Perugia stay alive in SuperLega final

The SuperLega Credem Banca championship series is not over yet! After Sir Safety Conad Perugia managed to beat Cucine Lube Civitanova in the third match of the final playoff in Italy, fans will get a chance to watch at least one more game between the two star-studded teams on Wednesday in Civitanova Marche, as Lube now lead the series by two victories to one.

Whether defending champions Lube will be able to win at home, close the series and celebrate another title, or regular season winners Perugia will level it at two wins each to push it to a fifth-match decider at the Pala Barton, you can watch all the action LIVE on Volleyball TV on May 11 at 20:45 local time / 18:45 GMT.

Perugia captain Wilfredo Leon was playing at his usual high level on Sunday as he hammered five aces at a sold-out Pala Barton on the way to a 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-18, 26-24) victory. The Cuban-born Polish star also spiked 16 kills at a 62% success rate towards a 21-point match high and the MVP nomination.

American outside hitter Matthew Anderson also attacked efficiently, producing 12 points at a 63% success rate, while Luxembourgish opposite Kamil Rychlicki tallied three kill blocks, two aces and eight successful spikes towards a 13-point total.

Three players reached double digits in scoring on Lube’s side. Puerto Rican opposite Gabi Garcia, who came in as a substitution, hit 11 points at a 61% success rate. Cuban outside Marlon Yant, who played only in the first three sets, also delivered 11 attacking points, registering a success rate of 69%, while his Brazilian cross-court teammate Ricardo Lucarelli scored 10 times, including an ace and a block.

Meanwhile, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and Top Volley Cisterna advanced to the deciding game for the fifth place in the season’s final standings to be played on Friday, May 13, at 20:45 local time / 18.45 GMT in Piacenza. The two teams achieved four-set home victories in Saturday’s semifinal matches.

Petar Dirlic helped steer Cisterna to a 3-1 (15-25, 25-20, 25-22, 26-24) comeback against Vero Volley Monza. The Croatian opposite produced 17 points, while the outsides, Canada’s Stephen Maar and Italy’s Giacomo Raffaelli added another 15 each. Monza’s German opposite Gyorgy Grozer delivered the match high of 19 points.

In the other match, USA’s Aaron Russell and Turkey’s Adis Lagumdzija led Piacenza with 16 points apiece to a 3-1 (25-22, 25-11, 19-25, 25-19) win over Verona Volley, while outsides Asparuh Asparuhov of Bulgaria with 17 points (including five aces) and Rok Mozic of Slovenia with 16 (including five blocks) were the best scorers on the other side of the net.

• Watch all the matches of the Italian men's and women's top-division leagues live or on demand on Volleyball TV.

• Get the results, statistics, schedules and more on Volleyball World’s 2021-2022 SuperLega site.