Two teams could already celebrate their qualification into the semi-finals this weekend. Civitanova and Perugia are indeed 2-0 up. The other two series are tied at 1-1 and will at least go to Game 4.
Game 2’s loss against Molfetta has not dampened the excitement in Trento as Matey Kaziyski returned home. The club bounced back with a superb victory in the Champions League playoffs 6 first leg against the Russians of Belgorod. That gave Stoytchev’s men a lot of confidence, and they’ll be more hungry than ever to make it back to back league title. In Game 2, Urnaut’s four aces and the team’s 12 were not enough against a Molfetta side extremely inspired with 17 points scored on the serve (6 aces each for Fedrizzi and Herenandez). Di Pinto’s men gave it a great fight, they had a superb start to the game and they maintained an impressive accuracy to tie the series. They will have a new teammate with the fresh addition of Bosnian spiker Armin Mustedanovic. But in order to knock out Trento, Molfetta would need to win at least once on the road.
Civitanova has been making a habit of winning, both in Italy and Europe. They are 2-0 up in the series against Latina, and they registered a 3-2 come-back victory over the Turkish side of Ankara in the Champions League playoffs 6. Civitanova had their spikers taking over in game 2 with 63% in attack and on Sunday they’ll have the court advantage to seal it. Latina, who had knocked Civitanova out of the quarters last season, could not repeat their feat this season. They lost in the regular season as well as in the Italian Cup. And they have no choice but win this one to stay alive. But Placì’s men did prove they could give them a hard time in the opening game of the series.
Winners of the Italian Cup, the Modena players are hungry for more and they’ll focus all their physical and mental energy on the chase for the league title. They had to surrender in the Champions League but then obtained second place in the regular season. Lorenzetti’s men had dominated the first game but they lost Luca Vettori at the last minute and surrendered to Padova in spite of a superb first set. Led by Brian Cook and Stefano Giannotti, Padova had their best outing of the season. The seventh place in regular season and the qualification in the playoffs was already a great achievement for Padova, but now this win over Modena was the first ever in the playoffs after 11 consecutive losses.
Verona will need to handle its emotions at best following the Challenge Cup semi-finals lost. They need one of their best performances of the season to stay alive in these quarter-finals. They indeed lost the first two games against Perugia and they surrendered in Europe too on Wednesday against Benfica, though only in the fifth set. Giani’s men will first try to fight back in Portugal on Sunday before playing Perugia in this game 3 postponed to Wednesday. In the second game, Kovac’s men needed just three sets and less than 90 minutes to dispose of Verona. They’ll have their first chance to qualify for the semis in the PalaOlimpia arena.
League playoffs, quarter-finals Game 3
Saturday 19 March at 8.30pm
Diatec Trentino – Exprivia Molfetta Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 20 March at 6pm
Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova –Ninfa Latina Live on Lega Volley Channel
DHL Modena – Tonazzo Padova Live on Lega Volley Channel
Wednesday 23 March at 8.30pm
Calzedonia Verona – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live on RAI Sport 1
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Past encounters: 11 (8-4 Trento)
This season: 4 times – twice in the regular season (both won 3-0 at home, first Molfetta then Trento). And twice in the cup quarter-finals: (Trento won the first leg 3-0 away, then Molfetta won 3-2 away).
In the playoffs: Four times in the quarters (Trento 3-1).
Massimo Colaci (Diatec Trentino): “Game 3 becomes a crucial moment of the series. The winner will then have two chances to qualify for the semi-finals. It’s even more important for us, we have to make the court advantage count. It can happen to lose against a team like Molfetta on the road. Besides, they had played very well. But we have to stay focused on this series and understand we have to win this one at all cost”.
Vincenzo di Pinto (coach Exprivia Molfetta): “We’ll go to Trento confident we can have a good game, just like in our previous games. There are two important factors: the level of play and then the mental side given that there is something big at stake. In Game 1 we did well on the serve and reception, but were not too good in attack and in the block-dig area. In Game 2, we improved our serve and we played extremely well in attack. Trento got a boost from its Champions League win and they’ll have the fans on their side”.
Past encounters: 43 (36-8 Civitanova)
This season: 4 times – twice in the league (3-2 Civitanova then 3-0 f0r Latina). Twice in the cup quarter-finals (Civitanova won both 3-0).
