Serie A1
Round 11
It’s time for the traditional round of December 26. The big game of the day will be Trentino, which have just become World Champions for the second time running, against Treviso, fifth in the table.
Round 11
Sunday 26 December at 6pm
Itas Diatec Trentino – Sisley Treviso Live on Rai Sport 1
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Satanassi-Boris)
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – M. Roma Volley
(Santi-Castagna)
Marmi Lanza Verona – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
(Puecher-La Micela)
Copra Morpho Piacenza – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
(Balboni-Cerquoni)
Andreoli Latina – Yoga Forlì
(Longo-Perri)
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte – Casa Modena
(Pasquali-Sampaolo)
Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino
(Padoan-Braico)
League table
Itas Diatec Trentino 29, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 25, Lube Banca Marche Macerata 25, Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza 19, Sisley Treviso 17, Casa Modena 16, Copra Morpho Piacenza 14, M. Roma Volley 14, Marmi Lanza Verona 13, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 12, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino 11, Andreoli Latina 11, BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 4, Yoga Forlì 0
Itas Diatec Trentino – Sisley Treviso
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 28 (21-7 Treviso)
Andrea Bari (Itas Diatec Trentino): “We’re facing this game running the risk of relaxing after our victories in the Club World Championships. We’ll have to do a good job of handling this immediate return on court mentally, we really don’t have much time to breath. Besides, we’ll be up against a Treviso team eager to prove what it is really capable of, so this will surely be a tough game, both technically and mentally. The little advantage on our side will be the home court, playing in front of our fans will certainly give us a boost”.
Roberto Piazza (Coach Sisley Treviso): “We’re up against the team that has just won the club World Championships, and which is on top of the league so maximum respect. There will surely be a certain euphoria and an air of celebration there, but we’ll have to stay focused on our game and our individual and team tasks. Trento has not even lost a set in the last five league games, and that shows how they put to the test the consistency of the opposite teams, and how well they play together. But we are in good form too, we have improved in the last few games, we are ready and extremely motivated. This will be an thrilling game, we’ll have to try to impose our game, without thinking who is in front”.
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – M. Roma Volley
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (6-1 Roma)
Mauro Berruto (coach Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Despite the Christmas celebration, this is a period in which we’ll be able to work with more consistency during the week. We want to take advantage of the time we have at our disposal, and the fact that we have everybody fit again to give our best in this final rush to the halfway point of the season. Roma is a great team, with excellent players, they will surely be amongst the best until the end. This is yet another very tough encounter for us”.
Martin Lebl (M. Roma Volley): “Just like we kept our head on our shoulders at the beginning when we won five in six, we are not depressed either now that we have collected defeats against the big teams. In order to come out of this, we have to find our cohesion and determination again, which we have shown in this first half of championship. I hope we have not created an excessively enthusiastic atmosphere around the team: Roma is a good team, capable of big wins, but it has to fight for every point and every game. This is something that we have been saying since the beginning but that is difficult to put in practice against the big guns. That’s why the two coming games against Latina and Piacenza will be crucial. Macerata is a tough opposition especially now that it is boosted by its win over Cuneo. The game could be open and may go our way. We have everything in our hands, in our will, in our anger. And who knows if the miracle can’t actually materialise itself”.
Marmi Lanza Verona – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 13 (8-5 Cuneo)
Maurizio Latelli (Marmi Lanza Verona): “We have just won a crucial game against Forli, a result that will have given a boost to the boys and that will help us to face Cuneo, one of the best teams in the league, and playing at home during the Christmas period will have us even more motivated. We have a brand new team, which had to face various problems but I think all the work done was a good investment and we’ll soon see the results”.
Alberto Giuliani (allenatore Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “Hopefully, my players will face this game with maximum effort. Verona is a strong team, complete and with a good coach, Bruno Bagnoli. I know it will be a very tough game. We should not worry of what will come after it, the Super cup in Turin on December 29, and focus exclusively on Sunday’s game. A difficult game and a Lasko super motivated as a former Cuneo player. He’s doing well this season and was great with the national team too”.
Copra Morpho Piacenza – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 13 (11-2 Piacenza)
Luca Tencati (Copra Morpho Piacenza): “It will be a crucial game, we have to win it. Vibo Valentia is a good team, just 2 points away from us and still in the race for the Italian Cup. We have the advantage that they’ll be away from home. This is a fundamental game to get into the playoffs”.
Rocco Barone (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “I think that apart from the bad loss two weeks ago against San Giustino, we have proved we could give a game to anyone, you just have to think about the game against Modena, Roma and Treviso. Consistency and high level of play are difficult things to achieve, we are working to improve those aspects. Piacenza is full of stars but if we believe in ourselves, we can play a good game. The first half of championship is almost over but we’re facing two games against direct opponents for the top 8 positions, against Monza and Verona. We’ll try our best, we’ll just see what happens”.
