Superleague semifinals game 2: Milan beats Civitanova, Trento goes 2-0

Piacenza-Trento 1-3 (19-25, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25)

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A sold out Palabanca in Piacenza is not enough to tie the series against Trento. Lorenzetti’s team enjoys another success after last Thursday’s at home and now they will have three match points available (two of which in front of their own fans) to close the accounts. At the Allianz Cloud, Lube Cucine Civitanova does not repeat the success of match 1 against a stubborn and tenacious Milan which, as with Perugia, defends its fort bringing the match to the fifth set, winning it convincingly. Piacenza’s mistakes heavily marked the first fraction. Trento is good at taking advantage of it by making as few mistakes as possible and already on 15-10 it is clear that the set is all on the guests’ side. Gas Sales Bluenergy does not react and indeed suffers a lot in reception (32 percent against 79 of the guests), Lorenzetti’s team finishes without problems 25-19. The second half is more balanced and this time it’s the serve that makes the difference. Piacenza rarely puts guests in difficulty, while Trento is good at proving to be more lucid and precise especially in the decisive phase. The red and whites didn’t take advantage of a couple of opportunities for a double advantage, Itas took advantage of it and took the lead 18-16. It’s not over, because Romanò puts the arrow back on 20-19, but Dzavoronok’s entry in serve and Michieletto’s ace give the guests 25-22. We travel shoulder to shoulder in the third fraction, until Simon brings forward his team and Trento makes one of the few mistakes (up to that moment) with an invasion that is worth 15-13 for the hosts. At this point the wall of Gas Sales Bluenergy rises to the chair and Lorenzetti’s substitutions are useless with his head already in the fourth set. Where guests find the break on 17-14 with a mistake in attack by the red and white; at this point Itas defended the advantage until the end and gave themselves three match points to exploit starting from Wednesday at home. (Matthew Marchetti)

Milan-Civitanova 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-9)

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The practically sold-out Allianz Cloud frames the match, Piazza lines up the Porro-Patry diagonal, with Melgarejo and Ishikawa on the sides, the Piano-Loser couple in the center and Pesaresi libero. Blengini starts with De Cecco opposite Zaytsev, Nikolov and Yant in the band, Anzani and Chinenyeze central with Balaso free. The match begins with Milan pushing Patry to serve and leaving Civitanova empty-handed. Civitanova calls time immediately on 5-0. However, Milan returns to the field with an ace from the Frenchman and continues to attack. Civitanova calls the discretion again on the result of 13-6, but without finding valid solutions. Piazza’s team sails towards a quiet 1-0, except to call time on 23-17 to avoid trouble. The set closes on 25-18 Second set very balanced and very nervous with Curto who has to rebuke both sides on the most thorny situations. The balance is broken by Matteo Piano’s mistake which brings the match to 16-18 Lube, and Piazza immediately calls time. Yant dominates in service and brings Civitanova to plus three, also doing well in defense. Milan is in trouble and unable to mend the disadvantage, Zaytsev very inspired in attack is De Cecco’s best choice and the partial ends on 18-25 for the cooks. The third set starts point by point, with Milan trying to break away with Ishikawa in attack and Porro in service. It’s a real battle with lots of long rallies, with Milan calling time with a narrow lead over 18-16. The exit from the time out is profitable for the meneghini, who find the square at a distance and close without worries on 25-21 after having wasted 3 set balls. Needless to say, even the fourth set is a head-to-head challenge, with Nikolov and Zaytsev on the shields and Ishikawa and Loser responding from the other side of the net. On the possible 15-15 another decision discussed on an action interrupted in Milan due to a touch on the net that doesn’t exist, Lube manages to win the replayed point and from there she detaches herself by two breaks from her opponents. Milano finds a lucky ace with Patry, gets dangerously close again and Blengini interrupts the game when the scoreboard says 20-21 Lube. Balaso and his teammates return to the taraflex with renewed energy, who manage to score two more points and force Milan to play a discretionary game. However, it proves useless with Lube closing on 21-25. Decisive tie break with the referee team still having to manage the spirits of the two teams, obviously very hot. Milan moved forward by a few points with the help of central defenders, Loser and Piano who were decisive both in the block and in the first half. Lube is no longer able to reassemble who has to give up on 15-9 after two consecutive blocks by the Milanese. (Lorenzo Castile)

Gazzetta dello Sport