Sir Safety Conad, Itas Trentino push forward with away wins in Italy

None of the weekend’s five SuperLega Credem Banca matches in Italy were resolved in straight sets. Wilfredo Leon and Matthew Anderson powered table leaders Sir Safety Conad Perugia to an away victory extending the gap at the top, while Daniele Lavia, Alessandro Micchieletto and Matey Kaziyski helped Itas Trentino succeed in their away game and keep their winning streak going.

After stumbling in their last SuperLega match at Trentino, Sir got back on the winning track with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20) victory over Allianz Milan on Sunday. Polish international Leon, who had just extended his contract with the club from Perugia for another three seasons, aced four times towards the win to collect a match high of 23 points. His American teammate Anderson added another 20 points, including two aces and two kill blocks, and was named MVP of the match. Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa and USA’s Thomas Jaeschke produced 14 points each for the home team, standing fifth on 26 points and a 9-7 win-loss record.

With their win, Sir widened the gap at the top of the standings. They lead the way on 44 points and a 14-2 record. Second-placed Cucine Lube Civitanova, whose 19th-leg game was postponed, have a record of 37 points and 12 wins in 15 matches.

Third-placed Trentino also collected 37 points after achieving their 12th victory in 16 games played, Sunday’s 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-20) win at Vero Volley Monza. It was Trentino’s fourth back-to-back win in the SuperLega and seventh overall in all competitions. Italian international Lavia topped the scorers chart of the match on 20 points, including three stuff blocks and an ace, followed by young Italian star Michieletto on 18 and Bulgarian standout Matey Kaziyski on 17. Belarusian opposite Uladzislau Davyskiba also piled up 18 points for Vero Volley. The team from Monza are seventh in the standings, now on an 8-10 record and 22 points.

Gioiella Prisma Taranto regained their spot among the top eight in the table after a hard-fought 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 17-25, 15-12) victory at Kioene Padua. Tommaso Stefani was once again Gioiella’s most prolific point-maker contributing 17 to his team’s success. Kioene’s Linus Weber delivered the 26-point match high, which included as many as six aces as well as two stuffs. The squad from Taranto’s record now includes 20 points and six wins in 17 matches, while the team from Padua are on 18 and 7-9.

Verona Volley are in between, in ninth place, on 19 points and a 7-10 win-loss. They had managed to surpass both those teams after claiming a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21) victory at Top Volley Cisterna on Saturday in a postponed 16th-leg game. Rising Slovenian star Rok Mozic, who turned 20 just a couple of weeks ago, was the best scorer of the match on a total of 23 points, including four stuffs and an ace.

Consar RCM Ravenna failed to achieve their first win of the season as they hosted their neighbours at the bottom of the standings, Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia, on Sunday. Led by Japanese international Yuji Nishida, who piled up 28 points, including two aces, right on his 22nd birthday, the visitors celebrated a 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22) victory, their fourth in 15 matches. Dutch opposite Niels Klapwijk put away 23 points for the hosts from Ravenna, who are stuck in 13th at the bottom of the table on just two points and 0-15.

Two matches postponed from earlier legs are set to be played on Wednesday, February 2, at 18:00 local time. Lube will host Trentino in an exciting head-to-head collision for the second place in the current standings, while Sir welcome Gioiella to Perugia.

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