Brazilian opposite Darlan Souza and Malian outside hitter Noumory Keita hammered as many as five aces each towards Rana Verona’s five-set victory at Sir Susa Scai Perugia in an Italian men’s volleyball SuperLega Credem Banca fixture on Sunday afternoon. The first setback for the reigning European champions since the start of the new season was one of several interesting results the weekend’s matches produced in Italy.

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Rana Verona bounced back from their first loss of the season, which they suffered in Civitanova Marche a week earlier, with a 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-12) road victory over unbeaten table leaders Sir Susa Scai Perugia in front of nearly five thousand on the stands at the Barton Energy hall. In addition to the five aces, Darlan put away 18 spike points at a 68% success rate in attack and a kill block to finish with a match-high 24 points and earn the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Keita’s five serving points were accompanied by 15 successful swings and a stuff towards a 21-point tally. Sir’s Tunisian opposite Wassim Ben Tara signed off with a 70% success rate in offense, three aces and a kill block, leading his team with 23 points. The Block Devils’ Polish outside Kamil Semeniuk also reached the double digits with 12 points, including two aces and a block. Verona climbed back up to second place in the current standings on 14 points and a 5-1 win-loss record. Having already played seven matches, Sir are still in first place on 17 and 6-1.

Earlier in the week, on Thursday, the squad from Perugia, set to participate in next month’s FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship in Brazil, claimed a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) home victory over SuperLega rookies MA Acqua San Bernardo Cuneo in an advanced fixture of the 11^th leg. Match MVP Ben Tara, who delivered two aces and two kill blocks, shared the top scorer honors with Japanese outside Yuki Ishikawa, who nailed four aces, as the two finished on 16 points each.

Cuneo recovered with a clean sweep of their away match at last season’s rookies Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina. On Sunday, their French opposite Nathan Feral produced four aces within a 16-point tally to lead the team to a 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-18) victory. His Iranian counterpart Amir Golzadeh was the best scorer of the match with 17 points for Grottazzolina, including two aces and a block. Cuneo rose to seventh place on 8 and 2-5, while Grottazzolina are still winless and stuck at the bottom, in 12^th place on 1 and 0-5, with a game in hand.

In another Sunday match, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza mastered a tight 3-0 (29-27, 28-26, 25-22) shutout of their visitors Cucine Lube Civitanova, handing last season’s silver medalists and Italy Cup winners their second defeat of the new season. Opposite Alessandro Bovolenta contributed 21 points to top the match chart. He spiked at a 61% success rate and added two aces and two kill blocks for the winners. Lube fell back down to third place on 13 and 4-2, while Gas Sales remained in sixth place, now on 9 and 3-3.

In the closing match of the week, Cisterna Volley emerged on the winning end of a five-set saga against Valsa Group Modena and upset their visitors with a dramatic 3-2 (26-24, 19-25, 16-25, 37-35, 15-11) victory. Outside hitter Filippo Lanza led the winners with 24 points, raising two kill blocks and spiking 22 points at a 61% success rate, and shared the top scorer honors with sub-in opposite Ahmed Ikhbayri from Libya, whose tally featured 23 swings at a 59% success rate and an ace. Cisterna moved up a spot, to ninth place on 6 and 3-3, while Modena moved down a spot, to fifth on 11 and 3-3.

Defending champions Itas Trentino Trento took advantage of the opportunity to ascend to fourth place on 12 and 4-2 with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-20) home victory over Vero Volley Monza on Sunday. French opposite Theo Faure led the winners with 15 points, including three blocks, an ace and 11 swings at a 61% success rate. His Hungarian counterpart Krisztian Padar emerged as the most prolific scorer of the match with 16 points for Vero Volley, 15 spikes and an ace. The team from Monza remained second from the bottom, in 11^th place on 4 and 1-5.

Saturday’s only game unfolded in five sets, with Allianz Milan claiming a 3-2 (25-17, 25-20, 27-29, 21-25, 15-10) away victory over Sonepar Padova Padua. Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers hammered out a match-high 28 points for the winners, 26 spikes at a 58% success rate and two blocks, while his Brazilian teammate, setter Fernando Kreling, earned the MVP honors. Both teams lost not only points, but also their positions in the table. Allianz are now down to eighth on 7 and 3-2, with a game in hand, while Padova dropped to 10^th on 6 and 2-4.

A postponed sixth-leg game between Allianz and Grottazzolina on Wednesday will get the new SuperLega week started, followed by the six matches of the seventh leg over the weekend, November 22 and 23.

SuperLega Credem Banca 2025-2026 upcoming matches:
Nov 19, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Allianz Milan v Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina
Nov 22, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Cisterna Volley v Allianz Milan
Nov 23, 16:00 local (15:00 UTC): MA Acqua San Bernardo Cuneo v Valsa Group Modena
Nov 23, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Sonepar Padova Padua v Cucine Lube Civitanova
Nov 23, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Sir Susa Scai Perugia
Nov 23, 19:00 local (18:00 UTC): Rana Verona v Vero Volley Monza
Nov 23, 19:00 local (18:00 UTC): Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina v Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza

SuperLega Credem Banca 2025-2026 schedule and results

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