It’s been an intense week with the Italian Cup 8th of finals and now we’re back in the league starting this Friday night with Trentino versus Sora. The hosts will try to win to forget about the surprising loss in Vibo Valentia, while Sora is coming off a brilliant qualification into the cup quarters thanks to a 3-0 road win in Verona.
Latina will try to get rid of this uncomfortable position at the bottom as soon as possible. Anything is possible ahead of it clash with Ravenna as the league is very tight. Latina lost its last one in four sets in Verona, while Ravenna won 3-1 home against Padova before being close to the upset in the cup against Monza.
Beaten last weekend by PErugia 3-1, Piacenza bounced back in teh cup with a 3-1 success over Molfetta. Funnily enough, they will meet Perugia again in the cup quarter-finals. Coach Giuliani will challenge his former club and the current leader Civitanova. The latter is coming off a league win in straight sets over Monza.
Padova is looking to recover from a difficult period. Baldovin’s men lost four in a row and they were knocked out of the cup in Vibo Valentia. They will face Perugia, who has not lost a game since coach Lorenzo Bernardi took over. Massimo Caponeri has just joined the coaching staff. Last weekend, Perugia had the better of Piacenza in four sets. Zaytsev is one point away from 3000 in the league.
Molfetta goes back on court after the disappointing cup loss against Piacenza. Gulinelli’s men will take on Verona, whose coach Andrea Giani resigned on Wednesday after the home loss against Sora in the cup 8th of finals. Assistant coach Matteo De Cecco will take over for now. The last two league wins against Padova and Latina seemed to have got the team on track but the cup lost really hurt.
Second in the standings after their latest 3-0 road win over Sora, Modena continues to chase Civitanova. Piazza’s men will play host to Milan, who had a regenerating 3-1 victory over Molfetta last weekend.
Beretta will make his 200th appearance in league and cup as Monza is coming off a qualification into the cup quarter-finals thanks to a tie-break win home against Ravenna. Monza entertains Vibo Valentia, who made a breakthrough against Trento coming back from 2-0 down in the league before knocking Padova out of the cup on Wednesday.
SuperLega UnipolSai round 15
Venerdì 16 dicembre 2016, ore 20.30
Diatec Trentino – Biosì Indexa Sora Diretta RAI Sport 1
Diretta streaming su www.raisport.rai.it
Domenica 18 dicembre 2016, ore 18.00
Top Volley Latina – Bunge Ravenna Diretta RAI Sport 1
Diretta streaming su www.raisport.rai.it
LPR Piacenza – Cucine Lube Civitanova Diretta Lega Volley Channel
Kioene Padova – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Diretta Lega Volley Channel
Exprivia Molfetta – Calzedonia Verona Diretta Lega Volley Channel
Azimut Modena – Revivre Milano Diretta Lega Volley Channel
Gi Group Monza – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia Diretta Lega Volley Channel
League table
Cucine Lube Civitanova 35, Azimut Modena 33, Diatec Trentino 32, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 31, Calzedonia Verona 25, LPR Piacenza 24, Gi Group Monza 19, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 18, Bunge Ravenna 16, Kioene Padova 14, Biosì Indexa Sora 12, Exprivia Molfetta 12, Revivre Milano 12, Top Volley Latina 11
Top Volley Latina – Bunge Ravenna
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 11 (8-3 Ravenna)
Fabio Fanuli (Top Volley Latina): “We did not like what happened in Verona. We’re frustrated with the wasted opportunity. We really want to bounce back. Ravenna is a well-balanced team who plays good volleyball, especially now they have Lyneel back. We’re facing another battle, just like it was against the teams of our level. We want to prove that we deserve more than our current position in the standings. We have to fight and that is only up to us, then we’ll see what happens on court ».
Maurice Torres (Bunge Ravenna): “We’re coming off two consecutive league wins, which got us back in the race for the playoffs. We’re facing some very tough games against some of the strongest teams of the SuperLega. It will be complicated to take points against them like we did in the first half of season. The atmosphere is particular in Latina, it’s never easy to win there. We will try with the same determination as in Monza. In my opinion, Ravenna has the quality to reach the playoffs, a breakthrough which would give some sense to our season. We have to think about getting better and we’re working hard for it ».
