergamo. The latter has a promising roster but was stunned at the tie-break home in the last round against Mondovì. They have only four points and are looking to get on track with a road victory.
Very tough test for Civita Castellana against a newly promoted side that has a huge potential. Spanakis’ men are coming off a 3-1 win in Grottazzolina, which made it two straight victories. Their opponents of the day from Spoleto had to train in a different gym due to the earthquake alert. They have only lost once so far as Morelli and Vanini will make their hundredth appearance in regular season.
Cantù is back on top of the standings thanks to a comfortable road win against Montecchio Maggiore in which 17-year-old setter Cordano stood out. The young propspect was thrown in due to Gerosa’s injury and the latter is still doubtful. Cantù will play host to Reggio Emilia, 3-0 winners of Brescia in the last round. Dolfo could make it a thousand point in regular season.
Last Sunday Grottazzolina registered its first home loss against Civita Castellana but they will have another chance to play in its gym against Mondovì. The latter lost in Brescia in the second round before registering back to back win at home against Montecchio Maggiore and away at the tie-break in Bergamo. Cattaneo is doubtful as he was bitten by a dog on his hand.
In spite of its severe defeat in Reggio last week, Brescia is still close to the leaders. Zambonardi’s men will try to make the most of playing home when they take on Montecchio Maggiore, who had a superb start to the season before being beaten in straight sets in Mondovì and letting Cantù back in the game after having built a good lead.
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 5 – WHITE GROUP
Saturday 5 November at 8.30pm
Club Italia Crai Roma – Sigma Aversa Live on Lega Volley Channel
Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro – Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 6 November at 12am
Aurispa Alessano – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
6pm
Emma Villas Siena – GoldenPlast Potenza Picena Live on Lega Volley Channel
7.30pm
Sieco Service Ortona – BCC Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
Standings white group
Emma Villas Siena 12, BCC Castellana Grotte 12, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 7, Sigma Aversa 6, GoldenPlast Potenza Picena 6, Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce 6, Sieco Service Ortona 5, Aurispa Alessano 5, Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro 1, Club Italia Crai Roma 0
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 5 – BLUE GROUP
Sunday 6 November at 4pm
Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte – Caloni Agnelli Bergamo Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 6 November at 6pm
Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana – Monini Spoleto Live on Lega Volley Channel
Pool Libertas Cantù – Conad Reggio Emilia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Videx Grottazzolina – VBC Mondovì Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 6 November at 7.30pm
Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia -Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore Live on Lega Volley Channel
Standings Blue group
Pool Libertas Cantù 9, VBC Mondovì 7, Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana 7, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 7, Monini Spoleto 6, Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore 6, Conad Reggio Emilia 5, Videx Grottazzolina 4, Caloni Agnelli Bergamo 4, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 2
1 game in hand: Monini Spoleto, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte
