Perugia vs. Trentino & Civitanova vs. Piacenza to open Italian Supercoppa

With four giants competing for the title at a newly-renovated stadium, the 28^th edition of the Del Monte Supercoppa Italiana begins in Biella on Tuesday, when the semifinals of the two-day event will be held.

Sir Susa Vim Perugia and Itas Trentino will be the first to get on the court, at 17:30 local time (16:30 GMT), followed by Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and Cucine Lube Civitanova, three hours later. The winners will clash for the title on Wednesday, at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT).

• Watch Del Monte Supercoppa Italiana live and on demand on VBTV.

Defending champions Perugia will be involved in the first semifinal of the event. The winners of four of the last six editions of the event, the Block Devils have been in great form in the SuperLega Credem Banca so far, having won their first two matches in the tournament without dropping any sets.

“We’re in good shape,” Polish outside hitter Kamil Semeniuk said. “We won the last two matches and the one against Vero Volley Monza last Sunday was really tough and good preparation for us. We expect a very difficult match against Trentino, but we’ll be ready for it. They will certainly demand a lot from us and we’ll need to bring our best to the court. If we can play well and play with our hearts, I’m confident we’ll get a good result.”

The reigning Italian champions, Trentino are also undefeated in the SuperLega, but had to play five sets in both of their matches, against Cisterna Volley and Gioiella Prisma Taranto. The team from Trento has won three Supercoppa titles, the last of which was in 2021-2022, stopping Perugia from winning three straight.

“Perugia are a great team with many alternatives and a lot of quality,” outside hitter Daniele Lavia commented. “We know that if we want to beat them, we’ll have to play a perfect match. The Supercoppa is a world-class event and we’re looking forward to it.”

Perugia and Trentino have a history of facing each other in the Supercoppa semifinals as this matchup will happen for the sixth time in the last seven editions of the event. Perugia, who won three of the previous five meetings, also have the historic advantage in the duel, having triumphed 28 times to Trentino’s 23.

Civitanova and Piacenza battle later

In the second semifinal, Civitanova will start a push to win their fifth Supercoppa title, following victories in 2006-2007, 2008-2009, 2012-2013 and 2014-2015. They have a win and a loss in their first two SuperLega matches of the season.

“We need to make sure we don’t let their intense service pressure destabilize us from our side out,” Bulgarian outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov explained. “They have some very good servers and players who can serve well even under pressure. They obviously have great players and it’s going to be a hard match, but I think that if we manage to handle their serves, we’ll be in a good spot.”

The only of the four participants still looking for their first Supercoppa title, Piacenza have started the Italian League strong, with back-to-back sweeps in the first rounds of the regular season. The reigning Italian Cup winners also expect a serving battle with Civitanova.

“Last weekend’s match against Allianz Milano was great preparation for us,” French setter Antoine Brizard reacted. “It was the first big match of the week and it allowed us to come here a little bit more relaxed. We’re excited and getting ready for what should be a very tough match. It’s just the start of the season, but it’s going to be a good test for us. Both teams serve really well and I think that whoever does better from the service line will be closer to winning it.”

Civitanova and Piacenza have met just eight times, always in the Italian League, and the team from Civitanova Marché has won seven of those encounters.

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