In this weekend without Superleague, with the four semifinalists who have already closed the play-off quarterfinals (Perugia and Piacenza in 3 games and Civitanova and Trento in 4 games) waiting for the start of the championship semifinals, with the Block Devils who will take to the field in the advance match next Saturday, April 5, at the PalaBarton Energy with Lube, the spotlight is on Sir branded Its Umbria Academy, which plays in the Serie B championship and which yesterday took to the field, at the home facility of Santa Maria degli Angeli, in the direct clash with the Republic of San Marino. Third win in a row and second home tie-break for the team led by coaches Natale Monopoli and Marco Ferraro, who started strong at PalaSir, winning two sets fighting in both finals point by point (26-24, 25-23), then suffered a comeback by San Marino, but in the tie-break they came together, and after a full-throttle start from nine meters and at the block, they managed the advantage and closed it 15-7.
Match on par in terms of effectiveness in attack (40% for the home team, 43% for the guests). San Marino did better at the block with 12 winning blocks on the scoresheet against 8 for Sir, but the Block Devils prevailed above all at serve, with a sumptuous performance from nine meters (12 aces and only 16 errors) against the 3 winning serves of the guests. Director Tommaso Grassi orchestrated the game in a balanced manner, sending his key players, Michele Serverini (who closed the match with 13 points), captain Marco Lucarelli (23 points, 5 aces) and Filippo Dionigi, the match’s top scorer with 30 points, including 5 aces, into double figures.
