SERIE A1 TIM
TRENTO in Piacenza to keep first place
With just six games to play before the end of the season, every game and every point are extremely important. At the top, three teams have already secured their playoffs spot: Trnetino, Cuneo and Macerata. As for the rest, there is still everything to play for.
League leaders Trentino travles to Piacenza, game that will be live on Sky on Sunday at 7pm. Both have played in the Champions League in midweek and will meet for the 22nd time. Hristo Zlatanov was reste din the Cup game and is still doubtful. On the other hand, Endres Murilo got back in training and will be fit to play with Modena against Pineto.
Cuneo will face the team that last defeated them: Forli. Cuneo lost 3-1 but then went on to win the 12 following games, and we’re still counting.
Perugia is looking for the fourth place as it travels to Treviso. Both teams are in their best form of the season.
Macerata hosts a Padova team that is desperate for points as it fights for survival.
Tight game expected ahead between Verona and Montichiari. Berruto’s team is determined to take revenge on Giuliani’s who beat them earlier this season 3-0.
Vibo Valentia’s new coach Jon Uriarte will make his debut on Monday night against Martina Franca.
SERIE A1 TIM – 21st Round fixtures
Sunday 15 February at 6pm
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Yoga Forlì
(Rapisarda – Puecher)
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Antonveneta Padova
(Perri – Caltabiano)
Trenkwalder Modena – Framasil Pineto
(Pessolano – Santi)
Marmi Lanza Verona – Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari
(Satanassi – Gnani)
Sisley Treviso – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
(Boris – Padoan)
Sunday 15 february at 7pm
Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza – Itas Diatec Trentino LIVE ON SKY SPORT 2
(Saltalippi – Cipolla)
Monday 16 February at 8.30pm
Stamplast Martina Franca – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia LIVE ON SKY SPORT 2
(Sampaolo – Pasquali)
TABLE
Itas Diatec Trentino 46, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 45, Lube Banca Marche Macerata 42, Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza 39, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia 38, Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari 35, Sisley Treviso 32, Marmi Lanza Verona 30, Stamplast Martina Franca 22, Trenkwalder Modena 22, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 21, Framasil Pineto 20, Yoga Forlì 17, Antonveneta Padova 11.
BRE BANCA LANNUTTI CUNEO – YOGA FORLI
Past encounters: 7 (5-2 Cuneo).
First leg: Yoga Forlì – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-23)
Record chasers: Wout Wijmans will celebrate his 300th game (league and cup) against Forli. Valerio Curti needs 11 points to reach a thousand. Francesco Fortunato is 5 blocks away from the 400 in the league. Peter Platenik is 9 spikes from the 500 in regular season.
Wout Wijsmans (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “Forli represents our last defeat so we’re eager to take revenge. I remember that in the first leg, we had taken the first set before fading, they took advantage and won the game. Even i they are last from bottom now, we’ll have to be focused to avoid any kind of bad surprises”.
Hubert Henno (Yoga Forlì): “Last Sunday’s game disappointed us, it always hurts to lose at home. Still, we made most of our points away from home, so we’ll try to give our best in Cuneo. We still have a chance to stay up, and I think that with a little bit more luck we could make it. As players, we have to do our part, we training hard, hopefully we’ll have a good performance”.
LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA – ANTONVENETA PADOVA
Past encounters: 32 (26-6 Macerata).
First leg: Antonveneta Padova – Lube Banca Marche Macerata 1-3 (25-16, 26-28, 10-25, 23-25)
Record chasers: Martin Lebl is just 5 blocks from the 500 in the league. Igor Omrcen will reach the 2500 points in regular season if he scores six more and he only needs one block for the 400 in career. Sebastian Swiderski is looking for its 100th ace. In his 400 appearance in the Serie A, Valerio Vermiglio, could get the two missing spikes to reach 500 in his career. The best server of the leaguem Robert Kromm, will try to score his 100th ace in regular season.
