Play Off Semifinals, 1st round

What a victory, Perugia!
A strong team on the other side of the net and the absence of an important player like Atanasijevic. With these premises we could expect a very complicated evening for Sir, instead the team, with Berger opposite, pulled out all the grit and determination it had inside, achieving an important victory.


At the same time the other semifinal took place.
It will be a series of exciting matches between Trento and Civitanova.
We've had a taste of it in game 1: over two and a half hours of entertainment, fun and emotions, with the uncertainty up to the last about who would win.
The match ended at the tie-break, 19-21.
And this is only the beginning.


On Friday there will be game 2. Other surprises and emotions await us.


Results:

• Sir Safety Conad Perugia - Azimut Leo Shoes Modena 3-1 (25-15, 26-24, 21-25, 26-24)

       MVP: Marko Podrascanin

• Itas Trentino - Cucine Lube Civitanova 2-3 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 26-28, 19-21)

       MVP: Bruno Mossa De Rezende




   

Yoandy Leal is the quarterfinals MVP

The best player of the quarterfinals is Yoandy Leal.
The Cuban outside hitter of Cucine Lube Civitanova will get the Credem Banca MVP award on Friday, before the match against Trento.


     

Play Off Quarterfinals, 3rd round

The last two semifinalists of these playoffs are Itas Trentino and Sir Safety Conad Perugia.

Yesterday afternoon, Trento gave a brilliant performance, without many mistakes, aiming straight for the goal: to reach the semifinals.
Kioene Padova didn't play badly, but it had to surrender in front of a strong and difficult opponent to face, which is not for nothing also World Champion in charge. However, the boys coached by Baldovin leave the playoffs with their heads held high, after a great season.

At 8:30 pm, the other quarterfinal was played.
Perugia managed to react after the defeats in Monza and in Champions League.
Vero Volley Monza ends its championship in game 3, with the awareness, however, of having achieved important results this season.
Unlike the match between Trento and Padova, where the stakes were the same, this was characterized by nervousness, culminating in behaviors unsuitable for the sports world during the greetings at the end.


Tuesday, 8:30 pm, back on the court: Perugia will face Modena, while Trento will play against Civitanova.



Results:

• Sir Safety Conad Perugia - Vero Volley Monza 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-17)  

       MVP: Aleksandar Atanasijevic

• Itas Trentino - Kioene Padova 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-17) 

       MVP: Aaron Russell


     
 

Matt Anderson returns to Italy

It's official: Matt Anderson returns to play in Italy.

Azimut Leo Shoes Modena today announced the return of the American outside hitter/opposite, who from the 2012/2013 season to the present has won everything he could with the Zenit Kazan shirt.

Anderson played two years in the Italian Championship: in the 2010/2011 season in Vibo Valentia, while in the following one in Modena.

Good news for both the club and SuperLega, which finds a great champion, full of talent and experience.


     

Champions League: the final will be Zenit Kazan - Cucine Lube Civitanova

On May 18, Zenit Kazan and Cucine Lube Civitanova will play the Champions League final in Berlin.
For the second consecutive year, these two teams will compete to win the title of European Champion.

In the first semifinal played yesterday, Perugia tried to change the result of the first leg, without success. The game was very balanced and intense, and the two teams expressed themselves at a high level. In such situations, when you play point-to-point and nobody wants to give up, it's the small details that make the difference, and Kazan managed to have something more in both matches.
On May 18, the Russian club will fight to win the fifth consecutive Champions League.

To try to stop it there will be Civitanova again, which yesterday beat the Polish team of PGE Skra Belchatow 3-0. A well-deserved final, earned on the court thanks to an amazing performance by all the players, who remained focused and determined, and used every ball to quickly close the game.
The Italian team stood out throughout the tournament and was the only one not to lose a game. 


The results:

• Zenit Kazan - Sir Colussi Sicoma Perugia 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 26-24) 
• Cucine Lube Civitanova - PGE Skra Belchatow 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 27-25) 

   

SuperLega players in Qatar

In addition to Kamil Rychlicki (Kamil Rychlicki continues the season in Qatar), other athletes no longer involved in the Italian championship went to Qatar to finish the season.
Toncek Stern (Latina) and Joao Rafael De Barros Ferreira (Sora) reinforce Al Arabi, while Mohamed Al Hachdadi (Vibo Valentia) plays in Al Wakrah.


   

Play Off Quarterfinals, 2nd round

What a Championship!
Playoffs have just started, but the surprises and emotions are already present in large quantities.

Modena and Civitanova have secured a place in the semifinals, thanks to the victories against Milano and Verona.
Finished season, therefore, for the latter, which however have the awareness of being two good groups, able to play against every opponent, despite the defeats in the playoffs.

The other two quarterfinals are still open: Monza and Padova, in fact, yesterday honored their fans by winning both at home against the first teams in the regular season ranking.
Game 3 will be played on Saturday and, in any case, Monza and Padova can only be satisfied for what they showed during this season.
   

Results:

• Vero Volley Monza - Sir Safety Conad Perugia 3-2 (25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12) 

       MVP: Oleh Plotnytskyi

• Revivre Axopower Milano - Azimut Leo Shoes Modena 1-3 (25-17, 20-25, 21-25, 20-25) 

       MVP: Micah Christenson

• Kioene Padova - Itas Trentino 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) 

       MVP: Dragan Travica

• Calzedonia Verona - Cucine Lube Civitanova 1-3 (20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 17-25) 

       MVP: Robertlandy Simon


 

Champions League: the first leg of the semifinals

Yesterday, in front of 10,000 Polish fans, Cucine Lube Civitanova took the first step towards the final in Berlin with a 3-0 victory over PGE Skra Belchatow, coached by Roberto Piazza.
After the total domination of Lube in the first set, the hosts managed to get into the game, but Bruno (awarded as MVP) and his teammates remained focused on the goal and got an important victory.

In the other semifinal, Zenit Kazan defeated Sir Colussi Sicoma Perugia at the tie-break, after a battle lasted more than two hours.
A game with an uncertain result until the end, characterized by a high level of play and balance.
The MVP award went to Earvin Ngapeth.


Next Wednesday the return matches will be played: to enter the final, Perugia must win (in case of success at the tie-break everything is decided at the golden set), while Civitanova needs only two sets. 


The results:

• PGE Skra Belchatow - Cucine Lube Civitanova 0-3 (14-25, 20-25, 23-25) 
• Sir Colussi Sicoma Perugia - Zenit Kazan 2-3 (22-25, 26-24, 25-27, 25-20, 13-15) 

         

Kamil Rychlicki continues the season in Qatar

After finishing the SuperLega commitments, Kamil Rychlicki got the go-ahead from Consar Ravenna to go to Qatar.
The Luxembourg athlete, after a great season in Italy, will wear the shirt of Al Rayyan for the final phase of the Championship and the Asian Champions League.


   

Play Off Quarterfinals, 1st round

Results:

• Sir Safety Conad Perugia - Vero Volley Monza 3-0 (31-29, 25-16, 25-11)  

       MVP: Massimo Colaci

• Azimut Leo Shoes Modena - Revivre Axopower Milano 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 27-25) 

       MVP: Ivan Zaytsev

• Itas Trentino - Kioene Padova 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) 

       MVP: Uros Kovacevic 

• Cucine Lube Civitanova - Calzedonia Verona 3-2 (32-30, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 18-16) 

       MVP: Yoandy Leal