After four exciting do-or-die men’s Del Monte Coppa Italia quarterfinals, some of which resorted to tie-breaker resolutions, Sir Susa Vim Perugia v Rana Verona and Itas Trentino Trento v Cucine Lube Civitanova shaped up as the semifinal match-ups on January 25, 2025 in Bologna that will determine the two national cup finalists to contest the trophy on January 26.
Del Monte Coppa Italia SuperLega 2024/2025
Trentino v Lube and Sir v Verona in Coppa Italia semis
Recap of the Italian men’s national cup quarterfinals
Published 07:39, 31 Dec 2024
Noumory Keita was the big hero in Verona’s 3-2 win over Gas Sales
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In one of the quarterfinals decided after a five-set battle, Rana Verona squeezed out a 3-2 (25-18, 26-24, 23-25, 21-25, 15-10) home win over Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and qualified for the Coppa Italia Final Four for the first time in the club’s history. Malian opposite Noumory Keita powered Verona with 30 points, including two aces and a kill block, and earned the Most Valuable Player award. Slovenian outside hitter Rok Mozic added another 17 points, while middle blocker Aidan Zingel impressed with six kill blocks for the winners. On the visitors’ side, opposite Alessandro Bovolenta led the way with 23 points, outsides Stephen Maar of Canada and Uros Kovacevic of Serbia put away 19 and 14 points, respectively, while French setter Antoine Brizard raised five kill blocks.
Spearheaded by Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers with a fantastic match high of 32 points, Allianz Milan came back from a set down twice during their visit to Cucine Lube Civitanova, but eventually fell in the tie-breaker. The home team celebrated a 3-2 (25-17, 20-25, 25-16, 21-25, 15-11) victory with Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija contributing 14 points, including three aces and three blocks, outside Mattia Bottolo adding another 12 and claiming the MVP award, his Canadian cross-court teammate Eric Loeppky putting away 11 and French middle Barthelemy Chinenyeze finishing with 10 points. Allianz’s Canadian middle Jordan Schnitzer and French outside Yacine Louati also reached the double digits with 11 points apiece.
“It was one of the most beautiful victories, because it was hard fought and came at the tie-breaker, at the end of a challenge, in which we made up for some technical shortcomings with character and, above all, with the great desire to win,” Bottolo said after the match. “Now for a few days we will enjoy this qualification for the Final Four, which had always eluded us since I arrived in Civitanova. Then we will focus on the championship match with Verona...”
In the first of three quarterfinals on Sunday, Itas Trentino Trento lived up to their status of match favourites against Cisterna Volley and achieved a 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15) home victory, qualifying for the Coppa Italia Final Four for a record-breaking 16th consecutive time. Outside Alessandro Michieletto was on fire and piled up three aces and two kill blocks towards a 30-point match high, which guaranteed him the MVP recognition. Brazilian middle Flavio Gualberto added 11 points, while American opposite Gabriel Garcia finished with 10. Spanish outside Jordi Ramon, French opposite Theo Faure and Turkish outside Efe Bayram led Cisterna with 18, 16 and 12 points, respectively.
“It was one of the most important matches of this first part of the season, a one-off match against a team that we knew had what it takes to put us in difficulty,” Michieletto commented. “We were good; we entered the court with the right mindset, even if we were not perfect. We still needed to win and qualify for the Coppa Italia Final Four, which is always a beautiful event in every edition, so we absolutely wanted to be there.”
In the last quarterfinal, played on Monday evening, defending cup holders Sir Susa Vim Perugia did not allow any surprises and delivered a 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-22) home win over Valsa Group Modena to advance to the Final Four for the 11th time in the club’s history. Four of Sir’s players scored in the double digits. Tunisian opposite and match MVP Wassim Ben Tara and Ukrainian outside Oleh Plotnytskyi put away 11 points apiece, while Argentinean middle Agustin Loser and Japanese outside Yuki Ishikawa added 10 each. Modena’s Belarusian outside Uladzislau Davyskiba also scored 10 points, while their Austrian opposite Paul Buchegger delivered a match-high 13 points.
🎥 Gli highlights dei Quarti di Finale della DelMonte Coppa Italia.
— Sir Safety Perugia (@SIRVolleyPG) December 30, 2024
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On January 25 in Bologna, Sir will take on Verona at 16:15 local time (15:15 UTC), while Trentino will face Lube at 18:30 (17:30). The next day’s final is set to start at 15:15 (14:15).