Igor Omrcen (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “I’ve watched Padova on Monday night agaionst Verona, they had a great performance on the serve, which they will surely try to repeat against us. They desperatly need points, we’ll definitely have to work extremely hard to make them surrender. We’ve always done well at home this season, hopefully this will be true once more, be that in terms of result or performance. The defeat against Cuneo means it will be very tough to get the first place, but we have to believe in it right till the end”.
TRENKWALDER MODENA – FRAMASIL PINETO
Past encounters: 1 (Pineto won it).
First leg: Framasil Pineto – Trenkwalder Modena 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22)
Record chasers: Andrea Sartoretti could score his 800th ace in his 500th appearance in the Serie A. Luca Tencati is two points away from the 1500 spikes in career.
Cristian Casòli (Trenkwalder Modena): “It will be a tough game on Sunday, btu we have to win. Pineto is a quality team with good technique and they never give up. We’ll have to be extremely focused. We need to be more consistent, we are working hard in training on that aspect: on our concentration to keep playing constantly at a high level. Personally, I’m very happy to be back in Modena, the level is excellent, I’m really enjoying playing here. Still, the most important thing is the team and now we all really want to win again”.
Davidson Lampariello (Framasil Pineto): “We’re preparing well Sunday’s game. Many of us are feeling an extra motivation, all the more so since we’re getting close to the end of the season, every game becomes fundamental. It will be a tough game. Despite its league position, Modena has a good squad. Still, we’ll give it our best to get a result”.
MARMI LANZA VERONA – ACQUA PARADISO GABECA MONTICHIARI
Past encounters: 9 (6-3 Montichiari).
first leg: Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari – Marmi Lanza Verona 0-3 (23-25, 25-27, 21-25).
Record chasers: Rob Bontje could not only score his 100th ace but also reach the 1000 points in the league with 10 more. Daniel Howard is looking for its 100th ace too.
Simone Parodi (Marmi Lanza Verona): “It will be a crucail games for the playoffs qualfication. We’re glad to be back playing at home, and we’re inviting all our fans to come and support us. Montichiari is an excellent team, well organised in attack and at the net. That’s one of the reasons why we have to try to play as well as in the first leg, which was surely one of our best performances”.
Mauro Berruto (Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari): “Sunday’s game is a very important one because we’re approaching the end of the season. Even if we have a good margin, it’s important to keep our positive streak going. Verona is a direct opponent in the race for the playoffs, this is a team that looks a lot like us. We’ve both had a very positive season so far. My players have not forgotten the defeat of the first leg, and I’m sure we’ll put in that little extra to get the three points at the PalaOlimpia”.
SISLEY TREVISO – RPA-LUIGIBACCHI.IT PERUGIA
Past encounters: 20 (17-3 Treviso).
First leg: RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia – Sisley Treviso 1-3 (25-21, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25).
Record chasers: Vigor Bovolenta could reach the 900 blocks in regular season with 4 more, which would make him the third in history to reach that number behind Giani and Gravina. Gustavo could get to 800 block in Italy if he scores two more.
Gustavo Endres (Sisley Treviso): “Important game for us to get points to move up the table, Perugia has been one of the most consistent teams in the return games and they have already beaten more thatn one big name. They’ll surely go for it with confidence. We’re still working to get where we should be but the latest outings proved we could react well in tough times. Everyone is giving his contribution in that way. It will be a real battle, we’ll have to be redy psychologically in order to be consistent and avoid ups and downs, which penalised us in the past. The aggressiveness on the serve and at the net could make the difference”.
Jan Stokr (RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia): “We’ll have to be focused in Treviso, it will be a tough game. We’ll won’t be thinking about them playing in Europe or missing players. There are six games to play, we shouldn’t look too much ahead but it would be nice to stay fifth”.
COPRA NORDMECCANICA PIACENZA – ITAS DIATEC TRENTINO
Past encounters: 21 (11-10 Trento).
First leg: Itas Diatec Trentino – Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 40-38).
