Playoffs UnipolSai
Semi-final game 1
Modena, Trento strike first
Saturday April 25
Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino (1) – Sir Safety Perugia (4) 3-1 (29-31, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18)
Parmareggio Modena (2) – Top Volley Latina (6) 3-2 (25-22, 25-14, 21-25, 22-25, 15-12)
ENERGY T.I. DIATEC TRENTINO – SIR SAFETY PERUGIA 3-1 (29-31, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18)
ENERGY T.I. DIATEC TRENTINO: Kaziyski 15, Birarelli 10, Zygadlo 2, Nemec 14, Giannelli, Lanza 19, Solé 17, Colaci (L), Djuric 2, Fedrizzi. DNP Nelli, Thei, Burgsthaler. Coah. Stoytchev.
SIR SAFETY PERUGIA: Buti 8, Fromm 13, De Cecco 1, Giovi (L), Barone 4, Tzioumakas, Beretta 1, Vujevic 5, Atanasijevic 26, Sunder 3, Maruotti 3. DNP Paolucci, Fanuli. Coach. Grbic.
Trentino won the opening game of the semi-final series against Perugia. Stoytchev’s men have won 20 of the 21 game played on home court this season. Still, the visitors had taken the early initiatives by taking the first set with an outstanding Atanasijevic and might have thought they had control of the encounter, just like in the third set when they were 21-17 up. But the end-result was much different with Trento extremely efficient at the net (16 blocks overall). They tied the game at 1-1 before making a lethal 8-2 run at the end of the third to turn around a very tricky situation. The momentum was all on its side in the fourth set which they dominated.
MVP Sebastian Solé
Sebastian Solé (Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino): “We have only won one battle, but there is still a long way to go, and it will be tough. I am glad I could contribute that much, we did well to stay focused on our task even when we were not playing well. It’s a nice way to start the series, this is my first semi-final, I really want to enjoy it as much as I can, but it would be wrong to think we’ve done the most difficult part of the job”.
Andrea Giovi (Sir Safety Perugia): “We had the better start but then they got in the game and managed to win what was a real battle. The end of the third set was undoubtedly key. Their extraordinary come-back really hurt us psychologically, and after that we were not ourselves anymore”.
PARMAREGGIO MODENA – TOP VOLLEY LATINA 3-2 (25-22, 25-14, 21-25, 22-25, 15-12)
PARMAREGGIO MODENA: Mossa De Rezende 5, Sala, Petric 10, Boninfante, Casadei, Rossini (L), Ngapeth 30, Piano 8, Verhees 14, Kovacevic 5, Vettori 16. DNP Donadio. Coach. Lorenzetti.
TOP VOLLEY LATINA: Manià (L), Rauwerdink, Sottile 2, Ferenciac, Skrimov 10, Tailli, Davis 5, Rossi 6, Starovic 20, Urnaut 15. DNP Pellegrino, Caputo. Coach. Blengini.
In a sold-out arena, the two groups of fans blended at the start of the game in a splendid choreography. Ngapeth led his team to a first set win, and Modena kept firing on all cylinders in the second set. Latina sprinted off the starting blocks in the third set, Modena got within two at the end but Latina would hold off the hosts’ come-back. High rhythm in the fourth as Modena took charge until Latina placed a run to move 12-11 in front. The visitors managed to hold on to that slim advantage until an Ngapeth mistake sent the game to the tie-break. The deciding set proved extremely tight but then Ngapeth made it 10-9 and then 13-11. Verhees would seal it at 15-12.
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach Parmareggio Modena): “I am glad with the way the boys performed in the first two sets, but we’ll have to talk a few things over because there were far too many mistakes in the third and fourth set. Latina’s supporters? The insults towards Ngapeth were totally out of order, Modena had to pay for much less than that”.
Chicco Blengini (coach Top Volley Modena): “I knew it was going to be a difficult game and so it was. We were missing a lot of players but still managed to reach the tie-break against a top quality team. Game 2 next, we’ll go all out, we won’t hold back, we’ll have respect for them but we’ll play without fear”.
SEMI-FINAL GAME 2
Tuesday April 28 at 8.15
In Frosinone: Top Volley Latina (6) – Parmareggio Modena (2) Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Tuesday april 28 at 8.30pm
Sir Safety Perugia (4) – Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino (1) Live on Lega Volley Channel
GAME 3 (If needed) on Friday May 1 at 6pm
FINAL from May 3 to May 17
1 Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino 2 | |||||
3-0 3-2 | 1 Energy T.I. Diatec Trentino 1 | ||||
8 Exprivia Neldiritto Molfetta 0 | |||||
3-1 | |||||
4 Sir Safety Perugia 2 | |||||
2-3 3-1 3-1 | 4 Sir Safety Perugia 0 | ||||
5 Calzedonia Verona 1 | |||||
Italian Champ 2014/15 |
| ||||
2 Parmareggio Modena 2 |
| ||||
3-1 3-1 | 2 Parmareggio Modena 1 | ||||
7 CMC Ravenna 0 | |||||
3-2 | |||||
3 Cucine Lube B. Marche Treia 1 | |||||
1-3 3-2 1-3 | 6 Top Volley Latina 0 | ||||
6 Top Volley Latina 2 | |||||
