Two rounds to go to secure a place in the italian cup and some battles garanteed in this round 12.
Twelveth in the league, Sora is aiming to qualify for the cup. They need a win today against Padova, currently 8th.
Sixth with 19 points, Verona wants to stop its four game losing streak. In order to focus fully on their coming game against Perugia after their loss in straight sets in Civitanova, players and coach stayed away from the media this week. But Perugia is one of the worst clients to meet right now. The block devils won their last five games and comfortably beat Latina in the last round.
Last weekend Civitanova showed once again all its winning mentality when they regained first place thanks to a dominant performance against Verona. They will take on Molfetta, who had a dream of a tenth round with a 3-1 victory over Modena, which was quickly forgotten because of a loss in Monza last week.
Trentino gave it a good fight in Modena and snatched a point against the Italian champions, though they lost their first place in the table. They will hope for Civitanova to stumble while they beat Monza. Fromm will make his 100th appearance in the league for the visitors. He is close to 100 aces and 1500 points.
A meeting with president Lucio Fusaro took place in Milan to talk about the negative spell of the team, which is coming off two 3-0 defeats against Sora and Ravenna. Milan entertains Latina, bottom of the league but just one point behind the hosts. Latina lost its last encounter on Wednesday in Perugia.
Since the third round, Piacenza has won 8 of its last 9 regular season games. They won their last two games on a 3-0 score at home against Ravenna and in Padova. Fifth in the league, they will play host to Modena, who’s been losing ground on Civitanova and Trento. However, Piazza’s men got back to winning ways in the last round holding off Trento for a 3-2 win.
It’s never a comfortable evening for Vibo when they meet Sora. They fell two sets behind before fighting back, but eventually surrendered at the tie-break. This stopped a run of three straight victories. Vibo, who completed a trade of setters with Materdomini this week, will face Ravenna, coming off a sweep against Milan. A relief for Soli’s men after four consecutive defeats.
SuperLega UnipolSai round 12
Friday 25 at 8.30pm
Biosì Indexa Sora – Kioene Padova Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Sunday 27 November at 4pm
Calzedonia Verona – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live on RAI Sport from 4.30
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Sunday 27 November at 6pm
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
Diatec Trentino – Gi Group Monza Live on Lega Volley Channel
Revivre Milano – Top Volley Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
LPR Piacenza – Azimut Modena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Bunge Ravenna Live on Lega Volley Channel
League table
Cucine Lube Civitanova 28, Diatec Trentino 27, Azimut Modena 25, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 22, LPR Piacenza 21, Calzedonia Verona 19, Gi Group Monza 18, Kioene Padova 13, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 12, Bunge Ravenna 11, Exprivia Molfetta 11, Biosì Indexa Sora 9, Revivre Milano 8, Top Volley Latina 7
Calzedonia Verona – Sir Safety Conad Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 20 (14-6 Perugia)
Angiolino Frigoni (Sport director Calzedonia Verona): “We’re going through a difficult period, and this game against Perugia will be tough. Right now I am not thinking that much about the result but my desire to see the boys react and fight ».
Emanuele Birarelli (Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “It will be extremeley tough in Verona on Sunday. They will be so keen to bounce back at home. It’s always a battle against them with long games. I’m sure ingredients that will not go amiss on Sunday will be fighting spirit and intensity, we’ll have to be ready ».
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Exprivia Molfetta
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 6 (5-1 Molfetta)
Davide Candellaro (Cucine Lube Civitanova): “Since the change of coach Molfetta has had some excellent performances against top teams like Perugia and Modena. We’ll have to be very careful, our opponents will have nothing to lose and they’ll surely be at their best. This is the case for all the teams that play against us, and it’s normal. The work done during the week help us reach our best during games and limit our weaknesses ».
Marco Vitelli(Exprivia Molfetta): “We have worked on a few things after the Monza game, in which we have not been clinical in the second set. Now we’ll have two consecutive games against top teams but let’s take one at a time. I will see a lot of friends in Civitanova, it will be strange to play against Civitanova, but I know I will play with maximum competitive spirit ».
