SERIE A1 TIM
ONE SPOT FOR VIBO OR VERONA
On Sunday 22nd March, the last round of the regular will take place. The positions between third and 6th have already been secured (Cuneo, Perugia, Piacenza and Montichiari in that order), while Padova and Forli are already certain to go down. On the other hand, Macerata and Trentino will play for the first place. Still the most important contest will be the one between Vibo Valentia and Verona, who will fight for the last playoff spot. The first one is on the road at Montichiari as it only needs one point to be sure to qualify. Verona’s task is harder as not only does it need to beat Forli but it also needs Vibo to lose 3-0 or 3-1.
SERIE A1 TIM – 26th ROUND
Played on Wednesday:
Sisley Treviso – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 27-25)
Sunday 22 March at 6pm
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza LIVE ON SKY SPORT 2
(Cipolla – Castagna)
Stamplast Martina Franca – Itas Diatec Trentino
(Ippoliti – Caldarola)
Marmi Lanza Verona – Yoga Forli
(Padoan – Sobrero)
Trenkwalder Modena – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
(Pol – Satanassi)
Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari
(Giani – Cappello)
Framasil Pineto – Antonveneta Padova
(Perri – Mastrodonato)
TABLE
Lube Banca Marche Macerata 56, Itas Diatec Trentino 55, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 53, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia 50, Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza 46, Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari 42, Sisley Treviso 38, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 36, Marmi Lanza Verona 34, Trenkwalder Modena 30, Stamplast Martina Franca 26, Framasil Pineto 25, Yoga Forli 20, Antonveneta Padova 17.
Note: 1 Game more: Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo, Sisley Treviso;
LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA – COPRA NORDMECCANICA PIACENZA
Past encounters: 14 (7wins each)
First leg: Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza – Lube Banca Marche Macerata 2-3 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 13-15)
Marko Podrascanin (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Given that Piacenza is certain to finish fifth and already knows its opponent in the quarter finals, it could look like the two teams will have a different motivational level. But Piacenza is a great team and when two big teams meet, they give their best to get the win, even if that was a friendly it would be so. We’ll obviously play with great determination. We worked hard to obtain the first place in regular season and we want to keep it”.
Angelo Lorenzetti (Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza): “Thanks to its first half of championship and its Italian Cup triumph, Macerata gained great confidence and its game has improved a lot. It will be an important test for us to understand what we’re capable of against such a big team. Bravo made his comeback on Sunday, he’s doing well but he will only go back to his level gradually. We’re working to have Zlatanov back to”.
STAMPLAST MARTINA FRANCA – ITAS DIATEC TRENTINO
Past encounters: 11 (6-5 Martina Franca)
First leg: Itas Diatec Trentino – Stamplast Martina Franca 2-3 (25-21, 22-25, 27-25, 23-25, 12-15)
Danilo Paglialunga (Ass coach Stamplast Martina Franca): “I remember well the first game against Trentino. It was one of my best game of the season because, following the departure of Bonitte, I sat on the bench in Trento and the team obtained an unexpected win. On Sunday, we want to say goodbye to our amazing fans with a good performance even if we have been relaxing a bit since we secured our place in the A1 for next season”.
Andrea Bari (Itas Diatec Trentino):”Even if this is the last game of the regular season, I think this will be a game like any other, where both team will try to obtain a good result. Martina Franca will definitely want to finish the season with a nice victory in front of its fans but we need the three points to keep our hopes to finish top alive. Besides, this games comes just four days before the start of the playoffs and it is therefore important to rehearse before the decisive part of the season. We lost at the tie-break earlier this season in a particular situation. Hopefully, now that we have everyone fit, this will be a different game”.
MARMI LANZA VERONA – YOGA FORLI
Past encounters: 14 (7 each)
First leg: Yoga Forli – Marmi Lanza Verona 0-3 (22-25, 17-25, 19-25)
Diego Flisi (Ass coach Marmi Lanza Verona): “Our main target is to finish as well as we can this regular season. We want to end this good season positively, trying to go for it right till the end. We want to finish on a good note for our fans that supported us all year long. Forli is not playing its best volleyball in this end of season. Still, it has experienced players: the libero, the two spikers, so we have to expect anything from them”.
Giovanni Gavelli (presidente Yoga Forli): “We can’t afford to lose in Verona. I�€�ve seen my team focused. It worked hard during the week to keep our league position and finish well the season. Shame for Rodriguez, the hero of Verona 2008. He started to jump and attack again but he’s not ready yet to be in the team”.
