Volleyball, Champions League: Civitanova, Perugia and Trento unbeaten

The group stage of the men’s Champions League has ended. Civitanova, Trento and Perugia qualified directly for the quarter-finals (since 7 March) as leaders of their respective groups. Now they have to wait for the playoff matches to know the names of the opponents.

Civitanova-Roeselare 3-2 (25-23, 26-28, 23-25, 25-17, 15-9)

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Civitanova’s long run-up crashes Roeselare at the tie break thanks to shots from his fire mouths, Yant (mvp and top scorer with 30 points) in particular an evening of grace but also a decisive Zaytsev (23 points) especially in the fifth set. A roller coaster race, with a Civitanova who at times suffered an opponent capable of putting Blengini’s team on the ropes with a serve and block, who came out with a test of suffering first and then deploying all his attacking potential . A success that completes the Filotto in the Champions League but which serves above all for the morale of the Marches, interrupting the series of three consecutive defeats in the SuperLega. Blengini relies on the sextet with De Cecco-Zaytsev, Yant-Nikolov spikers, central Anzani-Chinenyeze and free Balaso. In the ranks of the Belgians, the former D’Hulst, warmly greeted by his old fans. First set marked by a Lube who with Yant and Zaytsev (8 points each) gives the paw of the first break 11-8. The tricolors, however, are discontinuous and so a very good blocking Roeselare (3 winning blocks in the final) returns to threaten by canceling the first set ball (24-23) and then surrendering to the power of Zaytsev’s attack. In the second, two mistakes in attack on forced balls by the Belgians following De Cecco’s turn of service arrive, with Nikolov’s pipe setting the 15-12. Roeselare who doesn’t give up, goes back up in the final this time canceling three set balls to Lube and then mocking her in the extra time at the third set ball with Verhanneman who equalizes the score. Civitanova also in trouble at the start of the third with the Belgians flying away on 8-12 with Leite Costa’s block on Nikolov. Inside the Sottile-Garcia diagonal to try to give a jolt to a Lube who however suffers from the serve and the attacks of a very concentrated Roseleare. Final rekindled from the turn to Garcia’s service which allows you to cancel 4 set balls before the opposite shoots out the ball which gives the partial overtaking to the Belgians. It’s all in the quarter Blengini’s team tries to escape (7-4) with good answers finally from the block. Even the attack returns to dangerousness especially in Yant’s ‘sniper’ version which allows Civitanova to extend its lead going to conquer the tie-break. Where the points of Zaytsev and the mistakes of the Belgians make the difference, with Civitanova who can return to cheer. Mauro Giustozzi

Perugia Lasts 3-1 (28-30, 26-24, 25-20, 25-19)

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Another good performance from Perugia, which, despite the already acquired leadership in the Champions League qualifying round, overcame the Germans of Duren in four sets, who had started off in great shape, to then go down the distance. This is SIR’s 29th consecutive win this season in as many matches. Coach Andrea Anastasi continued in choosing the turnover, giving up Leon, Giannelli, Solè, Flavio and Colaci at the start, and deploying Ropret as playmaker and Rychlicki opposite, Russo and Mengozzi in the centre, Semeniuk and Cardenas as spikers, with Piccinelli free . The first set was largely played point-to-point, with Perugia attempting to extend at 22-20 (attack by Semeniuk), but there was a reaction from the Germans, who at 23-24 (block on Rychlicki ) won the first of five wasted set points, to then close the game (28-30) with a serve by Burggraf, which became an ace thanks to Cardenas’s gross error in reception. In the second set, Perugia built up that margin of advantage at the start (11-8) which it carried on until 24-22, driven by an often overwhelming Semeniuk (7 points in the fraction), when two errors allowed Duren to rebalance the score. Then it was an attack by Rychlicki and an ace by Cardenas that gave Perugia the win (26-24). In the third set Duren moved up to 1-4, with Perugia’s engagement which took place at 9-9 (attack by Cardenas). We then went on still in a balanced situation, before Sir’s extension on 18-14 (attack by Rychlicki) still in the sign of Semeniuk (7 points in the set and Mvp), practically knocking out the opponents. It was then a serving error by Pettersson that closed the fraction (25-20). In the fourth set Perugia stretched right from the start and it was all too easy to get the better of coach Murczkiewicz’s team, who didn’t have the strength to react to the first difficulties and collapsed until the final point centrally grounded by Mengozzi (25 -19). Sir will be back on the field on Saturday in the league, facing Allianz Milano at 6pm at the Assago Forum. Antonello Menconi

