The Valsa Group closes the first round with the victory in Monza waiting to have a complete picture of the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup. Piacenza and Verona secure qualification. Tomorrow Milan-Civitanova
Monza-Modena 1-3 (25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 20-25)
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Too much Modena for Monza. The Valsa Group wins again after 4 years at the Monza Arena, beating Vero Volleyball 1-3. Beretta and teammates are without Maar, and they suffer a negative night from Grozer, but they play a courageous match, while Modena plays a set and a half under tone, being pulled out by N’Gapeth (MVP at the end of the match) and melting away also with Lagumdzija, assisted by the solidity and experience of Stankovic. Eccheli loses Maar and starts with Zimmermann in direction opposite Grozer, central Beretta-Galassi, Ma-Davyskiba spikers and Libero Federici. Giani responds with Bruno-Lagumdzija diagonally opposite setter, Sanguinetti-Stankovic in the center, Ngapeth-Rinaldi on the side with Rossini free. Clear match theme, with the hosts forcing the serve and Modena going in flames. But it is the work of the centre-backs that makes the difference for Monza: in attack, making little or nothing understood by their opponents (in particular Sanguinetti) and blocking, scoring 6. Grozer is at 6 and Davyskiba and Galassi at 5, while the host attack collapses to 35% with Lagumdzija with 2 attacks out of 11 attempts. Teams arm in arm for a long time, but from 20-21 Eccheli’s men are more lucid in the final and close 25-22. Still balanced start in the second set, with Marttila hot (2 attacks and 1 ace) in 9-7. Then N’Gapeth enters the game (an ace in addition to his flares), and the 0-5 break changes the inertia. But it didn’t last long, because Modena (again with Lagumdzija) made too many mistakes, and the Brianza players got back ahead 16-15. Again the Frenchman, and with a 0-3 Modena breaks away 18-21 and closes 22-25. The locals lose the thread and Modena escapes 6-11 (with 6 direct opponent errors). Grozer struggles, Davyskiba goes in bursts, but Marttila shows a great personality behind it. For Modena Lagumdzija seems different, the reception works and N’Gapeth seems to control the situation, but the inertia changes again, with the Brianzoli 20-18 after a diagonal from the Finn. With the reception at pico (10% positive and 5% perfect), a double error of Vero Volley arrives and it is equal, then teams arm in arm. On 23 all, N’Gapeth surpasses himself in batting and defense, and Modena closes 23-25 with a mistake by Davyskiba. Monza is out of breath and in trouble with everything, while Modena, with Bossi for Sanguinetti, checks and waits for the opponents’ mistakes. La Valsa Group escapes 4-9, which becomes 7-13 when Grozer leaves the field for Szwarc (who comes up with an invasion and a block right away). Vero Volley is on the ropes, and Giani’s team reads the match well, without forcing and playing patiently, increasing the gap (8-18 and 13-22). Modena however shuts down and the locals shorten with a 6-0, before a double Lagumdzija and a mistake by Szwarc close it 20-25 to make it 1-3. (Rodolfo Palermo)
Piacenza 3-0 Cisterna (25-22, 25-19, 25-23)
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A sort of playoff in the race towards the Italian Cup. Piacenza absolutely needs three points to improve a ranking that sees it with the last available pass, Cisterna must forget an opaque period, with five defeats in the last six matches. PalabancaSport has seen four of the five stops of the red and whites, but this time it confirms itself as an ally of Bernardi’s team who earns a 3-0 (the first home match of the season) almost never in question, to be used as a springboard towards the last matchday which will untie all the knots in the Coppa Italia key. There is no Simon, but this was already known; Romanò takes care of it to give smiles to Piacenza which starts well until 10-6. Cisterna takes a few minutes to get into the game but then sticks to the red and white shirt and manages to equalize at 16. At this point, however, the guests make a few mistakes, facilitating the task of the Emilians who stretch and give themselves the 1-0. Also in the second fraction the start is all red and white: Lucarelli is inspired and Romanò’s block to one stops Gutierrez for 9-4. This time Piacenza doesn’t slow down, driven by a wild Leal. Soli’s team tries to find answers with their serve, but it’s too little to worry this Gas Sales Bluenergy especially if two errors arrive in the final which give the hosts 25-19. The block keeps Cisterna in the match in the third set: the guests stop Leal first and then Lucarelli with the scoreboard scoring 12-12, then Kaliberda carries the guests ahead 16-15. The arrival is shoulder to shoulder, with Dirlic accompanying his team first at 20 while a cunning dribble by Romanò restores parity to 22 and an ace by Lucarelli gives the red and white a new advantage who close with Leal 25-23. Matthew Marchetti
Verona-Siena 3-1 (20-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-11)
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Verona resumes its march towards the top of the standings, after the away stop against Modena seven days ago. It does so against a Siena team that initially scared Stoytchev’s men, but which overall proved too weak to be able to bring home a few points from the Scaliger fort. Verona starts with the announced sextet: Spirito dribbles diagonally with Sapozhkov, in the center Grozdanov and Mosca, spikers on either side Mozic and Keita while the libero is Gaggini. On the other side Montagnani lines up Finoli to dribble with Pinali opposite, Mazzone and Ricci central, the couple Petric and Van Garderen in the band and the former player on duty, Bonami, to lead the defense. The landlords start off with contracts and are particularly foul especially with Sapozhkov and Keita struggling to get into the game. On the other hand, the great experience of the couple Van Garderen and Petric drags Montagnani’s men and the first break arrives in mid-set, which brings the guests up 15 to 11. What makes the difference is the service of the Sienese, who continuously hammers Keita putting him in trouble several times. Stoytchev runs for cover by inserting Magalini on the second line in place of the Malian, but that’s not enough. The second set starts with the two starting sextets confirmed. The reception of Stoytchev’s men continues to struggle, Keita is always targeted and forces Spirito to take discounts without ever being able to trigger his central players. However, the great quality of the attack keeps the hosts afloat and thanks to some excellent defense of the libero Gaggini conquers the decisive breaks to bring home the set which in the end takes on a very wide gap. Siena plays to its fullest potential and in some situations manages to put Verona in difficulty even in the second set, but the difference in values begins to show itself and surgical precision in looking for Keita with the serve is no longer enough. This despite Spirito failing in two sets to serve a ball to his two central players. However, the yellow and blues at home find the enthusiasm and confidence that seemed lost in the first set and start the third immediately putting Siena in great difficulty especially in the break phase, grounding practically every ball defended or replayed with its high ball forwards. Siena no longer appears able to offer resistance. Montagnani tries to take cover with three substitutions, but the situation does not improve and ends 25 – 20. The fourth set, with no history, does not change the fate of the match, with the guests who continue to suffer from Keita’s overwhelming power in attack and team mates and are no longer able to be effective even in service, with only Pinali trying to keep the team afloat, served continuously by the newly entered Pinelli. Too little, however, to bring home points from Verona. Daniel Pagliarini
December 4, 2022 (change December 4, 2022 | 22:44)
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