With a big win over Cisterna on the road, the team are now four points above the playoff line
Published 07:18, 13 Feb 2023
World champion Gianluca Galassi celebrates a big win with his Monza teammates
Vero Volley Monza delivered a strong performance in one of the most pivotal matches of the season and are now closer to making it to the playoffs of the 2022-2023 SuperLega Credem Banca.
Monza came up big in the opening match of the weekend in Italy and, despite being on the road and starting behind, came back to overcome Top Volley Cisterna 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22) on Saturday.
· Watch all SuperLega Credem Banca matches live or on demand on VBTV.
The result gave a significant boost to Monza’s playoff aspirations as, besides moving the team up from eighth to seventh place in the standings, it also created a four-point separation between them and Cisterna, who are the first team below the playoff line.
After this weekend’s matches, Monza have 27 points while Cisterna remain at 23 with only three more regular season matches to be played before the start of the playoffs. The eight best teams in the standings will compete in the postseason in Italy.
Monza’s Canadian duo of Arthur Szwarc and Stephen Maar was instrumental in the team’s triumph on the road as while the 27-year-old middle blocker tallied 21 points (17 kills, three aces, one block), his 28-year-old outside hitter compatriot added another 20 (17 kills, two aces, one block).
A former Cisterna player, Szwarc celebrated Monza’s important victory.
“We’re taking home three important points tonight,” he said. “This place has been my home for three years and I love playing here. I waited a long time for this match, but not because I wanted revenge or anything like that. I just wanted to give my best from start to finish and I’m glad it went well. If we push like we did today, we can do great things.”
Cisterna had the top scorer of the match in Croatian outside hitter Marko Sedlacek, who left the court with 25 points (20 kills, three blocks, two aces). His compatriot Petar Dirlic, who is the best scorer of the SuperLega, produced 14 (13 kills, one block).
In another big encounter of the weekend in the SuperLega, league leaders Sir Safety Susa Perugia were pushed hard by Trentino Itas, but showed strength at the end to claim a five-set (19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 23-25, 15-11) victory on the road and remain undefeated.
Cuban opposite Jaime Herrera was on fire from the service line and led Perugia’s victory with a match-high 25 points. The left-handed Cuban international had 14 kills and three blocks to go with his impressive eight aces, playing a key role in the team’s success. Pole outside hitter Wilfredo Leon added another 19 (17 kills, one block, one ace) points for Perugia.
Trentino had excellent production from star outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto, who left the court with 19 points (16 kills, three blocks). Bulgarian opposite Matey Kaziyski and Serbian middle blocker Marko Podrascanin also had solid displays with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Perugia added two more points to their season total of 56 and are now 18 points clear at the top of the standings with 19 wins. Trentino (36 points, 11 wins) started the week in second place, but were overtaken by Valsa Group Modena, who downed Gioiella Prisma Taranto 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 20-25, 25-18) and now have 38 points and 12 victories.
The other two matches of the weekend saw WithU Verona going on the road and topping Pallavolo Padova in the tie-breaker (25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 27-29, 19-17) and Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza prevailing over Allianz Millano at home in four sets (27-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-19). The duel between Emma Villas Aubay Siena and defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova was postponed.
Competition continues this week in the Italian League with Taranto and Siena facing each other on Saturday and five other matches taking place on Sunday.
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