Things are going to move quickly in Italian volleyball this week, with two more rounds of the SuperLega Credem Banca semifinals and another two in the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile quarterfinals taking place over the next few days.
What's On: Your guide to this week's best LIVE matches
Here’s what to look out for from April 18-24 in volleyball and beach volleyball
Published 03:49, 18 Apr 2023
Kurek and his Wolfdogs Nagoya will face defending champions Suntory Sunbirds in the Japanese V-League final (Photo: V-League)
National leagues around the world continue to crown their champions too, with the Japanese V-League determining its 2022-2023 men’s and women’s winners over the weekend and Argentina potentially seeing the final series between UPCN Voley and Ciudad Voley come to an end on Friday.
The beach volleyball season also continues to move forward, with international players getting on the court in Satun, Thailand, for a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures tournament and the top Brazilian teams battling in their national tour in Saquarema, the city that just hosted the most recent Beach Pro Tour Challenge event.
Here’s what to follow over the next few days:
Tuesday
Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile: E-Work Busto Arsizio vs. Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano – 20:00 local time (18:00 UTC)
Reigning Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano could make it to the semifinals of the Italian League for a tenth-straight season as they face E-Work Busto Arsizio in the second leg of their best-of-three quarterfinal series. Conegliano started the duel strong on Saturday, sweeping Busto at home, and will advance if they can pull off another victory, this time on the road.
Sweden’s Isabelle Haak 🤯!
— Volleyball World (@volleyballworld) April 17, 2023
The opposite hitter scored 24 pts for @ImocoVolley in their 3-0 win 🆚 @UYBAvolley.
➡️ Game 2 of the quarterfinals is this Tuesday April 18.
📺 LIVE at 6pm GMT on VBTV.
🏐 #Volleyball #Pallavolo #LVFSerieA1 pic.twitter.com/D3F31i2irz
Wednesday
SuperLega Credem Banca: Semifinals, Leg 3 - 20:30 local time (18:30 UTC)
The first finalists of the SuperLega Credem Banca could be known on Wednesday, when both semifinal best-of-five series will have their third matches going on. Itas Trentino, who topped Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza twice already, will be back at home and could end their series with another win. In the other duel, which is currently tied 1-1, defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova will host Allianz Milano as both sides look to get the go-ahead win.
The winner is Trentino!
— Volleyball World (@volleyballworld) April 17, 2023
Here’s the match highlight between @trentinovolley & @GasSalesVolley from game 2 of the SuperLega Semifinals.
📺 Full match replay on VBTV.
🏐 #volleyball #Pallavolo pic.twitter.com/Ipm5eO2Qav
Thursday
Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile: Volley Bergamo 1991 vs. Savino Del Bene Scandicci – 20:00 local time (18:00 UTC)
The quarterfinals of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile continue on Thursday, with the second duel between Savino Del Bene Scandicci and Volley Bergamo 1991. Scandicci were dominant when the teams first met, on Sunday, beating Bergamo in straight sets, and could bring their best-of-three series to an end if they managed to claim a road win.
Beach Pro Tour Satun Futures – Thailand
Watch the semifinals and medal matches on YouTube
The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour makes its first stop in Thailand in the 2023 season, with a Futures event taking place in Satun from Thursday to Sunday. The tournament has 51 teams (28 men’s, 23 women’s) entered and will feature duos from Asia, Europe, Africa and North America in action.
Friday
Argentinean Men’s League: UPCN Voley vs. Ciudad Voley – 22:00 local time (01:00 UTC, Saturday)
The final series of the Argentinean Men’s League could come to an end on Friday, with the third duel between the country’s top teams UPCN Voley and Ciudad Voley. Ciudad, who have Tokyo Olympic medallist Facundo Conte as their main star, currently lead the best-of-five series that will determine the 2022-2023 national champions by 2-0 and could secure their first title with another victory.
Brazilian Beach Volleyball Tour – Saquarema
The city of Saquarema, which hosted a Beach Pro Tour Challenge event last weekend, continues to breath beach volleyball as the third stop of the Brazilian National Tour will be held there from Friday to Sunday. Evandro Gonçalves and Arthur Lanci, who won the men’s tournament of the international event on Sunday, will be back in action, as will the women’s duos of Tainá Bigi/Victoria Lopes and Andressa Cavalcanti/Vitória Rodrigues, which took silver and bronze.
Saturday
SuperLega Credem Banca: Semifinals, Leg 4 - 18:00 local time (16:00 UTC)
The day is reserved for the fourth leg of the semifinals of the SuperLega Credem Banca. The duel between Allianz Milano and Cucine Lube Civitanova is confirmed to take place in Milan with the team that wins Wednesday’s encounter having the ability to bring the dispute to an end. In order for the other series to need a fourth match, Coppa Italia champions Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza will have to upset Itas Trentino on the road on Wednesday.
Japanese Women’s V-League: Toray Arrows vs. NEC Red Rockets – 14:08 local time (5:08 UTC)
The Toray Arrows and the NEC Red Rockets will play for the title of the Japanese Women’s V-League in Tokyo. The best team in the regular season, the Arrows will be playing for their fifth national title and rely on outside hitters Mayu Ishikawa and Jana Kulan to have big performances. Looking to secure their eighth title, the Red Rockets, who were fourth in the Preliminary Round, have star outside hitter Sarina Koga and American three-time Volleyball Nations League champion Sarah Wilhite-Parsons in their squad.
Sunday
Japanese Men’s V-League: Suntory Sunbirds vs. Wolfdogs Nagoya – 14:08 local time (5:08 UTC)
On Sunday, it will be time to know the Japanese Men’s V-League champions, with the Suntory Sunbirds and the Wolfdogs Nagoya repeating last year’s final. The defending champions Sunbirds will play for their third-straight and tenth overall title after finishing second in the regular season and count on Russian opposite Dmitry Muserskiy and setter Masaka Oya. The regular season winners, the Wolfdogs have lifted the title once and have Polish opposite Bartosz Kurek and outside hitter Kenta Takanashi as their key players.
Monday
(If needed) Brazilian Men’s Superliga: Sada Cruzeiro vs. Farma Conde Vôlei – 21:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Tuesday)
The Brazilian Men’s Superliga starts its semifinal round this week and the best-of-three series between regular season winners defending champions Sada Cruzeiro and fifth-placed Farma Conde Vôlei could come down to a third and decisive match if the teams split wins in the first two duels, set to take place on Wednesday and Saturday.
