Serie A1 Sustenium
Round 2
Round 2 begins on Saturday with the Rai Sport’s live game between Latina, who won its first one in Belluno, and San Giustino, who will be without Sasa Starovic who injured his knee ligament in the home game against Vibo Valentia. The highlight of Sunday’s action will be Roma versus Macerata and Vibo versus Cuneo, as both teams got off to good starts in the first round.
Fixtures
Round 2 Serie A1 Sustenium
Saturday October 1 at 5pm
Andreoli Latina – Energy Resources San Giustino Live on Rai Sport 2
(Caltabiano-Pol)
Sunday October 2 at 6pm
Copra Elior Piacenza – Itas Diatec Trentino
(Rapisarda-Satanassi)
Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo Live on Web Sportube.tv
(Pessolano-Tanasi)
Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza – Fidia Padova
(Vagni-Santi)
CMC Ravenna – Casa Modena
(La Micela-Castagna)
Marmi Lanza Verona – Sisley Belluno
(Sobrero-Ippoliti)
Sunday October 2 at 8.30pm
M. Roma Volley – Lube Banca Marche Macerata Live on Rai Sport 1
(Cipolla-Gnani)
League table
Itas Diatec Trentino 6*, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 3, Lube Banca Marche Macerata 3, Andreoli Latina 3, Casa Modena 3, Fidia Padova 3*, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 2, Energy Resources San Giustino 1, M. Roma Volley 0, Sisley Belluno 0, CMC Ravenna 0, Marmi Lanza Verona 0, Copra Elior Piacenza 0, Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza 0
*1 more game: Itas Diatec Trentino, Fidia Padova
Andreoli Latina – Energy Resources San Giustino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 16
José Manuel Rivera (Andreoli Latina): “It’s definitely an important game. They will want to bounce back following their tie-break loss in their home game against Latina, while it will be our first game in front of our fans. We have an advantage but also a responsibility to show our worth”.
Ferdinando De Giorgi (coach Energy Resources San Giustino): “Latina had a good preseason and is playing well. We have to step up a level compared to the game against Vibo Valentia. We have to be more consistent. Latina is a team that plays with energy, who believes in its ability. We have to make them lose this confidence”.
M. Roma Volley – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 9
Mirko Corsano (M. Roma Volley): “I have great memories from Macerata, it would be hard for me not to put them among the 2-3 best teams of this league. The best way to come out of this one will be not to focus too much on the score but instead try to play well together, to find that understanding which we have obviously not had time to find in the first phase of preparation”.
Igor Omrcen (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Roma is already a tough away game in the second round, and in recent years we have had a lot of trouble in their gym. We’ll try to change this trend using our enthusiasm and the work done this week in which we finally managed to train all together. This is a very interesting test, which can give us some indications for the future. We want the win, but we know we’ll have to make less mistakes that last Sunday against Ravenna, especially on the serve”.
Copra Elior Piacenza – Itas Diatec Trentino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 31
Luca Tencati (Copra Elior Piacenza): “Trento is a team used to play together, they have a lot of experience and they play at a top level. This is a new opportunity to put ourselves to the test following the bad defeat against Padova. The most important thing right now is to keep working hard. We should not be afraid by looking at the fixtures coming, and even less start to make predictions or try to work out how many points we will get from them. We have to play the best volleyball possible in order to improve. This will surely not be easy considering the teams that await us in this beginning of season, Trento and Macerata to name two, which are considered the strongest of the league. On Sunday, I will receive the ‘Blocker of the Year” award for 2010-11, this will have a bit of a bitter taste given the bad season we had, but it is still a great acknowledgement. The aim of an athlete is to keep improving all the time”.
Andrea Bari (Itas Diatec Trentino): “After Monza and Padova, now we’re facing Piacenza, we want to keep our good run going, but we know our opponent will give it their best shot in front of their fans. A good performance against Trento is always an exciting target, without even mentioning the fact it is a remake of the league final of three years ago. I think nobody thinks about this anymore, though. We’ll have to be focused on the present and play with our usual determination”.
Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 13
Luis Augusto Diaz (Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “We’re facing a very tricky game. We know we can’t afford to give anything away to Cuneo, we’ll have to make it hard for them right till the end. We know it won’t be easy but we know we have a good group, we are working hard every day to get better. I think both teams will try to play a good game, and that the winner will be the one that can better limit its mistakes”.
Flavio Gulinelli (Coach Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “Sunday’s game was valuable to understand on what to focus in our preparation. We have to work on our schemes, and the players have to find an understanding, which can come only after a lot of training, which we have been lacking so far. We also lacked consistency, which we need to adjust. The trip to Vibo will be a tricky one, which is why we have to stay extremely focused”.
Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza – Fidia Padova
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 47
Simone Buti (Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza): “Very important game on Sunday, because the home debut is always emotional. In Trento we did not get the result but we played well, and now with the work done in training this week, we can only get better. This will be a tough game against Padova, they won their opening game, and then they lost like us against Trento, now it’s our turn to put points on the board. We have finally been able to work with our full squad in the last few days and now we’ll have to work harder and harder to try to play like a good team”.
Andrea Semenzato (Fidia Padova): “The one against Monza will be another great battle following the ones against Piacenza and Trento. On Wednesday, we had too much respect for Trento in the first two sets, while the attitude was much better in the third to face a top team. On Sunday, we’ll have to play with that determination, without fear to make mistakes. They have made a lot of changes but they have top quality players with experience. We’ll have to be aggressive to come back to Padova with some points”.
CMC Ravenna – Casa Modena
PAST ENCOUNTERS: None
Antonio Babini (Coach CMC Ravenna): “We have had our first taste of the rhythm and quality of the top league and, as we knew it, it won’t be easy by any means. But we’ll give our best against Modena in our home debut”.
Daniele Bagnoli (Coach Casa Modena): “We have to really focus on these first few rounds. We’ll travel to Ravenna for the win, although we know it will be tough. Ravenna does not have its full squad yet, but they took a set in Macerata, they have quality players and they have the energy that newly promoted teams have, and this will also be their first home game. I expect to see the good things done against Roma, and maybe make some progress in some aspects of the game. There is a lot of work on”.
Marmi Lanza Verona – Sisley Belluno
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 21
Lorenzo Smerilli (Marmi Lanza Verona): “Belluno is a physical team who lost at home against Latina, they’ll want to bounce back. As for us, despite the loss, we played very well in Cuneo. We are working hard, the serve will be crucial in this game to keep the ball away from the net, in order to make some good blocks and digs. Our team is becoming a unit, we’re making progress in our game, understanding, so we have everything to play a good game. Hopefully, we’ll have a good performance in front of our fans”.
Roberto Piazza (Coach Sisley Belluno): “Very tricky game: Verona lost in Cuneo despite playing extremely well so we expect to face a tough opponent. It’s always difficult to play there, this will be a battle. We’ll have to prove we learned the lesson of last Sunday and we’ll have to put in practice the improvement I have seen in training. Our reception will be crucial, if we can contain their jump server, we’ll be able to have a say in the game. I can see both the youngsters and veterans are putting maximum effort so I expect a good game in this second round”.
Serie A2 Sustenium
Round 2
Following a tight and thrilling first round, it’s time for act number two with Club Italia, away winner in Corigliano, taking on Molfetta, who took a point against Città di Castello. It’s Isernia versus Santa Croce live on Sportitalia. The two north western teams of Segrate and Milan, who are top of the table, are ready to make their home debut. Ricci’s team plays host to Atripalda, who won its first one at home, while Moretti’s boys will take on Corigliano in its new arena. New house as well for Sora, who entertains Cantù, looking for its first points. Same target for Reggio Emilia who travels to Città di Castello. Both beaten in the fifth set in the first round, Genova and Perugia meet searching for a first win. Different situation for Loreto and Castellana Grotte: both winners last Sunday.
Fixtures
Round 2 Serie A2 Sustenium
Sunday October 2 at 3.30pm
Club Italia Roma – Pallavolo Molfetta
(Parlato-Bellini)
Sunday October 2 at 4pm
Fenice Volley Isernia – NGM Mobile Santa Croce Live on Sportitalia 2
(Bartoloni-Montanari)
Sunday October 2 at 6pm
Volley Segrate 1978 – Sidigas Atripalda
(Carrara-Trevisan)
Gherardi SVI Città di Castello – Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia
(Cappello-Zavater)
Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora – Cassa Rurale Cantù
(Gasparro-Cassarino)
Carige Genova – Sir Safety Perugia
(Prati-Piana)
Energy Resources Carilo Loreto – BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte
(Falzoni-Simbari)
CheBanca! Milano – Caffè Aiello Corigliano
(Florian-Zanussi)
League table
Volley Segrate 1978 3, CheBanca! Milano 3, BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 2, Sidigas Atripalda 2, NGM Mobile S.Croce 2, Gherardi SVI Città Di Castello 2, Club Italia Roma 2, Energy Resources Carilo Loreto 2, Sir Safety Perugia 1, Caffè Aiello Corigliano 1, Pallavolo Molfetta 1, Carige Genova 1, Fenice Volley Isernia 1, Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora 1, Cassa Rurale Cantù 0, Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia 0