Zaksa-Trento 2-3 (25-17, 25-15, 18-25, 23-25, 12-15)

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Comeback victory for Trentino Itas, which also wins the second match of the season with the Polish side Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle, against whom it had lost the last two Champions League finals. Down 2-0 Podrascanin, the most regular of his throughout the match, and his companions manage to completely change their face after two bad partials and impose themselves in the fifth set. Kaziyski and her companions close their Champions League group undefeated, six wins in six games, and by authority in one of the three places as best group winners. A position that would guarantee to meet Perugia only much further on in the draw and a round in the quarter-finals against one of the runners-up who will compete in the round of 16. Thus, at the start, with Lisinac and Cavuto remaining in Trento not at their best to carry out a differentiated job, coach Lorenzetti sent D’Heer onto the field in the center with Podrascanin, then confirming the now consolidated set-up with the opposite Kaziyski. Typical formation for the Polish sextet, which starts immediately by pushing the foot on the accelerator: 8-4. Lorenzetti’s discretionary time-out but Sliwka is unleashed (16-8), when Kaczmarek and Bednorz also start to warm up their arm then the Poles take control of the hostilities: 20-12. The set is now abundantly in the hands of the hosts who go to seal it without too many worries. In the second set, the coach from the Marches of the Dolomites leaves Dzavoronok on the field, who had taken over Lavia during the previous set. After the first exchanges (4-4) pushing properly with the serve the European champions in charge try a first stretch: 8-5. The ball exchange of the Trentino side makes a monstrous effort to find its regularity, so much so that the electronic scoreboard sees the margin in favor of the Poles grow within a few exchanges: 14-7. Bednorz and Kaczamrek pull the Polish bandwagon (19-8), Itas fails to put the ball down consistently and even Lavia’s return to the field does not reverse the negative trend that easily brings the hosts up 2-0. The reaction of the Dolomites comes at the start of the third set (3-8), first of all Trento’s change of the ball finds greater effectiveness (6-13) while the Poles concede a little to the “errors” box. Definitely another Trento still dragged by Matey Kaziyski who is worth 13-19, Lorenzetti alternates Pace and Laurenzano in the libero role between the ball-change phase and the break point phase. Hands out by Bednorz on Kaziyski’s block for 16-21, both of the two opposites make mistakes in the serve and in the final the Polish mistakes pack the set ball for the Trentino players who seal the partial with Alessandro Michieletto’s ace. At the start of the fourth set, the discretionary time-out for the home team already reaches 9-10 in favor of Trentino Itas. The fourth becomes the most fought and balanced partial (11-12), with the two sextets traveling practically at the same speed. Lavia makes it 13-15 and D’Heer blocks the Polish opposite bringing the score to 13-16, but at 18-18 it’s back to a draw as soon as Lavia suffers again in reception like at the start of the match. Lorenzetti stops everything and on the return to the field Sbertoli blocks Bednorz forcing coach Sammelvuo to call his own discretionary time-out, then the tie is back on 20-20 and it is a very balanced final rush. So much so that we still arrive arm in arm on 23 all, Sbertoli takes a ball in the face but without particular consequences: Kaziyski’s lob which conquers the set point for Trento, which becomes the set victory for Itas thanks to Michieletto’s block on Sliwka. Thus we arrive at the fifth set, in which the Dolomites are still off to a better start (4-8 with a splendid play by Kaziyski), but when Lavia is blocked for 8-10 then Lorenzetti calls his first discretionary time-out. Kaziyski’s attack brings the Poles down by only one length (11-12), but the Bulgarian hammer then leads his team to match point (11-14) canceled by Sbertoli’s serving mistake before the nine-pointer meters of the Poles that adorns the victory of Itas.