Diatec Trentino – Gi Group Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 4 (All Trento)
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach Diatec Trentino): “Our regular season has been positive so far, but now we have two games that could make it even better. We have an opportunity to get into a great position, useful for the league as well for the Italian cup. All our energy is on Sunday’s match against Monza, and then against Molfetta. We proved we were not in the first places by chance. Our players have done a superb job in this first half of season ».
Donovan Dzavoronok (Gi Group Monza): “We had a good victory over Molfetta and now we’re up against one of the best teams in the league. Trento has top quality players and they’ll be home. This is defeinitely an arena with one of the great atmospheres in Italy. We trained with focus this week, we know how strong our opponents are but we have quality too. Our goal is to try to get precious points for the cup. We’ll face this game without pressure but with a lot of determination. If we could play like against Modena, this would be fantastic ».
Revivre Milano – Top Volley Latina
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 6 (5-1 Latina)
Luca Monti (coach Revivre Milano): “This is not a good moment for us, we have lost other players through injury this week and we’re trying to get others back to fitness. It should not be an excuse, I expect the team to give it a good fight and be more positive than in recent outings. Latina is a tough team to beat. They have a very important pair of setter-outside hitter with Sottile and Fei, they have two experienced middle blockers and two good spikers. Not easy for us as we’re coming off two rather negative matches in which we did not express our best volleyball. We have some pressure on and that’s why I ask the players to work hard and give everything they’ve got ».
Daniele Bagnoli (coach Top Volley Latina): “For a start we have to say that Milan is one of those teams we can beat, which makes it an important game for them too as they need good results like us. The points at stake will be worth double. This will be a difficult game against a team going through a tough time. As for us, we have to put all our energy into this encounter ».
LPR Piacenza – Azimut Modena
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 33 (18-15 Piacenza)
Alberto Giuliani (coach LPR Piacenza): “We have two fondamental games for the Italian cup ahead. The league is tough this season, each game has its share of unexpected and difficulties. We face each game as if it was an in-or-out final. We have been gaining consistency, we have improved in every fundamentals and especially in reception. We played well against Trento, we stayed focused. In Padova, our rhythm was not as good but we did a good job in the clutch time. We will be united, determined and focused like in every other game, as if it was a final. Our goal is to get maximum points, play like we’ve done until now and try to get better and better ».
Roberto Piazza (coach Azimut Modena): “There are no easy games in this league, I don’t think there has been any tighter season in the past twenty years. We have two tricky games ahead, starting with Piacenza. We’ll play them at their best. They’ve been doing well both at home and away. But we’re in good shape too, this should be a great game to watch. We could have sealed the game against Trento earlier, I was disappointed with a few plays but it’s in the past and that was a good victory. We have worked on some schemes during the week. Our goal is to finish in the top three at the half-way point of the regular season ».
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Bunge Ravenna
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 6 (4-2 Vibo Valentia)
Marco Izzo (Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia): “We’re facing a very tough game against a very young squad but who played excellent volleyball, led by their enthusiasm. We’ll have to play to the best of our abilities and be clinical. I settled in very quickly in Vibo, the whole group in motivated for this important match we don’t want to lose ».
Fabio Soli (coach Bunge Ravenna): “We’re taking one day at a time. The game against Vibo is as crucial as the one against Milan. We try to learn from past experiences, we’re trying to be as consistent as in the last game and avoid the mistakes made against Piacenza. They have a lot of alternatives in the roaster so it’s better for us to focus on ourselves and try to play our best volley. We’ll need to make the most of the opportunities we’ll have. They will have the fans on their side and they have serve and attack as their main strength. We’ll need patience and try to play on Vibo’s weaknesses ».
Games are becoming more and more important in the race to qualify for the Italian cup in the Serie A2, scheduled on December 15. Two games left to play and the aim is to get into the top four of each group.
Bottom of the table and still without a point after seven rounds, Club Italia will try to upset Potenza Picena. The latter showed all its talent but with back-outs too. While Club Italia lost away against Lagonegro in the last round, Potenza lost its last two games at the tie-break in spite of having a 2-0 lead.
