Superlega 2021

Perugia and Trentino emerge from Coppa Italia semis

Watch Sunday’s final live or on demand on Volleyball TV

Published 07:15, 06 Mar 2022

Wilfredo Leon

The winner of the 2022 Del Monte Coppa Italia SuperLega trophy will be decided in a battle between Sir Safety Conad Perugia and Itas Trentino. The big final of Italy’s national cup at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno near Bologna will start at 15:00 local time and be streamed live Volleyball TV.

The two teams dominated their semifinal matches at the same venue on Saturday living up to their status of favourites to move on to Sunday’s decider, in which Perugia will be aiming to win the Coppa Italia for the third time in their history, after 2018 and 2019, while Trentino will be fighting for their fourth national cup trophy, after 2010, 2012 and 2013.

In the first semifinal, Sir Safety Conad Perugia outplayed Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza in four sets to advance to their fifth back-to-back and sixth overall Coppa Italia final. Polish international Wilfredo Leon was once again on fire, leading the match scorers with 26 points towards a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-18) victory. The Cuban-born outside’s tally consisted of three aces including the match winner, two blocks and 21 kills at a 54% success rate.

The Block Devils scored a total of 13 stuff blocks in the match, with Argentinean middle Sebastian Sole and American outside Matthew Anderson leading the way with four each. Sole added eight successful hits at a rate of 62%, while Anderson produced 13 spiking points (52%) and an ace as both reached the double digits in scoring. On the other side of the net, substitute opposite, Slovenian international Toncek Stern delivered 16 points. So did French outside Thibault Rossard, while his compatriot, setter Antoine Brizard, aced three times towards a seven-point tally.

“Piacenza showed in the first three sets that it deserved to reach the Final Four, but today we had one more player, the audience, who helped us and pushed us to the final. The final will be a great party, certainly a match that will be fought to the end.” Kamil Rychlicki, opposite of Sir Safety Conad Perugia

Trentino hammered out a convincing 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-20) shutout of Allianz Milano in the second semifinal on Saturday to qualify for their eighth Coppa Italia final in history. Serbian middle Srecko Lisinac showed his prowess for blocking, contributing five of the team’s 13 stuffs in the match. His efforts in attack also paid off with five points at a success rate of 63%. Italian opposite Daniele Lavia topped that, registering 64% on the way to producing 18 kills in offence and a kill block towards the match high of 19 points. Trentino’s Bulgarian star Matey Kaziyski hammered out two direct serving points, the team’s only aces in the game, and reached the double digits, scoring a total of 13 points.

“It was a tough encounter, but we were able to control the opponent throughout the game. We are a great team and we were prepared well for this match. I think we have seen it. Our job, however, is not finished yet. On Sunday we have to try to put a spoke in Perugia’s wheel. They have shown throughout the season that they are the strongest and the most consistent team, but we never give up and we believe in it to the last point.” Marko Podrascanin, middle blocker of Itas Trentino Trento

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