On a five game winning streak, Trentino is travelling to newly promoted Loreto. Just two points behind, Modena keeps chasing and it has a game in hand. It will play this Saturday against Cuneo at 4.30pm and it’s live on Rai Sport Più. In third position thanks to three points gathered in Forli, Piacenza heads to Latina, which will also be live on Rai Sport Più. This third position is also occupied by Treviso, which will be rested this Sunday. Macerata will try to come back from Forli with a result in order to stay in the race for the league title, while there will be a few meetings between mid-table teams: Verona versus Vibo Valentia, Taranto vs Monza. Pineto entertains Perugia for its second consecutive home game.
Round 8
Saturday 24 October at 4.30
Trenkwalder Modena – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo Live on Rai Sport Più
(Pasquali-Caltabiano)
Sunday 25 October at 6
Andreoli Latina – CoprAtlantide Piacenza Live on Rai Sport Più
(Santi-Cipolla)
Yoga Forlì – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
(Puecher-Saltalippi)
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Itas Diatec Trentino
(Bartolini-Satanassi)
Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
(Boris-Perri)
Prisma Taranto – Acqua Paradiso Monza
(Rapisarda-Sampaolo)
Marmi Lanza Verona – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
(Pessolano-Barbero)
Sisley Treviso – RESTED
League table
Itas Diatec Trentino 18, Trenkwalder Modena 16, Sisley Treviso, CoprAtlantide Piacenza 13, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 12, Marmi Lanza Verona, Prisma Taranto 10, Lube Banca Marche Macerata, Acqua Paradiso Monza, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 9, Esse-ti Carilo Loreto 8, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia 7, Andreoli Latina 6, Yoga Forlì 3, Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto 1.
Note: 1 game in hand: Trenkwalder Modena, Prisma Taranto, Lube Banca Marche Macerata, Acqua Paradiso Monza, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia, Yoga Forlì; 2 games in hand: Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto.
Trenkwalder Modena – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
PASTE ENCOUNTERS: 59 (33-26 Modena)
Silvano Prandi (Trenkwalder Modena): “This will be one of the most difficult game of the season: this is a well-balanced and strong team in every area of the court, I especially fear their serve. This is an encounter that worries me a bit because this is the strongest team we’ve met so far. This will be an important test for us, we will see where we stand. We are confident thanks to the points gathered so far, this allow us to chase our target with more and more determination, but that’s it: We are only in October and there is still a long way to go. Let’s focus on improving day by day”.
Giuseppe Patriarca (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “Tomorrow, we’ll face another tough task. Modena re-created a good set-up, so we’ll surely face a heated atmosphere. We’ll try to do well. Personally, I think I took positively all the opportunities that came my way. I think we can both improve as individuals and as a team”.
Andreoli Latina – CoprAtlantide Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 16 (9-7 Piacenza)
Roberto Rondoni (Andreoli Latina): “The arrival of Piacenza should motivate us. We will face great champions, the fans will see Novica Bjelica again, he left good memories here. Latina can be proud to have discovered him, given that it was his first year in Italy. It will be a tough game, but entertainment guaranteed”.
Novica Bjelica (CoprAtlantide Piacenza): “I’m always happy to go back to Latina, I played the my first seasons there: They gave me the possibility to show off my skills as an athlete, but I humanely learnt a lot too. My first son was born there too. Latina is a mix of young and experienced players. They won the games against teams fighting to stay up, which means they can play more freely, and they have their great fans to push them. It will not be easy for us. I’m in good form right now, I had time to work on certain aspects of the game and it’s starting to pay off”.
Yoga Forlì – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 12 (1 successo Forlì, 11 successi Macerata)
Piero Molducci (Yoga Forlì): “We did well for at least a set and a half against Piacenza. Then, the absence of Maric made itself noticed. Macerata is a really strong team. Let’s try to play our game and see what happens. From Monday, we’ll start to prepare the away game in Monza.
Andrea Bartoletti (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “We have to take the three points, in order to build on the result obtained last Sunday in Treviso and stay in the top part of the league table. Forli is a good team, which should not be underestimated. They fight to stay up and to do so, their priority will be to gain points at home, so we’ll have to be careful”.
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Itas Diatec Trentino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Luciano Serenelli (Presidente Esse-ti Carilo Loreto): “We were going through a good moment of form but then this traffic accident to Van Dijk and Andrii Diachkov, who are fortunately Ok despite the shock, came along. We’ll try to play our game on Sunday against Trento, even if the team is certainly not at its best psychologically. Still, I’m convinced that whoever gets on court will give his best to play a good game, they owe it to the fans, who will be there as ever”.