LPR Piacenza – Cucine Lube Civitanova
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 42 (24-18 Macerata)
Simone Parodi (LPR Piacenza): “We cannot play like in the Cup 8th of finals against Molfetta. We showed some good volleyball in flashes last week against Perugia, this is what we have to show, leaving behind all the mistakes made in the cup. We cannot afford any mistake or inaccuracies against Civitanova. We’ll need some good serves to make it hard for Stankovic and co and be as aggressive as we can ».
Osmany Juantorena (Cucine Lube Civitanova): “This will be a difficult game. Piacenza has changed a lot since the first meeting in October. They got Marshall in and they proved they can do well against anyone. Obviously we’ll have to watch out for their Cuban stars, they will be motivated against us and against me. We have to stay focused on our game and play with a good attitude ».
Kioene Padova – Sir Safety Conad Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (5-2 Perugia)
Valerio Baldovin (coach Kioene Padova): “We have one of those mission impossible on Sunday, Perugia is the most in-form team in the SuperLega. Our goal must be to find balance and consistency. In the cup game against Vibo, I’ve noticed the will to get back on track from the boys. We’ll have to work hard to prepare for the coming games, and give everything we have, physically and mentally ».
Dore Della Lunga (Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “Padova made it really hard for us in our first meeting. We discovered new players in Italy like Shaw and Maar, they showed how strong and ready they were. Then they faded a bit but this is definitely a tricky game of us. We’ll need maximum focus, we’ll be on the road in yet another sold-out arena, which makes it even more difficult. We need points because every time you lose some, the followers are closing in on us and the one ahead escape. In recent games, we did an excellent job, we got closer to the top teams, we have to continue. I know I’m not original but when I talk about a game I can only say one thing : it has to be played like a final because as much as we might be seen as favourites at times, this does not mean anything anymore if you don’t play the right way on court ».
Exprivia Molfetta – Calzedonia Verona
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 9 (6-3 Verona)
Francesco Del Vecchio (Exprivia Molfetta): “We’re up against Verona who has no right to lose. But we must take points too to gain ground. We have to play like in our last game in Piacenza, where we did well. We have to be clinical at the end of sets. We can’t get it wrong at home ».
Angiolino Frigoni (Sport director Calzedonia Verona): “The loss against Sora left us an important scar, and that led to Giani’s resignation. What I expect is an important reaction from the team. The guys must play at their best, which they certainly did not on Wednesday in the Italian Cup ».
Azimut Modena – Revivre Milano
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (5 successi Modena)
Roberto Piazza (coach Azimut Modena): “Every game is difficult and has its share of surprises. It’s useless to think about Tuesday’s game. Milan has been having some injuries for some time, they made changes of roster, line-ups. They are finding their balance and it’s not easy to study them, so we’ll focus on ourselves. We have worked hard this week, we increased the load of work, and we’ll work hard today and tomorrow again. Next week will be tough. The game against Sora proved that the boys are doing an excellent job in training ».
Massimiliano De Marco (Assistant coach Revivre Milano): “The match against Modena is always special. It might not come at the best of time for us because we needed consistency in our results after our win over Molfetta. This will be our first game with our full squad so we’ll take it as a good training. This does not mean we’ll give up easily against Modena, on the contrary. We’ll try to show our determination just like against Molfetta. And we’ll try to do as well as in our first match against Modena. If Modena let us manœuvre a bit and we do a good job of making hard for them, then maybe we could aim for a result that could pump us up before the derby on December 26. We have trained well this week, with intensity. The players who were injured are finding their fitness bit by bit, it’s a good thing ».
Gi Group Monza – Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Monza)
Christian Fromm (Gi Group Monza): “This is definitely a different team than the one we met in the first half of season. We know it will be tough. They obtained great results and qualified for the cup quarters. They will be full of confidence and motivated to get a result. We have to play with the same determination as against Ravenna in the cup. All the games are important for the playoffs. What I like the most about our group is its capacity to react in the difficult times : we should never lose this quality ».
Waldo Kantor (coach Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia): “We’ve been playing well and the results are coming. But we have to be careful not to lower our standards and focus. The only way to have our chances is to give everything on every point with maximum determination. The wins over Trento and Padova have been important, but we have to put it behind us very quickly because the match against Monza is tough. This is a physically strong team that is well balanced. We’ll need a top performance ».
