The team from Northern Italy are fifth after a five-set victory over the second-placed side
Published 07:37, 20 Feb 2023
Keita was one of Verona's most productive players against Modena
WithU Verona continued their great run of form in the SuperLega Credem Banca and climbed up to fifth place in the standings after they secured their fifth-straight victory in the Italian League on Sunday.
Playing in front of their home fans, Verona knocked down second-placed Valsa Group Modena in a dramatic five-set (25-19, 28-26, 19-25, 20-25, 15-10) match that saw them drop a two-set lead only to come back and win the tie-breaker.
· Watch all SuperLega Credem Banca matches live or on demand on VBTV.
With 12 wins in 20 matches so far in the season, Verona have overcome Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and are now in fifth place with 31 points, only one behind defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova. The team is now also guaranteed in the playoffs.
“We’re obviously very happy with the two points we earned today,” assistant coach Dario Simoniat said. “It’s our fifth-straight victory and we have to celebrate. Unfortunately our level dropped after the second set, but I think that’s something normal with young squads. But we see some signs we’re improving with that too and will keep working on that.”
Verona’s triumph was, indeed, built with strong contributions from some of the team’s youngest players. Russian opposite Maksim Sapozhkov, 22, led all scorers with 29 points after he registered 24 kills, three blocks and two aces.
The team’s 21-year-old outside hitter duo formed by Mali’s Noumory Keita and Slovenia’s Rok Možič also had a productive night, with each of them generating 21 points for Verona.
Modena’s top scorer in the match was Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija, who left the court with 21 points (17 kills, two blocks, two aces). Outside hitter Tommaso Rinaldi added 15, two more than Serbian middle blocker Dragan Stankovic.
Four other Italian League matches over the weekend were also decided in the tie-breaker. One of them featured third-placed Itas Trentino, who reversed a two-set deficit to top Allianz Milano 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-23, 26-24, 15-8) on the road.
Bulgarian opposite Matey Kaziyski and Italian star outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto led Trentino’s scoring efforts with 21 and 20 points respectively, while French Olympic champion opposite Jean Patry, from Milano, was the match’s top scorer with 23 points (19 kills, two blocks, two aces).
In Civitanova Marche, Lube did the same against Piacenza, dropping the first two sets before turning the tables and pleasing their home fans with a dramatic five-set (18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-13) victory. Italian star opposite Ivan Zaytsev scored 20 points for Lube while Italian national team opposite Yuri Romanó produced a match-high 22 for Piacenza.
Also on Sunday, Pallavolo Padova went on the road and claimed an important win, overcoming hosts Vero Volley Monza in the tie-breaker (26-24, 17-25, 17-25, 25-20, 15-13). Japanese outside hitter Ran Takahashi had a stellar performance, tallying 21 points (16 kills, four aces, one block).
On Saturday, in a duel involving two teams threatened by relegation, Gioiella Prisma Taranto ground to produce a five-set (25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-10) over Emma Villas Aubay Siena, who are now at the bottom of the standings.
In the only three-setter of the weekend, league leaders Sir Safety Susa Perugia cruised past Top Volley Cisterna to claim a solid 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-22) victory and extend their winning streak in the Italian League to 20 matches.
The Italian League will have a light schedule this week as the Final Round of the Coppa Italia, reuniting Perugia, Trentino, Piacenza and Milano in Rome, will take place over the weekend. The only SuperLega encounter will be the one between Lube and Siena, which was postponed last week – the match will be played on Saturday, at 20:00 local time (19:00 UTC).
