“Ciao Bovo” shirts in honour of Vigor Bovolenta.
Modena, Piacenza and Macerata will get on court with shirts dedicated to Vigor Bovolenta, who tragically passed away in recent days. His number 16 will never be worn again at Piacenza the club decided.
Serie A1 Sustenium
Round 26: all games to be played at the same time.
The regular season will end this Sunday. Crucial game between Macerata and Verona for different reasons: Macerata wants to lock up second place, while the guests are still in the fight to stay up as safety will only be secured for sure with a victory (tie-break included). Padova and San Giustino are the other two teams concerned in the fight not to go down. San Giustino will be safe with a win away in Piacenza, while Padova takes on Roma, already safe and qualified for the playoffs.
CERTAINTIES
The only certainties in the league table are the following:
1. Itas Diatec Trentino
4. Sisley Belluno
7. Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza
14. CMC Ravenna (relegated in A2)
Serie A1 Sustenium Round 26
Sunday April 1 at 6pm
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Marmi Lanza Verona Live on Rai Sport 1
(Cesare-Rapisarda)
Casa Modena – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
(Cipolla-Puecher)
Itas Diatec Trentino – Andreoli Latina
(Zucca-Pozzato)
CMC Ravenna – Sisley Belluno
(Genna-Castagna)
Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
(Sampaolo-Sobrero)
Copra Elior Piacenza – Energy Resources San Giustino Live on Sportube.tv
(Pasquali-Pol)
Fidia Padova – M. Roma Volley
(Satanassi-Gnani)
League table
Itas Diatec Trentino 67, Lube Banca Marche Macerata 54, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 53, Sisley Belluno 47, Casa Modena 42, Copra Elior Piacenza 40, Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza 36, Andreoli Latina 32, Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 31, M. Roma Volley 30, Marmi Lanza Verona 28, Energy Resources San Giustino 27, Fidia Padova 26, CMC Ravenna 12
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Marmi Lanza Verona
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 15 (12-3 Macerata)
Simone Parodi (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “This will be a tough game because our opponents are fighting to stay up, while we need the victory at all cost to finish second. The players will be extremely motivated, we can’t afford to give anything away, especially after the defeat in Belluno. We need points and quality play, because this will be the last test before the playoffs quarter-finals, in which we’ll have to give everything we have to start a run, which we want to end with the title”.
Marco Meoni (Marmi Lanza Verona): “There’s only one way to play on Sunday: the game against Macerata will be our V-Day, a key final for Verona. The two teams have different targets. We’ll give everything we have and maybe even more than that”.
Casa Modena – Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 64 (33-31 Modena)
Daniele Bagnoli (coach Casa Modena): “We’re curious to see at what level we can play. This is a very interesting end of regular season because except for a few positions, there’s a lot to play for. It’s clear that our target, and I think the one of every one, is to get to the playoffs in the best possible condition. In just three days and two games, the season will be on the line, we’ll need to give 110%. These last training days and Sunday’s game are important before facing the playoffs quarter-finals. We have a few players who are not hundred percent, we’ll see at the last minute who to send on court”.
Wout Wijsmans (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “Sunday’s game in Modena will be important for us, because this is the last one in the regular season, less than a week before the playoffs and because we’re still in with a chance to finish second. We’ll go for the win, if Macerata was to lose, we could take second place. Besides, it will be important to play a good game to prepare ourselves for next week’s playoffs”.
Itas Diatec Trentino – Andreoli Latina
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 19 (12-7 Trento)
Jan Stokr (Itas Diatec Trentino): “The game against Latina will still be significant despite what the league table might suggest. This will be a good test to understand at what level we are before the playoffs. Besides, we want to win it to take revenge on the defeat suffered in the first meeting. We have therefore various reasons to do well in this last game”.
Gianrio Falivene (President Andreoli Latina): “We’re going to Trento aiming to end this regular season as well as possible and prepare for the playoffs. The club wants to keep a top level team in Latina and we are already working on the next season. But first is first, we want to get the best possible result. We have been one of the few teams to beat Trento and we’ll try to repeat this feat”.
CMC Ravenna – Sisley Belluno
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Belluno)
Antonio Babini (coach CMC Ravenna): “We’d like to end the season on a high and do as well as in the last two games. And we want to play a good game in the last one in our De André arena. In the best of hypothesis, the A1 will not be back here before a year and a half. It won’t be easy, Belluno is in great form, but we’ll give it a fight until the end”.
Donald Suxho (Sisley Belluno): “We have to be careful and prepare this game well. We’re working very hard on this game, like we do for every game to be honest, we have to face it with the same focus as always. Never mind if the fourth place is already secured, we need to remain concentrated and stay physically fit. This is something fundamental before the playoffs. The rhythm and the consistency is always crucial in volleyball, which is why this game against Ravenna is important before the playoffs, which we’ll have the luck to play at home. We can’t afford to have lapses, this will be a tough game, these are the trickiest matches. I’m sure the hosts will want to do well for the fans that supported them all season long”.
Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 13 (7-6 Vibo Valentia)
Emanuele Zanini (coach Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza): “Beyond the fact this will be the last regular season game, this will also probably be the last one we play home, so I expect everyone to play with pride, great motivation and the will to play a great game for our fans. As for the line-up, we’ll evaluate things on Sunday morning and see the conditions of a couple of players that are not hundred percent right now. We’ll decide at the last minute whether to send them on court or not. We have to consider the fact we’ll have the playoffs next week”.