The Italian Cup quarter-finals had the first clashes between teams of the two groups. We’ll go back in the league this weekend with Club Italia taking on Alessano. The hosts are coming off a 3-0 road loss against Tuscania and are still looking for their first points of the season. Alessano will try to bounce back from a tie-break loss against Potenza Picena.
Knocked out of the cup in the tie-break by Civita Castellana, BBC Castellana Grotte has never lost in five games against its next opponent, Santa Croce. The latter had the better of Ortona in five sets in the last encounter.
A thrilling encounter led to a tie-break win in Tricase for Potenza Picena, who will play host to Aversa. The latter, who crashed out of the cup against Mondovì, strengthened its roster with the addition of De Paola.
Lagonegro is eager to bounce back from a tie-break loss conceded in the first meeting against Tuscania. The latter is coming off a straight set win at home against Club Italia, while it qualified for the cup semies for the second year running thanks to a 3-2 win in Spoleto.
Last from bottom of the group, Ortona surrendered in its last league game at the tie-break in Santa Croce. After three consecutive losses against Siena, they will try to turn things around against the Tuscan team, who’s top after its 3-0 win over Lagonegro. Tofoli’s men made it in the cup semis with a win over Brescia.
Civita Castellana is full of enthusiasm following their four-set league win on the road against Montecchio Maggiore and the cup qualification in the semi-finals thanks to a victory in the PalaGrotte arena. They will entertain Cantù, seventh.
Montecchio Maggiore has had its fair share of struggle after a good start to the season. Last from bottom, just one above the bottom team Grottazzolina, they will take on the leaders of Mondovì, who will be without outside hitter Paoletti, injured. Mondovì lost its last league game against Brescia before defeating Aversa in the cup quarter-finals 3-1.
Reggio Emilia is juts one point behind fifth place and is still in the race to make it into the promotion group. They’re coming off a tie-break defeat in Bergamo and want to bounce back against newly promoted Materdomini Castellana Grotte.
Grottazzolina had begun the season full of enthusiasm but the impact and intensity of this division has taken its toll as time went by. And Moretti’s injury made it all the more so difficult. They are bottom after a loss home against Spoleto and now they will take on Brescia, who was thrashed by Siena in the cup but who stand close to the leaders in the league as they chase a second win in a row.
Some out-of-control serving in the tie-break proved lethal for Spoleto in the cup quarters against Tuscania. But the team remains in the top part of the group in the league. They will try to make it four consecutive wins against the team of Bergamo who won its last two league games, taking two points in Montefiascona and home against Reggio. They’re fifth but just three points away from the top.
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 9 – WHITE GROUP
Saturday 17 December at 8.30pm
Club Italia Crai Roma – Aurispa Alessano Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 18 December at 12am
BCC Castellana Grotte – Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce Live on Lega Volley Channel
6pm
GoldenPlast Potenza Picena – Sigma Aversa Live on Lega Volley Channel
7.30pm
Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sieco Service Ortona – Emma Villas Siena Live on Lega Volley Channel
White group standings
Emma Villas Siena 27, BCC Castellana Grotte 26, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 23, Sigma Aversa 20, Kemas Lamipel Santa Croce 18, GoldenPlast Potenza Picena 14, Basi Grafiche Geosat Lagonegro 13, Aurispa Alessano 13, Sieco Service Ortona 11, Club Italia Crai Roma 0
Serie A2 UnipolSai round 12 – BLUE GROUP
Sabato 17 dicembre 2016, ore 20.30
Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana – Pool Libertas Cantù Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore – VBC Mondovì Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 18 December at 4pm
Conad Reggio Emilia – Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
6pm
Videx Grottazzolina – Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Monini Spoleto – Caloni Agnelli Bergamo Live on Lega Volley Channel
Blue group standings
VBC Mondovì 22, Monini Spoleto 22, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 22, Ceramica Globo Civita Castellana 19, Caloni Agnelli Bergamo 19, Conad Reggio Emilia 18, Pool Libertas Cantù 13, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 11, Sol Lucernari Montecchio Maggiore 10, Videx Grottazzolina 9
