The last stage of the Regular Season is upon us. A few days before the appointment at the Pala AGSM AIM, the assistant coach of Verona Dario Simoni presented the challenge that WithU Verona will face against Top Volley Cisterna, scheduled for Saturday 11 March at 18.00.
These are the words of coach Simoni: “First of all, I would like to say a few words about Patrizia, a person who has worked for many years at Cisterna to whom I was particularly attached. I send a big hug to her husband Alberto. Having said that, a difficult game awaits us where the setter is the center of this team. Baranowicz makes everyone spin in an extraordinary way, he is the most important element with respect when talking about everyone else. How will we face the commitment with the fifth place already reached? When we played the friendly against Monza, in the next meeting Rado (Stoytchev, ed) clearly explained that we are here to win every game, friendlies included. You always have to play to win and that’s what we’ve tried to bring here over the years.”
Then, he continued: “In these last two matches we are the tip of the balance both in the fight for relegation and in the Play Offs, but we want to play our game. Avoiding Perugia in the quarterfinals was good, it would have been difficult to meet them in the first round of the playoffs. At the moment, they are the team to beat. It would have been even better to finish fourth to play the possible playoff in front of our fans, but we are on track and will be ready to face any opponent. We are in excellent physical condition and fully booked, we are all training. We are evaluating the set-up with Magalini on the field and Keita opposite, but Sapozhkov expressed himself well in Siena, so it will be difficult to leave him out. The public helps us, they participate and the boys won’t accept losing in front of their fans.”
Finally, the Gialloblù assistant coach concluded: “This fight for the Play Offs has been interesting and exciting. Winning helps you win, losing takes away some security, it takes days to restore confidence in the boys. Defeat and victory give you incredible morale boosts. When you lose, you feel so weak that you can lose to anyone. Service? It is a fundamental aspect for any game dynamic. Spirito and Grozdanov often hit and don’t find the ace, but put their opponents in difficulty who are forced to receive off the net”.