TRENKWALDER MODENA – RPA-LUIGIBACCHI.IT PERUGIA
Past encounters: 13 (8-5 Modena)
First leg: RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia – Trenkwalder Modena 1-3 (22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 18-25)
Emanuele Zanini (Trenkwalder Modena): “We have two excellent reasons to be motivated for Sunday’s game: The first one is that we want to say goodbye to our fans with a good performance after this difficult and unlucky season; the second is that we’ll face the most in-form team of the moment. Indeed, Perugia is the league leader of the return games with 11 wins out of the last 12, losing only 3-2 in Cuneo. In brief, we’ll do whatever possible to win”.
Giacomo Sintini (RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia): “It will be a relaxed encounter, at least on our part. I’d be lying if I said we were working for Modena’s game, but we earned this right to be relaxed. I’m sure the coach will make everyone play, to make sure some have a taste of the action and others don’t lose their rhythm. It will be an excellent test anyway because Modena will be keen to finish the season well in front of its fans and will put its feet on the pedal, while we’ll be playing to prepare the playoffs”.
TONNO CALLIPO VIBO VALENTIA – ACQUA PARADISO GABECA MONTICHIARI
Past encounters: 7 (5-2 Vibo Valentia)
First leg: Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 1-3 (26-28, 23-25, 25-16, 20-25)
Jon Uriarte (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “We are satisfied with the win we obtained in Padova. My players dealt with Simeonov’s absence very well. On Sunday, we will be facing the toughest game of the season, as it represents our pass to the playoffs. We must not underestimate our opponent. Montichiari has nothing to play for in the league table but they will surely not come to Vibo to have a walk in the park. They will want to finish the championship on a high, but if we play like we did in recent games, we should be able to do a good job”.
Daniel Howard (Acqua Paradiso Gabeca Montichiari): “It will be a very intense game on Sunday as I expect every playoff game to be”.
FRAMASIL PINETO ANTONVENETA PADOVA
Past encounters: 1 (Padova won it)
First leg: Antonveneta Padova – Framasil Pineto 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19)
Stefano Santuz (Sport director Antonveneta Padova): “We want to honour this shirt right until the end and we’ll go to Pineto to take the three points. To finish last from bottom would be important, in case a team was to be brought back up, but above all for the spirit of the group”.
SERIE A2 TIM
BIG GAMES AT BOTH ENDS OF THE TABLE
With four games to play for in the regular season, the games are becoming extremely important to define the league table. Some teams cannot afford to lose any points on the way, especially the ones fighting not to go down and no less than seven teams could be menaced. One of them is Cavriago, who came out of its direct encounter with three valuable points against Catania last week. This time, they will face the league leaders. Catania will play host to Castelllana Grotte, who is currently 10th and out of the playoff race. While Castelfidardo is rested, last from bottom Città di Castello will try to keep its hopes to stay up alive as it hosts Latina, who is in crisis following its fourth consecutive loss.
After two straight wins, Bassano entertains Bologna, who still has to look up over its shoulder. One of the top teams of the return games, Loreto, challenges Crema in the PalaSerenelli in one of the big match ups of this round. The hosts needs the win to try to catch up the leaders anta Croce. Mantova and Roma will try to get some points to make it to the playoffs as they respectively meet Gioia del Colle and Isernia.
SERIE A2 TIM – 27 ROUND
Sunday 22 March at 6pm
Sp Catania – Materdomini Volley.it Castellana Grotte
(Zucca – Marchello)
Gherardi Cartoedit Tratos Città di Castello – Andreoli Latina
(Florian – Carrara)
Bassano Volley – Wayel Bologna
(Andreoni – Bertoletti)
Codyeco S. Croce – Edilesse Cavriago
(Cerquoni – Balboni)
Canadiens Mantova – Nava Gioia del Colle
(Contini – Trevisan)
M. Roma Volley – Olio Pignatelli Isernia
(Feriozzi – Zingoni)
Sunday 22 March at 8.30pm
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Samgas Crema LIVE ON SNAI SAT
(Bellini – Turt�)
Rested: La Nef Castelfidardo
TABLE
Codyeco S.Croce 55, Esse-Ti Carilo Loreto 52, Bassano Volley 49, Andreoli Latina 45, Olio Pignatelli Isernia 43, Nava Gioia del Colle 42, Canadiens Mantova 41, Samgas Crema 36, M. Roma Volley 34, Materdomini Volley.it Castellana Grotte 31, Wayel Bologna 29, Sp Catania 27, Edilesse Cavriago 24, La Nef Castelfidardo 19, Gherardi Cartoedit Tratos C.di Castello 19.
Note: 1 Game more: Codyeco S.Croce, Materdomini Volley.it Castellana Grotte, Sp Catania, La Nef Castelfidardo;
