Serie A1 Sustenium
Round 20
Round 20 will begin on Saturday with the big game of the weekend: Trentino versus Modena. Stoytchev’s team is still unbeaten, while Modena will try to do what nobody could do thus far this season, and with Loris Manià doubtful. Macerata versus Verona, one of the most in-form teams, is another very interesting one.
Round 20
Saturday 12 February at 4pm
Itas Diatec Trentino – Casa Modena Live on Rai Sport 1
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Cesare–Longo)
Sunday 13 February at 6pm
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza Live on Rai Sport 1
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Zucca-Gnani)
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Marmi Lanza Verona
(Tanasi-Santi)
M. Roma Volley – BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte
(Bartolini-Gini)
Andreoli Latina – Copra Morpho Piacenza
(Ippoliti–Sampaolo)
Yoga Forlì – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino
(Genna-Satanassi)
Sisley Treviso – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
(La Micela-Puecher)
League table
Itas Diatec Trentino 49, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 40, Lube Banca Marche Macerata 37, Sisley Treviso 34, Casa Modena 28, Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza 28, Marmi Lanza Verona 26, M. Roma Volley 23, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 22, RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino 20, Copra Morpho Piacenza 18, Andreoli Latina 18, BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 8, Yoga Forlì 6.
Itas Diatec Trentino – Casa Modena
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 32 (19-13 Trento)
Jan Stokr (Itas Diatec Trentino): “Facing Modena, the first club that gave me my chance in Italy in the A1 at 22 years old, is always special for me because I’ve also switched position there from spiker to outside hitter. I know how much the fans like this game against Trento, which is another reason why I expect a very tough one. We’ll have to stay focused from start to finish if we want to keep our positive streak going in the league. This Modena team is dangerous: the arrival on the bench of Daniele Bagnoli coincided with a great improvement in recent games, testimony the 3-0 win in Vibo Valentia, which is a tough place to go”.
Daniele Bagnoli (coach Casa Modena): “We know we’ve got Trento and Cuneo ahead, two of the strongest teams in the world, and we know we have to improve our level of play compared to recent games in order to have a chance. We are working a lot on fundamentals because I think the technique is crucial to develop our tactic. Having said that, we’ll go there and try our best, all the games start at 0-0, let see at what level we’re at and what happens. As I’ve said before, the boys have to believe in their ability and their potential, play at their best and then if the opponents are better than us, then we’ll just shake their hands, but we have to give everything we’ve got”.
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 4 (2 each)
Bertrand Carletti (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “Sunday’s game against Monza will definitely not be easy. They play at a fast pace, we’ll have to be focused. Following our victory in Russia against Belgorod, in a game that was crucial for us and in which we spent a lot of energy, it’s important to get back at work immediately on the mental aspect and be ready to focus on the league”.
Luca Monti (Coach Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza): “Physically, It’s been a bit of a troubled week, we had players missing in training, but besides this little problems we are extremely motivated to face Cuneo. We’ve been doing well of late, we might not have been as brilliant against Roma, but we are confident and ready for this game. We’ll try to take advantage of what Cuneo will give us and we’ll try to make it as difficult for them as in our first meeting. Cuneo is coming off a long road game, they might be a little tired, hopefully that will help us. We’ll go to Cuneo eager to get a result, but I don’t know if all those factors will be enough to get a win or a positive result”.
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Marmi Lanza Verona
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 13 (10-3 Macerata)
Gert Van Walle (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Verona is a good team, with excellent players, but the three points are too important for us, we really can’t afford to get it wrong. Second place remains our target. We have already proved we had everything it takes to obtain positive results, even when we have been missing players. We have to prove it again. The way we approach this encounter could be crucial”.
Lorenzo Smerilli (Verona): “We’ll be facing one of the top teams of the league. We know it’s going to be tough but we have acquired maturity compared to the first time we met. Macerata definitely has what it takes to win the league, we’re facing them in their gym, which makes it even harder. We have been exceptional in this second half of championships, we needed points against our direct opponents at home and we got them, we can only be satisfied. On Sunday, we have nothing to lose, we are motivated and eager to make ourselves a little present”
M. Roma Volley – BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 5 (3-2 Roma)
Andrea Giani (Coach M. Roma Volley): “Hopefully, we’ll bounce back against Castellana Grotte. It won’t be easy to win, it’s a tough team and they’re coming off a victory over Forli that gave them renewed hopes. As far as we’re concerned, we’re still in a difficult situation, especially in training. During our weekly work, we try to maintain a high standard of play but it’s not easy with the players that are missing. The boys of the youth teams are giving us a hand and that helps the spirit of the group. Hopefully, this mental strength will come in handy until the end of the season”.
Israel Rodriguez (BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte): “That’s a game we have to win, like all the others: We have to play with our strengths like we did in Latina, Verona and against Forli. We must try to get as many points as possible. We know it will be difficult but we have to try our best until the last play, for us, the club and our fans”.
