Serie A1 TIM Cup
Semi finals known
The quarter finals have been played yesterday and we now know the match ups of the semi finals that will take place on the 30th of January in Montecatini Terme.
TIM CUP A1 Final Four
Saturday 30 January at 3.30pm
1st Semi final TIM Cup A1
Itas Diatec Trentino – Trenkwalder Modena – Live on Rai Sport Più
Saturday 30 January at 6pm
2nd Semi final TIM Cup A1
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Sisley Treviso – Live on Rai Sport Più
Sunday 31 January at 6pm
Final TIM Cup A1 – Live on Rai Sport Più
Big crowds in semi finals
The fans heading to the gyms to follow the Italian Cup quarter finals proved how popular volleyball is. The record came from the PalaPanini with 3900 spectators. Trento follows with 3150, then there is Cuneo with 2550 and finally Treviso with 1500. The overall average was 2800 people attending. All in all a great success for this year’s formula with the quarters decided on one single game on the court of the best four classified teams at the halfway point of the league season.
Round 19 on Saturday and Sunday
Recent winners in the cup, Trentino, Cuneo and Treviso will immediately face tough tests, facing three of the four teams knocked out of the quarter finals: Trento versus Piacenza will be a remake of last season’s league final (Piacenza had won it), Cuneo will face Monza again, while Treviso will meet Macerata, which has just had its dream of a third consecutive cup triumph ruined. The fourth semi finalist, Modena, travels to Loreto. Serniotti takes over Montagnani as Taranto’s head coach and he will face Verona in its debut. Pineto and Forli will fight it out in a game with important points at stake for the bottom part of the league table.
Round 19
Saturday 2 January at 4pm
Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto – Yoga Forlì – Live Rai Sport Più
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Cinti-Cesare)
Sunday 3 January at 6pm
Itas Diatec Trentino – CoprAtlantide Piacenza – Live on Rai Sport Più
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Saltalippi-Santi)
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Sisley Treviso
(Rapisarda-Barbero)
Prisma Taranto – Marmi Lanza Verona
(Perri-Pessolano)
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Trenkwalder Modena
(Gnani-Ippoliti)
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Acqua Paradiso Monza
(Padoan-Satanassi)
Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Andreoli Latina
(Castagna-Caltabiano)
RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia – RESTED
Leagu table
Itas Diatec Trentino 45, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 39, Sisley Treviso 38, Lube Banca Marche Macerata, CoprAtlantide Piacenza 37, Trenkwalder Modena 34, Acqua Paradiso Monza 24, Marmi Lanza Verona, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia 23, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 20, Prisma Taranto 19, Andreoli Latina 12, Esse-ti Carilo Loreto 11, Yoga Forlì 10, Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto 6
1 incontro in meno: Acqua Paradiso Monza, Yoga Forlì, Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto
Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto – Yoga Forlì
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (3-2 Forli)
Nathan Roberts (Aran Cucine Abruzzo Pineto): “It will be an important game, maybe decisive. It’s useless to deny it: there will be the future of both teams at stake. This is the first of three games in which we will have to give our all to get as many points as possible to get back in with a chance to stay up. We will have the court advantage and the fact that we had a few extra days to rest and prepare the game on our part, because they played on the 27th. One more reason to push for a win”.
Manuel Coscione (Yoga Forlì): “We are training well, I’m sure we have put the Taranto game behind us. Still, we have to be stronger in the difficult spells of each game. We’re heading to Pineto aiming to take some points. We’re also counting a lot on our fans, who will follow the first game in 2010”.
Itas Diatec Trentino – CoprAtlantide Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 28 (15-13 Trento)
Leandro Vissotto (Itas Diatec Trentino): “2010 will immediately start with a big game, maybe not that important for the league position but surely crucial psychologically. We want to begin the new year the right way and a win against Piacenza would definitely be the perfect start. They won the league title but I think that right now the team to beat is Trento and not Piacenza, thanks as well to our recent triumph in the Club World Championship. This means they will be the ones to make the play, they will have nothing to lose. We will do as usual, trying to contain the opponent which will hit every ball as hard as possible”.
Giovanni Rossi (CoprAtlantide Piacenza): “Trento is a machine, its two spikers are doing extremely well (especially Juantorena), but what make the difference for them is their aggressiveness and their understanding as a team. They have changed the outside hitter in various occasions, they always manage to find a way to stop the opponent. We are looking for our best level, we have all our players back, now we have to find a good organisation on court. This game against Trento will also help us to prepare the decisive cup game in Athens. If we want to get a result in Greece, we’ll have to do well first in Trento, trying to play at our best and impose our game”.
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Sisley Treviso
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 51 (25 successi Macerata, 26 successi Treviso)
Igor Omrcen (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “The cup defeat is hard to take in, we really wanted to win it. But it’s part of the past, we have to look ahead of us with confidence. The game against Treviso is a great opportunity to bounce back and also an important game for the league table”.
