Powerful Start From Trentino And Perugia, Lube Lost In Four Sets

The playoff stage was officially started in Italy, and the top eight clubs of the country held their first quarterfinal matches in order to take the lead in the match-ups. As expected, Trentino and Perugia left the court with victories, but this was not the case for Lube and Piacenza.

The reigning champions and #CLVolleyM semifinalist Itas Trentino hosted Valsa Group Modena. With a superior game from the first ball to the last, Trentino had no difficulties and became victorious in straight sets (3-0: 25-23, 25-18, 25-18). With a balanced score distribution, four players scored in double digits on the winning side, but the MVP title went to Italian outside hitter Daniele Lavia, who scored 13 points with two aces. Vlad Davyskiba tallied 20 points for Modena.

This year’s FIVB Club World Championship, Italian domestic cup, and super cup champions Sir Susa Vim Perugia also made a powerful start to the quarterfinal round. They met Rana Verona, and although they struggled in the first set, they played their usual game afterward and took a four-set win (3-1: 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-19).

Tunisian opposite Wassim Ben Tara was honored with the MVP award, and the top scorer was Polish superstar Kamil Semeniuk, with a total of 24 points. Amin Esmaeilnezhad’s 23 points were not enough for Verona.

The other #CLVolleyM semifinalist, Cucine Lube Civitanova, on the other hand, did not perform as well as expected: In their first playoff clash against Mint Vero Volley Monza, they were unsuccessful to reach their top-notch game and suffered a defeat by a score of 1-3 (26-28, 25-20, 11-25, 20-25).

Including two aces and one block, the Canadian outside hitter Eric Loeppky showed an outstanding performance with 28 points on the winning side, making him the Most Valuable Player. Marlon Yant Herrera (16), Mattia Bottolo (12), and Aleksandar Nikolo (12) were the players who scored in double digits on Lube.

The most exciting clash was between Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and Allianz Milano: both teams had many ups and downs throughout the match, and the score was tied to 2-2 after four sets. After that point, Milano pushed their limits to a higher level of performance and won the game by tie-break (3-2: 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10). Italian middle blocker Marco Vitelli was honored with the MVP award thanks to his worth-mentioning performance in blocking: Alongside nine attacks and one ace, he stood out with six block points. Yuri Romano (19) and Ricardo Lucarelli (16) were the most productive players on Piacenza.

The second legs of the quarterfinals will take place this Sunday, starting from 16.00 (CET) to 20.30 (CET). We will see if the victors manage to increase the gap to two clashes, or the series will tie to 1-1. One thing is for sure: You should definitely keep an eye on Italy if you want to spend your Sunday night with good volleyball actions.