The rich keep getting richer in this weekday edition of the Italian SuperLega. Only one 5 set match between Wixo LPR Piacnenza and Gi Group Monza meant that the games were over before they even began. Teams at the top and bottom of the standings are locked into their playoff positions, and with no relegation this year, a lot of teams are just fighting for pride.
Perugia is the most talented team in the league, with sole ownership of the #1 seed. This has given them the luxury of sitting some of their starters in recent games. Aaron Russell sat the entirety of their game against Top Volley Latina. Marko Podrascanin and Luciano De Cecco also got some well-deserved rest. While none of these players will likely sit against Modena this weekend, these extra sets of rest could make a big difference when playing the rest of the league’s elite teams. Civitanova and Trentino have long dominated the SuperLega, Perugia has shown that it is not ready to accept the status quo.
A scorching hot Milano team looked like it had a good shot at taking out 5th place Verona, especially with league-best attacker and server Nimir Abdel-Aziz ready to join back up with the team. Things did not go according to Andrea Giani’s plan though thanks to sensational play from Verona libero Nicola Pesaresi. Every time that it looked like Milano was ready to go on a run, Pesaresi was in the right spot to keep a play alive and shift the momentum back into Verona’s favour. American Thomas Jaeschke was unstoppable as well, scoring 20 times on 33 attempts from all areas of the court, including multiple lighting fast back row attacks that have become more common as the season goes on. Despite the win, Verona is unlikely to catch Trentino, whose last two games are against Sora and Monza.
ROUND 24 SCORES
*Winners are bolded
| ROUND 24 – February 21st | |||
| Home Team | Visiting Team | Facility | Score |
| Kione Padova | Lube Civitanova | PalaSport G.Panini |
3-0, (25-18, 25-19, 25-22)
|
| Bunge Ravenna | Azimut Modena | PalaFlorio |
3-0, (25-18, 29-27, 25-19)
|
| Gi Group Monza | Wixo LPR Piacenza | Eurosuole Forum |
3-2, (21-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-20, 15-8)
|
| Diatec Trentino | Vibo Valentia | PalaBianchini |
3-0, (25-16, 25-19, 25-21)
|
| Sir Safety Perugia | Top Volley Latina | Pala Valentia |
3-1, (16-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-10)
|
| Calzedonia Verona | Revivre Milano | PalaYamamay |
3-1, (25-17, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20)
|
| Biosi Indexa Sora | BCC Castallena Grotte | Pala Banca |
3-1, (21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-16)
|
TOP PERFORMERS
Team
- Hitting efficiency – Lube Civitanova (66.1%)
- Reception efficiency – Azimut Modena (32.7%)
- Blocks – Sir Safety Perugia (13)
- Points – Wixo LPR Piacenza (88)
- Aces – Biosi Indexa Sora & Wixo LPR Piacenza (10)
Individual
- Points – Dusan Petkovic (Biosi Indexa Sora) – 30 points
- Kills – Dusan Petkovic (Biosi Indexa Sora)- 23 kills
- Aces – Osmany Juantorena, Dusan Petkovic, and Donovan Dzavoronok – 4 aces
- Blocks –Javad Manavi (Calzedonia Verona) – 5 blocks
MVPS
- Osmany Juantorena (Cucine Lube Civitanova)
- Bruno Rezende (Azimut Modena)
- Michele Baranowicz (Wixo LPR Piacenza)
- Filippo Lanza (Diatec Trentino)
- Alexander Berger (Sir Safety Conad Perugia)
- Nicola Pesaresi (Calzedonia Verona)
- Dusan Petkovic (Biosi Indexa Sora)
RANKINGS
- Sir Safety Conad Perugia – 66
- Cucine Lube Civitanova – 59
- Azimut Modena – 55
- Diatec Trentino – 47
- Calzedonia Verona– 45
- Revivre Milano – 40
- Wixo LPR Piacenza– 40
- Bunge Ravenna – 38
- Kione Padova– 33
- Gi Group Monza – 26
- Top Volley Latina – 22
- Vibo Valentia – 13
- BCC Castellana Grotte – 10
- Biosi Indexa Sora – 10
UP NEXT
| ROUND 25 – February 25 | ||
| Home Team | Visiting Team | Facility |
| Wixo LPR Piacenza | Lube Civitanova | Pala Banca |
| Azimut Modena | Sir Safety Perugia | PalaSport G. Panini |
| Vibo Valentia | Calzedonia Verona | Pala Valentia |
| Bunge Ravenna | Gi Group Monza | Pala De Andre |
| Top Volley Latina | Kione Padova | PalaBianchini |
| Diatec Trentino | Biosi Indexa Sora | PalaTrento |
| BCC Castellana Grotte | Revivre Milano | PalaFlorio |
A great playoff preview this sunday is going to be Perguia going up against Modena on their home court in the Pala Banca. Modena has been coming back into form recently, as their swath of injuries starts to diminish and key players such as Andrea Argenta and Earvin Ngapeth return to the floor. Perugia has barely dropped a set in 2018, can Modena be the first to beat them?
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