The MVP award for the month of December went to Maurice Armando Torres. The Puerto Rican outside hitter from Ravenna scored 27 and 26 points respectively in round 13 and round 14. He will receive his award on Friday 13 January before the RAI Sport 1 live game between Ravenna and Molfetta (8.30pm).
The Friday night game
The excitement of the SuperLega comes back this Friday night after the thrill offered by the Italian Cup quarter-finals. Ravenna will try to obtain its first win of the new year. The breakthrough on the road in Modena in the Emilia derby was followed by two defeats without a set against Perugia and in Verona. The 8th place is five points away which means they will need maximum focus and a good performance from their December MVP, Torres, against Molfetta. The latter stands in tenth place but just one point behind Ravenna. They will try to move above their opponent of the day as they are coming off a 3-0 win over Padova.
League table
Cucine Lube Civitanova 47, Diatec Trentino 44, Sir Safety Conad Perugia 43, Azimut Modena 40, Calzedonia Verona 34, Gi Group Monza 28, LPR Piacenza 27, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 24, Bunge Ravenna 19, Exprivia Molfetta 18, Top Volley Latina 15, Kioene Padova 14, Revivre Milano 13, Biosì Indexa Sora 12
Bunge Ravenna – Exprivia Molfetta
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (4-3 Molfetta)
Fabio Soli (coach Bunge Ravenna): “This game is extremely important as this is a direct rival in the race for the playoffs. In order to stay in it, we need to get a positive result. They know the deal too. They are tough to play, they are aggressive, feisty, they’ll come to be the one to put the last ball on the floor. I expect it to be a nervous game, we’ll need to try to stay composed and keep belief in our abilities. We’ll have to work hard and be humble like we’ve done so many times this season ».
Alberto Polo (Exprivia Molfetta): “There’s a lot at stake against Ravenna, they stand just one point ahead. We prepared the game well because we’re still in the race for the playoffs and beating a direct rival would mean a lot. Coming back in the Pala De André as an opponent is definitely fascinating but I have to stay focused and play at my best. The game will be live on RAI so we really want to do well ».