Raphael (Itas Diatec Trentino): “Loreto is getting better, they are playing good volleyball and in the last few rounds, they’ve been adding up points. They’ve shown the best of them on their home court, which is why we will need to be careful, and focused to the maximum. You can’t afford to relax for an instant in this league. Our target is to get more points, so that we can turn our minds nicely to the FIVB Club World Championship in Doha without worrying about the league”.
Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (2 successi Perugia)
Manuele Ravellino (Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto): “Perugia is a strong team. We should not be fooled by their up-and-down start to the league. They will fight for the top spots of the table. We want to build on last Wednesday’s good performance, adding points to our tally. We prefer to think that we gained a point in Verona rather than lost two. We need to think positive in order to perform well against a team of Perugia’s level”
Claudio Sciurpa (Presidente RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia): “In the last few games, I liked the changed attitude on court from the team. The boys realised a great comeback in Cuneo too, though not completed. We lack that little killer touch, which I’d like to see in the next few games, starting against Pineto. The next four encounters are must-win games if we don’t want to find ourselves in a difficult situation at the halfway point of the season”.
Prisma Taranto – Acqua Paradiso Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Vincenzo Nacci (Prisma Taranto): “We will have to play at our best to get the win. Monza is a well-organised team. They have a setter-outside hitter combination that works just fine given that Travica and Gavotto play together in the Italian national team too. They also have two excellent middleblockers and an effective libero. They might be lacking a bit on the wings but I think that overall this is a well-balanced team. We have to play our game, remaining composed and lucid during the whole game”.
Mauro Berruto (Acqua Paradiso Monza): “We are facing a very ambitious team. They have great players and they managed to create a good chemistry. They are solid and strong in attack. This is why it will be even more crucial for us to be humble. Let’s think one step at a time, building on Wednesday’s performance against Latina”.
Marmi Lanza Verona – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 17 (9-8 Verona)
Bruno Bagnoli (Marmi Lanza Verona): “Vibo is a well-structured team that can make it to the playoffs. They have top class players, they did a great job on the market this summer. I think we can win it, it will surely be tight, definitely an entertaining game to watch. It’s a classic, we’ve been playing against them for years, even in the A2. It’s a club we respect, it’s always nice to meet them on court. Vibo has great potential, physically strong, they are excellent on the serve and we will have to try to contain them, and especially release our pressure on them”.
Antonio Corvetta (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “We are happy with the win against Loreto, a game that had become difficult for us. Unfortunately, you can’t always be at the top and some bad spells can happen despite the real potential of each player. We want the win on Sunday! Verona has had a lot of ups and downs so far so this will be a bit of a surprise. It will be a tough game, we have to stay focused and try to be as accurate as possible. It will be important to understand the game and be positive, cutting down on mistakes as much as possible”.
Serie A2 TIM 5th round
On Sunday night, Snai Sat’s Tv cameras will be at the Palabertoni for the Crema versus Santa Croce game (8.20pm). The team rested this weekend is Bologna, joint-leader with Roma, which will face newly promoted Ravenna, in second place just two points adrift. Second as well is Castellana Grotte, which heads to Padova. In third position, Cavriago and Città di Castello will both play away from home respectively against Massa Verislia and Gioia del Colle. Isernia entertains Bassano, while Sora travels to Mantova.
Round 5
Sunday 25 October at 6
Pallavolo Padova – BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte
(Carrara-Florian)
Nava Gioia del Colle – Città di Castello Pallavolo
(Turtù-Feriozzi)
Canadiens Mantova – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora
(Trevisan-Toso)
Katay Geotec Isernia – Bassano Volley
(Vagni–Pignataro)
M. Roma Volley – Marcegaglia Ravenna
(Orpianesi–Perdisci)
Quasar Massa Versilia – Edilesse Cavriago
(Cardaci-Venturi)
Sunday 25 October at 8.30pm
Samgas Crema – Codyeco S. Croce Live on SNAI Sat
(Prati-Simbari)
Zinella Bologna – RESTED
League table
M. Roma Volley, Zinella Bologna 10, Marcegaglia Ravenna, BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 8, Edilesse Cavriago, Città di Castello Pallavolo 7, Samgas Crema, Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora 5, Katay Geotec Isernia 4, Nava Gioia del Colle, Canadiens Mantova, Codyeco Santa Croce, Pallavolo Padova, Bassano Volley 3,Quasar Massa Versilia 2.
Note: 1 game in hand: Marcegaglia Ravenna, Samgas Crema, Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora, Nava Gioia del Colle, Canadiens Mantova, Bassano Volley
