With the end of the first half of Italy’s SuperLega Credem Banca regular season, the bracket for the national cup competition took shape, based on the league table as it stands after the 11th leg. The men’s Del Monte Coppa Italia starts with single-match elimination quarterfinals to be played on January 3 and 4, with the winners qualifying for the Final Four in Bologna on January 27 and 28.
Del Monte Coppa Italia SuperLega
Coppa Italia 2024: the men’s quarterfinal match-ups
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Published 02:50, 28 Dec 2023
Vero Volley’s three-man block against Lube’s Aleksandar Nikolov
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In one of the quarterfinals, fourth-placed Mint Vero Volley Monza will host fifth-placed Cucine Lube Civitanova. The two teams are neighbours in the table, standing on a 7-4 win-loss record each. Vero Volley have collected 20 points, one more than Lube. The two teams met in a SuperLega game on October 22 and the visitors from Monza managed to hammer out a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-22) shutout of the 2023 silver medallists, led by Canadian opposite Arthur Szwarc with 17 points. It was their third consecutive win in the head-to-head series with Lube. The last time the club from Civitanova defeated Vero Volley was back in April 2022. Just four days before their national cup encounter, Vero Volley will welcome Lube for their SuperLega 12th-leg fixture.
In one of the Bologna semifinals, the winner of the clash between Vero Volley and Lube will meet the winner of the quarterfinal match-up between reigning Italian champions and table leaders Itas Trentino Trento and eighth-placed Rana Verona. Hosts Trentino are the heavy favourites in this game. They have lost only one of their 11 SuperLega matches so far this season and stand atop the table on 28 point. Their SuperLega victories include a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15) away shutout of Verona on November 5, with a 14-point match high from outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto. Rana booked a last-minute ticket to the quarterfinals, after scoring their fifth win in 11 games played and collecting a total of 14 points. The club from Verona’s last win over the club from Trento came in a five-set SuperLega match in October 2022.
Third-placed Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, who are in the role of defending Coppa Italia trophy-holders, will welcome sixth-placed Allianz Milan in another quarterfinal fixture next week. Gas Sales have 24 points and a 7-4 win-loss record, while Allianz are on 18 and 6-5. When these two teams met in a SuperLega game on October 29 in Milan, the squad from Piacenza mastered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) sweep, led by Brazilian outside Ricardo Lucarelli with 16 points, to extend their winning streak in the head-to-head series with Allianz to seven matches after the Milan club’s last success, dating back to January 2022.
The winner of the duel between Gas Sales and Allianz will play in the other January 27 semifinal against the winner of the quarterfinal game between Sir Susa Vim Perugia and Valsa Group Modena. Sir, who have already bagged two big trophies this season, from the Supercoppa Italiana and from the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship, are second in the SuperLega on 25 points and an 8-3 win-loss record, while Valsa Group are seventh on 17 and 7-4. The club from Perugia is also on a seven-game winning streak against the club from Modena, including their most recent victory, a SuperLega 3-1 (14-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-18) home win on November 12 with an 18-point match high from Tunisian opposite Wassim Ben Tara. Modena’s last success against Sir was achieved in April 2022.
Del Monte Coppa Italia SuperLega 2024 quarterfinals:
Jan 3, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Mint Vero Volley Monza v Cucine Lube Civitanova
Jan 3, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Rana Verona
Jan 3, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza v Allianz Milan
Jan 4, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Sir Susa Vim Perugia v Valsa Group Modena
