First round results:
CMC Romagna-Revivre Milano 1-3 (21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 20-25)
Gi Group Monza-LPR Piacenza 3-1 (29-27, 25-20, 18-25, 25-20)
CMC ROMAGNA – REVIVRE MILANO 1-3 (21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 20-25) – CMC ROMAGNA: Mengozzi 6, Ricci 2, Cavanna 3, Della Lunga 16, Van Garderen 5, Polo 3, Koumentakis 9, Goi (L), Torres 13, Boswinkel 5, Bari (L), Perini De Aviz. DNP Zappoli. Coach. Kantor.
REVIVRE MILANO: Milushev 22, Sbertoli 2, Skrimov 18, Russomanno Dos Santos 3, Tosi (L), De Togni 12, Baranek, Georgiev 13, Marretta. DNP Gavenda, Rivan, Boninfante, Burgsthaler. Coach. Monti.
First match of the Challenge playoffs and first defeat for Romagna, who just cannot do it against Milan this year. Beaten twice in the regular season at the tie-break, it surrendered for a third consecutive time, on a 3-1 score. Milan deservedly won thanks to a better team display and an excellent distribution from Sbertoli, who was named MVP. The young setter perfectly found his middle blockers De Togni and Georgiev.
Luca Monti (coach Revivre Milano): “We can see we’re getting better all the time. We enjoy playing together and we like working hard to get the result. I am happy with the performance of my boys. We’ve been doing well of late and today we played a good game. Everybody contributed but I am especially happy for Milushev who played with great consistency today, a level above his normal standard. Now we have a true team”.
Dore Della Lunga (CMC Romagna): “Milan deserved the victory, they’re playing better than us and other teams right now. Given how they played in the second half of season, they certainly don’t deserve their 11th position. It’s been a tough night for us, when they faded a bit in the third, we managed to get back in the game but they immediately stepped up a gear again and we lost it. We’ll keep working to improve and tomorrow we’ll start thinking about the next game”.
GI GROUP MONZA – LPR PIACENZA 3-1 (29-27, 25-20, 18-25, 25-20) – GI GROUP MONZA: Raic 22, Galliani 10, Mercorio, Jovovic 2, Rizzo (L), Botto 17, Verhees 11, Beretta 8, Rousseaux 1. DNP Sala, Daldello, Brunetti, Gao. Coach. Cattaneo.
LPR PIACENZA: Kohut 10, Ter Horst 1, Perrin 20, Papi (L), Lampariello (L), Zlatanov 24, Luburic 12, Tencati 4, Tavares Rodrigues 3, Cottarelli. DNP Coscione, Sedlacek, Patriarca. Coach. Giuliani.
Monza’s first experience in the Challenge playoffs could not have gone any better. Just like a few weeks ago in that same fixture, Monza won it 3-1 behind 22 points (3 aces) from Raic and 17 from Botto, who was named MVP of the game. The hosts played better in the clutch time, they received well and they served brilliantly (8 aces).
Pieter Verhees (Gi Group Team Monza): “That’s a good start for us. We knew it would not be easy and indeed after two sets played with determination and consistency, we slightly put our foot off the pedal while Piacenza played better. What mattered today were the three points, so I’d say we fully completed our mission”.
Hristo Zlatanov (LPR Piacenza): “If we knew what was missing, we’d not be talking about the many defeats we conceded this season. We’re playing slightly better compared to the first part of the season, even if we still lack confidence, and we’d need to maintain a high level of consistency and determination throughout the games”.
Standings
Revivre Milano 3, Gi Group Monza 3, LPR Piacenza 0, CMC Romagna 0.
Fixtures
Challenge playoffs, second round
Sunday 20 March at 6pm
LPR Piacenza – CMC Romagna Live on Lega Volley Channel
Gi Group Monza – Revivre Milano Live on Lega Volley Channel