In the playoffs: 12 times in the quarter-finals (8-4 Civitanova)
Gianlorenzo Blengini (coach Cucine Lube Banca Marche Civitanova): “We have to immediately forget about the Champions league game and focus on this Game 3. We must try to seal the series and qualify for the semis. We’ll face an opponent who won’t have anything to lose, they’ll play loose and try to make it hard for us. We need maximum focus in order not to be surprised”.
Simon Hirsch (Ninfa Latina): “Another trip to Civitanova for us. We’ll see if can repeat the excellent performance of Game 1. We’ll try to get back in the series with an important victory”.
Past encounters: 86 (70-16 Modena)
This season: 2 in the league, Both won away from home, first Modena 3-0 then Padova 3-1.
In the playoffs: 12 times: once in the 8th of finals (Modena), four times in the quarters (Modena 3-1), 3 times in the semi-finals (all Modena) and 4 times in the finals (All Modena again).
Andrea Sartoretti (GM DHL Modena): “We worked hard to get the players with physical problems back to full fitness, including Luca Vettori who we had to leave out at the last second before Game 2. This Game 3 will be crucial for the series, we’ll need Modena to play like Modena. Padova played excellent volleyball in Game 2, but that was no surprise to us. We’re ready for this new challenge with our supporters on our side”.
Sebastiano Milan (Tonazzo Padova): “Modena will immediately try to bounce back. We know reaching the semi-finals is one of their targets. This will be a very tough game against a top quality team. But we proved we could play excellent volleyball, and we realised Modena was not unbeatable. We’ll travel to Modena, knowing that whatever happens there will be Game 4 in our Kioene Arena. We’ll try to make life difficult for them, we’ll give everything we have”.
Past encounters: 17 (13-4 Perugia)
This season: 4 times – Verona won both regular season game (3-0 away then 3-2 home). Perugia won the 2 Italian Cup games (3-2 away then 3-1 home).
In the playoffs: 5 times in the quarter-finals (Perugia 4-1).
Pre-game quotes will be given on Tuesday’s pre-game article as this Game 3 will be played on Wednesday.
The Challenge playoffs has a place in next season’s Challenge Cup at stake. In this first phase, teams from 9th to 12th in the regular meet each other. Then, according to their standing, they will meet the losers of the league playoffs quarter-finals. Semi-finals and final will follow. The winner will be in Europe next season.
Piacenza has to make the most of its only home game of this group phase. In its opening game, it failed to take the opportunities that Monza left open. On Sunday there will be the regional derby against Romagna and they will count on their star spiker to help them to victory. Hristo Zlatanov scored 24 points in the last encounter and will try to do it again against a club he used to play for ten years ago. But Romagna finished 9th in regular season and are favourites of the group. Besides, they lost their home game against Milan and cannot afford to lose anymore.
Monza will play its second consecutive home game with Francesco Cattaneo in charge while they’re waiting for Oreste Vacondio to come back. They will try to repeat the solid performance seen against Piacenza. The latter try to get back in the game from 2-0 down but eventually surrendered to Raic and Botto’s spikes in the fourth. Among the four teams in the Challenge playoffs, Monza is the one with the best attack (46,8%). They will play another derby against Milan with the first place of the group at stake. Milan is full of confidence following their four-set road win over Romagna built on some effective blocking and the spikes of their top scorer Dabail Milushev (22 points, 58%).
Challenge Playoffs round 2
Sunday 20 March at 6pm
LPR Piacenza – CMC Romagna Live on Lega Volley Channel
Gi Group Monza – Revivre Milano Live on Lega Volley Channel
UnipolSai Challenge Playoffs Round 2
Past encounters: 10 (5 each)
This season: 2 (2 in Regular Season: Romagna won both, first away 3-1 then at home 3-2)
Manuel Coscione (LPR Piacenza): “We have to be warriors on Sunday. Our goal is to get in a good position in this group. We played well in Monza but failed to convert the big points needed to win it. This is something we have to improve on. We have to focus on ourselves. Romagna will come here eager to take three points given that they lost against Milan. They’ll be up for it”.
Maximiliano Cavanna (CMC Romagna): “We’re facing a tough game in Piacenza. I am pretty sure of that. They finished bottom of the league but this doesn’t mean they can’t play volleyball. On the contrary, they have excellent players who can make things happen at any time. We’ll need maximum focus. We want to leave behind us that poor display against Milan and step up a level in order to get on track in this Challenge playoffs”.
Gi Group Monza – Revivre Milano
Past encounters: 6 (3 each)
This season: 2 (2 in Regular season, one win each, Monza first won away 3-1, then Milan did likewise in the return game).
