It’s the CEV Volleyball Cup Final. Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza took an hour and a half to defeat ACH Volley Ljubljana 3-1 in a sold-out Sporta Dvorarana Tivoli stadium. In the final, they will face SVG Luneburg, a German team that defeated Belgian side Greenyard Maaseik in the semifinals. The first leg of the CEV Volleyball Cup Final will be played on German soil on Wednesday, April 15th, with the return match a week later at the PalabancaSport.
In front of over three thousand spectators, including about thirty red and white fans, along with President Elisabetta Curti, Coach Boninfante’s team, after winning the first two sets relatively easily, were outplayed in the third. But in the fourth, they found the right shots to hold their own against their opponents and narrowly won the set that sealed the final. Much to the delight of the red and white fans who celebrated their favorites in front of the fans.
Alessandro Bovolenta was the match MVP with 18 points, while Stern’s 21 points weren’t enough in Ljubljana.
Dante Boninfante: “We wanted to go all the way, and we did. Now we’re just a small step away, and we’ll see if we can get there. It was a tough match, but the players did well in the fourth set, rallying quickly after a difficult third set. After the match against Modena, we had expended a lot of energy, especially mentally. We knew not everyone would be at their best today, but the team played as a team against a strong team.”
ACH Volley Ljubljana – Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza 1-3
(19-25, 22-25, 25-13, 22-25)
ACH Volley Ljubljana: Urnaut 8, Krzic Janz 6, Stern 21, Marovt 12, Pajenk 11, Ropret 1, Kovacic (L), Sket. Ne: Krzic Joast, Najdic, Sen, Prevorcnik, Verdinek (L). All. Kolakovic.
Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza: Mandiraci 12, Comparoni 6, Bovolenta 18, Gutierrez 4, Simon 12, Porro 3, Loreti (L), Leon, Andringa 1, Travica, Galassi 1. Ne: Pace, Bergmann, Iyegbekedo (L). All. Boninfante.
Arbitri: Magdalena Niewiarowska (Polonia), Nuno Teixeira (Portogallo).
Note: durata set 24’, 24’, 20’ e 26’ per un totale di 94’. MVP: Alessandro Bovolenta. ACH Volley Ljubljana: battute sbagliate 19, ace 5, muri punto 10, errori in attacco 8, ricezione 43% (14% perfetta), attacco 49%. Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza: battute sbagliate 22, ace 5, muri punto 10, errori in attacco 4, ricezione 39% (11% perfetta), attacco 48%.
