This Wednesday edition of the SuperLega was this close to being predictable. Every higher ranked team won their game with relative ease, with only one match going to 5 sets, except for one startling exception. Revivre Milano took down powerhouse Azimut Modena in a thriller, finished off with the most clutch ace of the season courtesy of Klemen Cebulj.
The match between Modena and Milano showed the importance of depth when constructing a roster in volleyball. Modena was missing both Giulio Sabbi and Andrea Argenta, both more than capable players and their two opposites on the roster. Milano was without the league-leading scorer Nimir Abdel-Aziz. The trio of outsides for Milano, Kevin Klinkenberg, Ruben Schott, and Klemen Cebulj, stepped up to the plate in his absence, responding to an increased workload with a combined 41/72 hitting. Earvin Ngapeth stopped countless break points in the fifth set for Modena, scoring almost every time he touched the ball, but all it took was one lapse for his superhuman performance to be for naught.
Other notable games this week was a beatdown of Padova by Piacenza, sending Padova out of the playoffs, and the third set between Bunge Ravenna and BCC Castallena Grotte that ended up at 37-35, one of the highest total scores of the season.
ROUND 21 SCORES
*Winners are bolded
| ROUND 21 – February 7th | |||
| Home Team | Visiting Team | Facility | Score |
| Top Volley Latina | Diatec Trentino | PalaBianchini |
3-1, (21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-18)
|
| Revivre Milano | Azimut Modena | PalaYamamay |
3-2, (22-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 20-18)
|
| Kione Padova | Wixo LPR Piacenza | Kione Arena |
3-0, (25-19, 25-19, 25-22)
|
| Lube Civitanova | Gi Group Monza | Eurosuole Forum |
3-0, (25-22, 25-16, 25-18)
|
| Sir Safety Perugia | Vibo Valentia | PalaEvangelisti |
3-0, (25-20, 25-18, 25-21)
|
| BCC Castellana Grotte | Bunge Ravenna | PalaFlorio |
3-0, (25-17, 26-24, 25-23)
|
| Calzadonia Verona | Biosi Indexa Sora | AGSM Forum |
3-1, (23-25, 25-20, 27-25, 31-29)
|
TOP PERFORMERS
Team
- Hitting efficiency – Sir Safety Perugia (65.2%)
- Reception efficiency – Sir Safety Perugia (40.8%)
- Blocks – Revivre Milano (16)
- Points – Revivre Milano (84)
- Aces – Diatec Trentino (10)
Individual
- Points – Earvin Ngapeth (Azimut Modena) – 30 points
- Kills – Dusan Petkovic (Biosi Indexa Sora) – 27 kills
- Aces – Osmany Juantorena (Cucine Lube Civitanova) – 5 aces
- Blocks – Gianluca Galassi (Revivre Milano) – 6 blocks
MVPS
- Aiden Zingel (Diatec Trentino)
- Nicolas Marechal (Bunge Ravenna)
- Trevor Clevenot (Wixo LPR Piacenza)
- Osmany Juantorena (Cucine Lube Civitanova)
- Ivan Zaytsev (Sir Safety Perugia)
- Klemen Cebulj (Revivre Milano)
- Javad Manavi (Calzedonia Verona)
RANKINGS
- Sir Safety Conad Perugia – 57
- Cucine Lube Civitanova – 53
- Azimut Modena – 49
- Diatec Trentino – 39
- Calzedonia Verona– 39
- Wixo LPR Piacenza– 35
- Revivre Milano – 34
- Bunge Ravenna – 32
- Kione Padova– 30
- Top Volley Latina – 22
- Gi Group Monza – 22
- Vibo Valentia – 12
- BCC Castellana Grotte – 10
- Biosi Indexa Sora – 7
UP NEXT
| ROUND 22 – February 11 | ||
| Home Team | Visiting Team | Facility |
| Sir Safety Perugia | Lube Civitanova | PalaEvangelisti |
| Gi Group Monza | Calzedonia Verona | Candy Arena |
| Diatec Trentino | Wixo LPR Piacenza | PalaTrento |
| Azimut Modena | Vibo Valentia | PalaSport G.Panini |
| Bunge Ravenna | Top Volley Latina | Pala De Andre |
| Biosi Indexa Sora | Revivre Milano | PalaGlobo Luca Pisinelli |
| Kione Padova | BCC Castallena Grotte | Kione Arena |
The marquee match will happen on Saturday this weekend, a rematch of the Italian Cup finals between Civitanova and Perugia. Aleksander Atanasijevic, Ivan Zaytsev and the rest of the Perugia squad looked unstoppable in the last matchup, but Civitanova is a team I would never count out of the fight.
Leave a Reply