Epic Italian Supercup sees fantastic Sir Susa Perugia Volley clinch title

A superb comeback saw Sir Susa Vim Perugia clinch their fifth Italian Supercup in history and their second in a row, after Angelo Lorenzetti’s side produced two excellent matches in a sold-out Biella Forum, with 5.000 fans flocking to see the best teams in Italy battling it out for the coveted trophy.

Four teams – reigning champions Trentino Itas, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, the Italian Cup holders, Cucine Lube Civitanova, the runners-up in the domestic league, and the reigning holders of the Italian Supercup, Sir Susa Vim Perugia – were at the start of the competition, played in Biella over two days, with two semi-finals and one final scheduled.

Motivated by the quest of holding on the trophy, Perugia started off in a fantastic manner, with a 3:1 win over Trentino, cancelling the reigning champions’ advantage, after Trentino took the first set, 25:20. With a convincing performance from Tunisian Wassim Ben Tara, with 23 points, Perugia bounced back and took the other three sets, 25:22, 25:23 and 25:18, powering to a crucial win.

There was no question about the winners of the second semi-final, as Cucine Luba Civitanova dominated Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, after Aleksandar Nikolov scored 17 points, with an outstanding 93% efficiency, being virtually unstoppable by the Piacenza blocks. With a 25:22, 25:16 and a 25:18 scoreline, Civitanova cruised into the final and had their chance to secure their first Supercup since 2014.

And they were truly close, in an epic final, which spanned over 2 hours and 33 minutes, full of twists and turns, excellent performances from one side, cancelled by outstanding moments of their opponents and with one deserved winner, which celebrated their fifth Supercup in history.

In the first set, Civitanova took an early lead, 8:6, which they kept throughout the whole time, securing a 25:22 win and striking early. Perugia bounced back in the second set, taking a 8:4 lead, which was constantly threatened by Civitanova, where Adis Lagumdzija scored 22 points. Eventually, Civitanova navigated the business end of the set better and took a 25:23 win, to make it 2:0.

The third set was the pivotal moment of the match, when Civitanova were only five points shy of the win, leading by 20:17, only for Perugia to find motivation to mount a 5:0 unanswered run, courtesy of some exquisite play from Wassim Ben Tara and captain Wilfredo Leon, the best scorers for their side, with 21 points.

Eventually, Perugia sealed a 21:25 win, going on a 8:1 run, which proved decisive. The fourth set was even more dramatic, needing 66 points to decide the winner and after Civitanova lost one match ball, it was game over for them, with Perugia taking the set, 34:32.

From that moment on, Ben Tara, Leon and Kamil Semeniuk (20 points) took over the match, controlled the fifth set and brought home the trophy for Perugia, their fifth in history and the fourth in his career with four different teams for coach Angelo Lorenzetti.

Perugia’s Wassim Ben Tara was the top scorer of the Italian Supercup and was also selected as the MVP of the competition, delivering some superb performances, which confirm why Perugia signed him in the first place.