Two tie-breaks snatched by the minimum margin, a lot of heart and fighting spirit against Santa Croce led Loreto to the playoff quarter-finals, in which it will meet Castellana Grotte. The latter will start the series with a 1-0 lead due to their better regular season position as Game 2 will be in Loreto on Saturday night at 8.30pm.

“We really played excellent volleyball – said Andrea Di Marco – The team fought right until the end. It was a thrilling encounter and the atmosphere there was in the gym made it an even more special result”.