Fourth with 13 points after a roller-coaster win in Tricase, Aversa plays host to Santa Croce, fifth in the group. Bertini’s men are coming off two consecutive losses, 3-0 home vs Alessano and 3-2 on the road against Tuscania.
Ortona has hardly got the time to celebrate Sunday’s come-back against Potenza Picena that it had to deal with the bad new on spiker Peda, who had to carry out surgery on his left leg. After a poor start to the season, Lagonegro has stepped up. They won their last two games, coming from behind to beat Potenza Picena and a 3-0 home versus Club Italia. Last minute newt entry for Laginegro with setter François Zonno, last seen in Tricase in the B2 division.
Alessano proved it had a great potential in the sixth round when it won in Santa Croce, but it was clear they still needed consistency when they lost at home against Aversa at the tie-break. The southerners will take on Siena, who regained first place thanks to a straight set win over Castellana Grotte in the last round. Padura Diaz is the second most prolific spiker in the Serie A2.
Castellana Grotte conceded its first defeat of the season in the tricky road game against Siena in the last round. Still, it remains the main surprise of the season so far. They will try to stay unbeaten at home when they host Tuscania, third thanks a 3-1 win over Siena followed by a tie-break victory against Santa Croce.
On Saturday night in the blue group, Montecchio Maggiore will play host to Bergamo. Marconi’s men are 9th in the group but given how tight it is, anything is possible testimony the defeat that only came at the tie-break against Castellana Grotte. Bergamo is also coming off a marathon loss on the road, against Grottazzolina.
Brescia will try to use those last two games to get back in the first place they lost away from home on a 3-0 score against the new leader Civita Castellana. Brescia traded setter with Vibo. Ugo Buzzelli came in while Marco Izzo went the other way. They will take on Materdomini Castellana Grotte, bottom but coming off a tie-break win against Montecchio Maggiore.
Cantù is going through a difficult period. They have only won one set in the past three games. Stuck with 9 points, Della Rosa’s men will try to bounce back against Grottazzolina, 8th following two come-back victories at the tie-break, against Montecchio Maggiore and Bergamo.
Civita Castellana is enjoying its first place with a two-point advantage on three-followers. Spanakis’ men took the lead thanks to a strong performance over Brescia. They will play a second home game running against Mondovì, who was joint leader with Brescia before its four set loss against Reggio Emilia.
Sixth in the group, Reggio Emilia aims for a spot in the cup. In the last round, they made the breakthrough in Mondovì and now they will take on Spoleto, who bounced back from a severe home loss against Brescia with a three-point win in Cantù.
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 8 – WHITE GROUP
Saturday 26 November at 8.30pm
Club Italia Crai Roma – GoldenPlast Potenza Picena Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 27 November at 4pm
Sigma Aversa – Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 27 November at 6pm
Sieco Service Ortona – Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro Live on Lega Volley Channel
Aurispa Alessano – Emma Villas Siena Live on Lega Volley Channel
BCC Castellana Grotte – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
White group standings
Emma Villas Siena 18, BCC Castellana Grotte 18, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 15, Sigma Aversa 13, Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce 10, Aurispa Alessano 9, Sieco Service Ortona 8, GoldenPlast Potenza Picena 8, Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro 6, Club Italia Crai Roma 0
Serie A2 UnipolSai Round 8- BLUE GROUP
Saturday 26 November at 8.30pm
Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore – Caloni Agnelli Bergamo Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 27 November at 12am
Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia – Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 27 November at 6pm
Pool Libertas Cantù – Videx Grottazzolina Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 27 November at 7.30pm
Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana – VBC Mondovì Live on Lega Volley Channel
Conad Reggio Emilia – Monini Spoleto Live on Lega Volley Channel
Blue group standings
Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana 15, VBC Mondovì 13, Monini Spoleto 13, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 13, Caloni Agnelli Bergamo 11, Conad Reggio Emilia 11, Pool Libertas Cantù 9, Videx Grottazzolina 8, Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore 8, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 4