Alessandro Fei (Sisley Treviso): “We are in great shape, we have put together a series of wins, shame we lost such an important player like Rob Bontje though (ankle), but even without him, we will be tough to beat in Macerata. Everyone will have to give a little something more, but we are in a moment of the season in which big games are coming fast and furious, and such difficulties are part of the game. It will be a good game, as it always is against Macerata, we’ll try to keep our winning streak going, even if it will be extremely tough”.
Prisma Taranto – Marmi Lanza Verona
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 9 (6-3 Verona)
Donald Suxho (Prisma Taranto): “In Forli, we told ourselves that we couldn’t keep playing poorly and lose. Now we have a chance to get back in the race for the playoffs with three home games, the first of which is Verona, against which we had a difficult game in our first meeting this season. We are ready to take revenge on that defeat”.
Robert Kromm (Marmi Lanza Verona): “We’ll need to play well in attack, trying to limit our mistakes and keep a high level of aggressiveness. It will be a very tense game, both teams need points for the playoffs. They will play with fighting spirit too, to add up to their last result, it won’t be easy”.
Esse-ti Carilo Loreto – Trenkwalder Modena
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 6 (Modena won all six)
Enrico Cester (Esse-ti Carilo Loreto): “Modena is the first of two home games. A difficult one, our opponent is strong but this shouldn’t stop us from fighting for points in our race to stay up, which is becoming more and more difficult. Despite the missing players, we’ll give it our best shot like we did in Verona, we’ll try to get points to keep fighting to stay up in the elite”.
Mikko Esko (Trenkwalder Modena): “The Cup game against Macerata was played with great intensity. We have to “reset” and get back in the league. We want to get the three points in Loreto although we know it will be difficult. We’ll have to be ready mentally, to be focused and play our game. We are aware of the difficulty of the game but we’ll do everything possible to win it”.
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Acqua Paradiso Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 2 (1 each)
Simone Parodi (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “The most important one to win against Monza was in the cup. On Sunday, this will be a game like any other game in the league, in which they will try to take revenge”.
Enrico Marchioni (Sport director Acqua Paradiso Monza): “We already have to focus on the next game. We have to set our minds on the league straight away, trying to forget Wednesday’s missed opportunity in the cup. Let’s concentrate on our first target, which is to immediately take points, the funny thing is that we have to do that against Cuneo again”.
Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Andreoli Latina
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (5-2 Vibo Valentia)
Claudio Torchia (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “We had managed to react well in Treviso but then we lacked consistency, especially on the serve, which had made it difficult for our opponent in the first set, with Maruotti doing very well. This will be a battle against Latina. They are in good form, but we have to play well and get points. I can’t hide the fact that we are going through a difficult period, but I still think Vibo is a team that can and has to aim for the playoffs. It will be important not to lose too many points in the next few games”.
Candido Grande (Direttore Sportivo Andreoli Latina): “This is a special game for me because it is a derby with the team just 30 km from home. I want to congratulate the club in Vibo, which is doing great for the region and volleyball. It will be an important game for us, we are playing well right now. After Vibo, there will be other crucial encounters against Forli and Loreto, a very important month ahead. The team has changed, especially from a mental standpoint”.
Serie A2 TIM
First return game son Sunday
The second half of championship started five days ahead of schedule with Bologna’s 3-0 win over Gioia del Colle on Tuesday 29 December. The rest of the game will be played on Sunday with the winter champs, Castellana Grotte travelling to Santa Croce. End of disqualification for Bernardi, who will be on the bench as Padova faces Ravenna. Just two points behind the league leaders, Roma begins his 2010 in Mantova. Last but not least at 8.30, Isernia will try to take revenge on the loss suffered in its first meeting against Crema. Sora is rested.
Round 16 (first return games)
Sunday 3 january at 6pm
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte – Codyeco S.Croce
(Zavater-Bertoletti)
Pallavolo Padova – Marcegaglia Ravenna
(Tanasi-Ravallese)
Edilesse Cavriago – Città di Castello Pallavolo
(Toso-Marchello)
Bassano Volley – Quasar Massa Versilia
(Goitre-Andreoni)
Canadiens Mantova – M. Roma Volley
(Bassan-Prati)
Sunday 3 january at 8.30pm
Katay Geotec Isernia – Samgas Crema – Live on SNAI Sat
(Astengo-Gentile)
Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora – RESTED
Played on Tuesday 29 December at 8.30pm
Zinella Bologna – Nava Gioia del Colle 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-19)
League table
BCC NEP Castellana Grotte 36, M. Roma Volley 34, Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora 33, Zinella Bologna 29, Marcegaglia Ravenna 26, Samgas Crema 22, Codyeco S.Croce 21, Pallavolo Padova, Katay Geotec Isernia 18, Bassano Volley 16, Città di Castello Pallavolo 15, Edilesse Cavriago, Quasar Massa Versilia, Nava Gioia del Colle 13, Canadiens Mantova 11.
1 game more: Zinella Bologna, Nava Gioia del Colle