Gianlorenzo Blengini (coach Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “Thanks to last Sunday’s result we have our destiny in our hands. In my opinion, the worse case scenario, for various reasons, would be to finish tenth. We have the chance to prevent that from happening if we win in Monza, but it’s obvious we’ll need to play very well to do so because Monza is a top quality team. It’s true they are not going through a good moment of form, there has been the recent news regarding the club and, in the last month, they have had a lot of ups and downs on court. But we have to keep in mind that we can have what we want only by winning this game. Then, whether that means finishing 8th or 9th, it will depend on the results of the other encounters”.
Copra Elior Piacenza – Energy Resources San Giustino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 32 (18-14 Piacenza)
Luca Monti (coach Copra Elior Piacenza): “We’ll face one game at a time like we’ve been doing in all the return games. This will be the last one against San Giustino before the playoffs, which we hope to start well. Right now we should be in Cuneo’s group, an excellent team we’ll have to face without fear and with determination to get a result. We’re doing fine in training, the intensity increases every day, in a week the whole season will be on the line. The pressure building up is normal, positive, it means we’re on the right track”.
Andrea Sartoretti (Sport Director Umbria Volley): “San Giustino had an advantage before the game against Padova. Now the situation has turned around. Piacenza is in great shape, we know it won’t be easy. But Padova proved they could do well in clutch games like this. We have what it takes to play a good game. We have to give everything we have and go home without any regrets”.
Fidia Padova – M. Roma Volley
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 7 (4-3 Padova)
Paolo Montagnani (coach Fidia Padova): “This will be another battle, we ‘re ready to show how much we want to hold onto the A1. This will be a true final for us, even if we know that a victory might not be enough as we’ll depend from the results of San Giustino and Verona. Roma will come here to win, we’ll need to do our best to get the three points”.
Adriano Paolucci (M. Roma Volley): “Padova had already beaten us 3-0 while they were not in this desperate situation, so now that they have beaten San Giustino and are back with a chance to stay up and send somebody else down they will be even more dangerous. But we have to focus on ourselves, create an opportunity to face the playoffs against good opponents but maybe not as strong as the ones we’d face now. We’ll see what happens on the other courts. The end of championship is always unpredictable, everything is possible. So it’s better to go to Padova focused on doing our part”.
Serie A2 Sustenium
Round 29: the one before last
Could be the round that reveals who will go down in the B1 and who will go up in the A1. Perugia has it in its grasp.
NGM Mobile Santa Croce – CheBanca! Milano. A win would send Milan straight to the playoff quarters, while the aim of Bertini’s team is to improve on their current 10th position and finish 8th before the end of the regular season.
Pallavolo Molfetta – Cassa Rurale Cantù. Mathematically, Molfetta is still in the run for the direct promotion as they stand 6 behind the leaders before this home game against Cantù, already down in the B1.
Caffè Aiello Corigliano – Sir Safety Perugia. If Perugia is to win, it will become A2 champion and go directly into the A1. But that won’t be easy against Corigliano, which needs a victory to guarantee its ticket into the playoffs.
Sidigas Atripalda – BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte. To keep hopes of direct promotion, Castellana Grotte needs all three points and Perugia to be beaten. Atripalda are desperate for points to overcome Reggio Emilia and have a chance to snatch a playout spot in the last round.
Crazy Diamond Segrate – Carige Genova. Segrate’s unbeaten run since the new coach Eccheli had taken over was stopped last week. Now, they face Genova, which looks to improve on its position before the playoffs.
Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia – Energy Resources Carilo Loreto. Reggio Emilia has to look over it shoulders as it tries to maintain its position to be in the playouts, counting a three-point advantage on Atripalda. Loreto is involved in the battle for 8th place with Genova and Santa Croce.
Gherardi SVI Città di Castello – Cicchetti Isernia. Città di Castello will defend its fourth place, threatened by Segrate. Isernia is looking to cut the four points deficit on Corigliano in the last two rounds to go from the possible playouts to the playoffs.
Club Italia Roma – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora. Just like Isernia, the target of Club Italia is to catch up and then overcome Corigliano. Sora beat Segrate in the last round and now they want to secure a ticket directly into the playoffs quarter-finals.
Serie A2 Sustenium: Round 29
Sunday April 1 at 4pm
NGM Mobile Santa Croce – CheBanca! Milano Live on Sportitalia 2
(Trevisan-Florian)
Sunday April 1 at 6pm
Pallavolo Molfetta – Cassa Rurale Cantù
(Morgillo-Piluso)
Caffè Aiello Corigliano – Sir Safety Perugia
(Spinnicchia-Marchello)
Sidigas Atripalda – BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte
(Bassan-Prati)
Crazy Diamond Segrate – Carige Genova
(Piana-Frapiccini)
Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia – Energy Resources Carilo Loreto
(Cardaci-Fretta)
Gherardi SVI Città Di Castello – Cicchetti Isernia
(Zavater-Gini)
Club Italia Roma – Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora
(Gentile-Perri)
League table
Sir Safety Perugia 64, BCC-NEP Castellana Grotte 59, Pallavolo Molfetta 58, Gherardi SVI Città Di Castello 55, Crazy Diamond Segrate 53, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 50, CheBanca! Milano 50, Energy Resources Carilo Loreto 46, Carige Genova 46, NGM Mobile S.Croce 45, Caffè Aiello Corigliano 35, Cicchetti Isernia 31, Club Italia Roma 31, Edilesse Conad Reggio Emilia 19, Sidigas Atripalda 17, Cassa Rurale Cantù 13