Andreoli Latina – Yoga Forlì
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 8 (5-3 Forli)
Leondino Giombini (Andreoli Latina): “Tough game. It’s the first of three encounters we were waiting for to get some needed points for the league table. They have changed their setter, there is our former player Kovacevic, who will be keen to do well and get off the mark in the league. But we want to make a present to our fans: the three points”.
Andrii Diachkov (Yoga Forlì): “We have to unlock ourselves, it’s important to do it now because before the halfway point of the season we’ll have to face Trento and Macerata. We have to do in games what we already do in training. Now the understanding with Sintini has improved, the group is united and we are convinced that we can finally get something from Latina”.
BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte – Casa Modena
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Radames Lattari (coach BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte): “Modena is a strong team, it’s no news to me, but we have to try everything to get some points against everyone, especially at home. This week, we have finally been able to train with all the players, hopefully Christmas will bring us a nice little present”.
Mikko Esko (Casa Modena): “We have won a few games in a row and that gave us confidence. We are improving, and we won nicely 3-0 against San Giustino on Sunday, we needed it. After a beginning of season with so many ups and downs, we are finally working with more consistency. We have to insist on that: avoid mistakes, play with fluidity and reduce the loss of concentration. We obviously have a lot of work to do but we still have margin of improvement, and if we want to be up there, our level of play has to get even better. The game against Castellana Grotte will be very difficult: it’s a good team and they need points. Besides, there will be a lot of people in their gym, it’s a special day, they’ll give 110%. Still, we want to win it, we want the three points, but we know that to achieve this, we’ll need to play a great game from first to last minute, without taking anything for granted, not even one play. The Italian cup is our target, the fourth and fifth spot too, it’s obviously better to finish fourth in order to play the quarter final at home, though. If we want to get there, we can’t afford to get it wrong in the next games”.
Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 each
Luca Monti (coach Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza): “A very young team is coming over on Sunday, but we can’t underestimate them. San Giustino has done better at home so far than away but that should not give us any wrong ideas. They have players with great potential, Maric in primis who registered 65% in attack against Modena despite the defeat, and then there is an old friend of mine. Captain Finazzi was with me at Crema for four years, I’m really happy to face him in the A1. I think we’ll have to be aggressive right from the start, prevent them from getting confident. We are in good form and must use the momentum to stay in fourth place. It’s normal to think about the Italian Cup too at this period of the year, a good position in the table would allow us to play at home”.
Emanule Zanini (coach RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino): “Monza is a very good team. They are fourth in the league. They have already done well last season and the addition of Rooney was important for them. He definitely met the expectations, he made the team even more competitive. It will be a very tough game for us but we really want to bounce back following Sunday’s poor performance in Modena. We have to behave as we used to, thinking one game at a time”.
Serie A2
Round 14
December 26: day of celebration and volleyball. The winter is cold but the A2 is heating up with the building of fierce competition for the four qualifying places of the Italian Cup. Padova and Ravenna have already secured their ticket as they will face each other in the big game of the day, not to be missed. Coach Emanuele Fracascia will make his debut at Loreto against Isernia, respectively 12th and 11th in the league with just one point dividing the two teams. Coming back to the Italian Cup, the teams fighting for a place are Santa Croce, Genova and Sora. The first hosts Club Italia, the second travel to Reggio Emilia, which is still mathematically in with a chance too, and the third on the road to meet Segrate, who recently moved up to 9th thanks to three consecutive wins. Gela heads to Città di Castello, while there are important points at stake to stay up between Mantova and Perugia. Mantova possesses a three-point edge on Fant’s team. Finally, Milan takes on Pineto.
Round 14
Sunday 26 December at 4pm
Energy Resources Carilo Loreto – Geotec Isernia Live on Sportitalia 2
(Bartoloni-Feriozzi)
Sunday 26 December at 6pm
CheBanca! Milano – Pallavolo Pineto
(Piubelli-Bertolini)
Gherardi SVI Città Di Castello – Eurogroup Gela
(Cappelletti-Frapiccini)
Marcegaglia CMC Ravenna – Phyto Performance Padova
(Goitre-Venturi)
Canadiens Mantova – Sir Safety Perugia
(Bassan-Sessolo)
Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia – Carige Genova
(Florian-Zanussi)
Volley Segrate 1978 – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora
(Falivene-Falzoni)
NGM Mobile S.Croce – Club Italia A.M. Roma
(Montanari-Rolla)
League table
Phyto Performance Padova 36, Marcegaglia CMC Ravenna 34, NGM Mobile S.Croce 27, Carige Genova 26, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 25, Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia 22, CheBanca! Milano 21, Eurogroup Gela 20, Volley Segrate 1978 19, Gherardi SVI Città Di Castello 18, Geotec Isernia 16, Energy Resources Carilo Loreto 15, Canadiens Mantova 12, Sir Safety Perugia 9, Pallavolo Pineto 8, Club Italia A.M. Roma 4.