Andreoli Latina – Copra Morpho Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 19 (12-7 Piacenza)
Riccardo Spairani (Andreoli Latina): “We’re facing a team trying to get back on track as it’s going through a difficult period, they have lost four in a row. It’s a good team, their league position does not reflect their value. We’ll have to limit their impact on the serve, especially with Zlatanov and Gonzalez. Against Cuneo, the servers were exactly the main problem. We have to get back to winning at home, where we have been inconsistent and did not obtain many points”.
Giancarlo D’Amico (Scout Copra Morpho Piacenza): “It will be an important game directing us either towards the relegation zone or the playoffs. The one believing more in it will have the better. Latina is an excellent team, which is capable of great results away from home too, they upset Modena and Vibo on the road. Their main strength is their flowing game, in which the attacking skills of Vujevic and co stand out. They handle the block-dig phase well too. Piacenza has to forget quickly about the home loss against Treviso, but we should not forget about the good things done in the last two games, in which we were very close to Modena and Treviso”.
Yoga Forlì – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (5-2 San Giustino)
Daniele De Pandis (Yoga Forlì): “Another game, another chance to believe we can stay up. We are focused, united and we have taken points in the last games, so we’ll give everything to do that again against San Giustino. We have to and we can win it”.
Danilo Finazzi (RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino): “Sunday’s game is against a direct opponent with the same target as ours: staying up. Forli is a different team from the one we met earlier this season: they have a new setter, which we know well, they have also brought in a very strong spiker. We’ll have to fight on every ball and be humble. In the last game against Verona, we had the wrong attitude on court, we are eager to redeem ourselves. On Sunday, we’ll have the opportunity to do so”.
Sisley Treviso – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 14 (12-2 Treviso)
Roberto Piazza (Sisley Treviso): “Qualifying in the Cev Cup was important for us. We played in a sold out gym in France with a great atmosphere. It was not easy to handle the situation, especially without Fei who is crucial in our team. I’d have liked to win more easily, avoiding the tie-break but I am obviously satisfied. Now there is Vibo Valentia, I’ll stay focused on the preparation of this game and then the ones against Monza and Verona, before getting back in the Cev Cup. Vibo is hunting for points, they will be ready to give it a fight, keen to make it difficult for us. Hopefully we’ll have Fei back, although the staff will take a decision at the last minute. We are in good form but I’m not looking at the number of wins or how many positive results we’ve had consecutively. I’m only thinking about my team, at the progress of my players who still have to improve. Treviso has margin for improvement, in every fundamental. In the table, Macerata is still far away, I’m just thinking about my team and our game right now”.
Giuseppe Defina (Team Manager Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “Today, Treviso is a different team, not only because of the setter, but also in terms of motivation, it’s an in-form team which is playing well and you can see it with their cup results. As for us, we’ll go there with our usual fighting spirit, this is what characterises us this season, we know we can fight on every ball until the end. Although we’re a mix of experienced and young players, these boys are showing great quality, so much so that they can make it difficult for anyone, even if the recent results have not gone our way”.
Serie A2 Sustenium
Round 22
Three days after the mid-week round, the A2 is back in action. It starts on Sunday morning with Pineto versus Reggio Emilia, both losers in the last round. Ravenna flies over to Sicily to meet Gela (11th) and it tries to stay close to Padova which will host Club Italia in a game between leader and bottom of the league. Back in the playout zone, Isernia will try to make it difficult for Sora, fourth. After the excruciating but winning encounter against Santa Croce, Città di Castello will take on Loreto, which won in Reggio Emilia on Wednesday. Despite the defeat against the leaders, Mantova showed some progress and will try to obtain a home win over Genova, sixth in the table but close to third place. Finally, there is the much awaited derby between Milan and Segrate: divided only by two points in the league. A sold-out crowd is expected for what should be an entertaining game.
Fixtures
Round 22
Sunday 13 February at 11.30am
Pallavolo Pineto – Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia Live on Sportitalia 2
(Cappelletti-Feriozzi)
Sunday 13 February at 6pm
Eurogroup Gela – Marcegaglia CMC Ravenna
(Goitre-Prati)
Geotec Isernia – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora
(Gasparro-Orpianesi)
Gherardi SVI Città Di Castello – Energy Resources Carilo Loreto
(Venturi-Zavater)
Pallavolo Padova – Club Italia Aeronautica Militare Roma
(Beronbich-Contini)
Sir Safety Perugia – NGM Mobile S.Croce
(Valeriani-Chimento)
Canadiens Mantova – Carige Genova
(Piersanti-Oranelli)
CheBanca! Milano – Volley Segrate 1978
(Prandi-Montanari)
League table
Phyto Performance Padova 56, Marcegaglia CMC Ravenna 50, NGM Mobile S.Croce 39, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 39, Gherardi SVI Città Di Castello 38, Carige Genova 38, CheBanca! Milano 35, Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia 34, Volley Segrate 1978 33, Energy Resources Carilo Loreto 31, Eurogroup Gela 29, Geotec Isernia 23, Canadiens Mantova 22, Sir Safety Perugia 19, Pallavolo Pineto 13, Club Italia A.M. Roma 5.