Record chasers: Novica Bjelica will try to score the four points seperating him from the 1000 in the Serie A (league and Cup). Teammate Dunnes will celebrate his 100th appearance in the league. Emanuele Birarelli is 2 points away from the 1000 in the league. Cosimo Marco Piscopo needs two blocks to reach the 200 in the Serie A. The tallest player in the league, Leandro Vissotto is 6 spikes fron the 1000 in Italy.
Marco Meoni (Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza): “It will surely be a tough game against an in-form team. We’ll give it our best shot as always, even though we’re going through a tough patch because of the injuries. We don’t know yet what will be our starting six. Still, we give it all to try to get some points”.
Cosimo Marco Piscopo (Itas Diatec Trentino): “We’re facing one of the toughest game of the season in piacenza. We haven’t done much there in recent years apart from losing. No matter who plays for them, it will be a difficult one for us. We’ve both played in the Champions League this week and that will be another factor to take into account. I think that in the end, what could make the difference is the efficiency on the serve and the understanding between dig and net, because in attack both teams are really strong. We want the win to stay top”.
STAMPLAST MARTINA FRANCA – TONNO CALLIPO VIBO VALENTIA
Past encounters: 5 (3-2 Vibo Valentia).
First leg: Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Stamplast Martina Franca 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22).
Record chasers: Matej Cernic could reach the 2000 points in Serie A, he needs 9 more. Opponent Paolo Cozzi needs 6 points to get to the 2000 too.
Raphael Vieira De Oliveira (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “We played a good game against Treviso, so the spirit is high now and there is great will to do well against Martina Franca too. We’re facing a team that needs point to get away from the danger zone, just like us. I think whoever will have more composure in the key moments will win it”.
SERIE A2 TIM
All very tight at the top
In midweek, Santa Croce had come away from Bassano with a 3-1 win, and the rest of the games will take place this weekend as we’re getting closer to the end of the season.
There will be a crucial game between the two bottom teams of this league: Città di Castello and Castelfidardo. Earlier this season, Castelfidardo had won it at the tie-break.
Given that Latina is rested, and that the other two of the top three have already played, the following team will tryp to shorten the gap. Loreto is one of them. After losing against the new leaders last week, they travel to Castellana Grotte, one of the most feared team of this league but who is still looking for more consistency.
Behind, the match up between Isernia and Gioia del Colle will tell us who will be the best positioned to fight for fourth place. This should be a tight and extremely entertaining game between two of the most in-form teams of the moment.
Cavriago and Catania, both at 17 points, are still fighting to stay up. Both are closing in on that target but they will have to keep battling for every point to make sure they reach it. Massimo Dagioni’s boys plays host to Bologna while the the team from Sicily heads north to face Crema.
At 8.30pm, live on Snai Sat, Roma entertains Mantova.
22nd Round fixtures and refs
Played on Wednesday 11 February
Bassano Volley – Codyeco Santa Croce 1-3 (17-25; 25-16; 22-25; 21-25)
Sunday 15 February at 6pm
Gherardi Cartoedit Tratos C.di Castello – La Nef Castelfidardo
(Cassarino – Falzoni)
Olio Pignatelli Isernia – Nava Gioia del Colle
(Gentile – Valeriani)
Wayel Bologna – Edilesse Cavriago
(Zanussi – Contini)
Samgas Crema – Sp Catania
(Trevisan – Prati)
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Materdomini Volley.It Castellana Grotte
(Cappello – Prandi)
Sunday 16 February at 8.30pm
M. Roma Volley – Canadiens Mantova LIVE ON SNAI Sat
(Bartoloni – Frapiccini)
Rested: Andreoli Latina
TABLE
Codyeco S.Croce** 46, Andreoli Latina 44, Bassano Volley 43, Esse-Ti Carilo Loreto* 39, Olio Pignatelli Isernia 36, Nava Gioia del Colle 34, Canadiens Mantova* 32, Samgas Crema* 30, M. Roma Volley* 28, Wayel Bologna 25, Materdomini Volley.It Castellana Grotte 24, Edilesse Cavriago 17, Sp Catania 17, La Nef Castelfidardo 15, Gherardi Cartoedit Tratos C.di Castello* 14.
* 1 game in hand
**1 game more