Andrea Sala (Gi Group Monza): “We obviously hope to play Sunday’s derby better than the last one. In regular season, we certainly did not play our best volleyball at home. But now we are 1-1 and have an opportunity to bounce back, and we know this is an important game to consolidate our first place. We really want to give it our best shot to get to the next phase in good shape and with confidence”.
Federico Tosi (Revivre Milano): “This is a derby so motivation will be high no matter how important is this game. We want to keep playing well, we’re coming off three consecutive wins, we’re enjoying ourselves and we want to keep doing so”.
There are only two games left in the Serie A2 regular season and the fight for first place is still intense, just like the battle for the best playoffs positions.
Two games on Saturday night. Ortona is still in the race for a playoff spot following their tie-break win in Tricase. Ninth in the table, Lanci’s men stand however 5 points behind Potenza. They need to win at all cost against Tuscania and hope for the best. Currently fourth, Tuscania is just one point from third place and Civita Castellana.
Siena is coming off a straight set home win over Tuscania and a road victory in the capital against Club Italia. The Tuscans look to defend their seventh place from Potenza’s assault. At the same time, it could improve its position at the expense of Reggio and Cantù. On the other side of the net, there is Mondovì who did very well on its first season in the A2 but kept a bitter taste in the last round following their home loss against Potenza Picena in spite of leading in this game. That defeat got Davide Manassero and co out of the playoffs.
On Sunday at noon, bottom of the league Alessano gave a hard time to their recent opponents, only to surrender in the long run. They indeed lost advantages in Potenza and at home against Ortona. Piscopo is two points from the 2000 in the Serie A. Reggio Emilia will be eager to take all three points in Tricase to maintain its fifth place and hope that Civita Castellana stumbles to cut down on its deficit. Their superb run was stopped in Sora, and they lost again right after at home against Civita Castellana at the tie-break.
At 4pm, Potenza will fight to secure its place in the playoffs. They have a 5 point advantage on 9th place Ortona following its 3-1 win in Mondovì. Potenza could already be qualified for the post season before even getting on court if Ortona was to fail to win on Saturday night. Ortherwise, they’ll face a tough task against Sora, currently second in the table, just one point behind the leaders of Vibo after four consecutive wins. And the last three came on sweeps over Brescia, Reggio and Castellana Grotte.
In Monterotondo, Civita Castellana cannot go for second place anymore but they need to defend their third place. They’re coming off three straight wins, two comfortable ones over Siena and Castellana Grotte followed by the breakthrough at the tie-break in Reggio Emilia. On Sunday, they face one of its direct rivals, Cantù. Currently sixth following their home loss against Vibo Valentia, they will try to move up the table. If the regular season was over, one of the playoffs quarter-finals would be Civita Castellana versus Cantù.
Last home game for Vibo Valentia, who aims at winning the regular season. The cup winners bounced back from a defeat against Reggio with back to back 3-0 wins. Now they face Castellana Grotte, last from bottom, tied with Brescia and Club Italia. A tough team always ready to give it a fight even against much stronger oppositions.
After an excellent start to the return games, Brescia was defeated three times in a row, but in its last home game they will try to move up the table against direct rival Club Italia Roma. The latter lost its last four encounters but they face this last trip knowing they had a good season, having managed to upset some top quality teams like the leaders Vibo Valentia, and having taken 5 of 6 points against the Serie A2 champions of Potenza Picena.
Serie A2 UnipolSai Round 25
Saturday 19 March at 8.30pm
Sieco Service Ortona – Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania Live on Lega Volley Channel
Emma Villas Siena – BAM Mondovì Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 20 March at 12am
Aurispa Alessano – Conad Reggio Emilia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 20 March at 4pm
Potenza Picena – Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 20 March at 6pm
Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana – Cassa Rurale Cantù Live on Lega Volley Channel
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia – Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte Live on Lega Volley Channel
Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia – Club Italia Roma Live on Lega Volley Channel
League table
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia 54, Globo Banca Pop. Frusinate Sora 53, Globo Scarabeo Civita Castellana 45, Maury’s Italiana Assicurazioni Tuscania 44, Conad Reggio Emilia 40, Cassa Rurale Cantù 39, Emma Villas Siena 38, Potenza Picena 37, Sieco Service Ortona 32, BAM Mondovì 29, Centrale del Latte McDonald’s Brescia 24, Club Italia Roma 24, Materdominivolley.it Castellana Grotte 24, Aurispa Alessano 21
