In the first of two back-to-back matches at the Opiquad Arena, spanning two calendar years and two competitions, Cucine Lube Civitanova celebrated victorious over hosts Mint Vero Volley Monza to overtake them into the fourth place of the current SuperLega Credem Banca standings. In Lube’s last game of 2023, Bulgarian outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov led the way with 23 points to claim the Most Valuable Player award.
Superlega 2023
Sparkling Nikolov sends off ‘23 with 23 points in Lube win
A recap of Italian SuperLega’s 12th-leg matches
Published 06:01, 31 Dec 2023
Aleksandar Nikolov and his teammates celebrate in Monza
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The 20-year-old rising star contributed 18 spike kills, three kill blocks and two aces towards his team’s come-from-behind victory in Monza on Saturday evening. With this success, the squad from Civitanova improved to 22 points and an 8-4 win-loss record, surpassing Vero Volley by two points. The team from Monza descended two spots to sixth place on 20 and 7-5.
Cuban outside Marlon Yant added another 20 points, including two blocks and an ace, towards Lube’s win, while Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija finished with 15 points (three blocks, one ace). Four players reached the double digits on the opposite side of the net: Canadian outside Stephen Maar with 22 points, Canadian opposite Arthur Szwarc with 17 and middle blockers Gianluca Galassi with 13 (four stuffs) and Gabriele Di Martino with 10.
The two teams will meet again at the Opiquad on Wednesday evening in a quarterfinal clash of the men’s Del Monte Coppa Italia tournament.
“I've taken a burden off myself,” Nikolov said. “This is my second season with Lube and until now I had never managed to beat Monza. I'm happy for the MVP title, but above all for this victory so important for the rankings.”
“We played against a strong team, but obviously, it is frustrating to lose because we are a good team too,” Vero Volley’s Canadian outside Eric Loeppky commented. “We made a few too many mistakes, we didn't finish in key moments and this cost us the match. I'm happy that in a few days we will have the chance to play with Civitanova again and we will give our best.”
Monza vs. Civitanova | Highlights | Superlega | 12a Giornata
Allianz Milan also overtook Vero Volley in the table, climbing to fifth place on 21 points and 7-5 after a home victory over Valsa Group Modena in another 12th-leg encounter on Saturday. The team from Modena remained seventh on 17 and 7-5. Japanese star Yuki Ishikawa was the best scorer of the match with 16 points to his name, including a kill block and as many as five aces, and earned the MVP nomination. Young Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers chipped in another 12 points, while his Russian counterpart Maksim Sapozhkov led the visiting side with 14 points. Belarusian outside Uladzislau Davyskiba with 11 points and Cuban-born Italian star Osmany Juantorena with 10 also reached the double digits on Modena’s side.
“It was truly magical to play in this hall in front of so many people,” Reggers said. “Modena is a legendary team and has very strong players, but we are experiencing an excellent moment and have managed to do really well. I think it was a good match and our level of play increased further.”
In Friday’s only fixture, Rana Verona managed a home victory over Gioiella Prisma Taranto and took advantage of Modena’s loss to close the gap between the two teams in the standings. Catching up at 17 points, but separated on number of wins, Rana Verona are still below Modena in the table, in eighth place on 6-6. Gioiella Prisma are 11th on 9 and 1-11. The winners’ Iranian opposite Amin Esmaeilnezhad produced the match high of 19 points, while Czech outside Donovan Dzavoronok impressed with five aces towards a 15-point tally.
The top three teams in the standings did not miss an opportunity to add three points each to their tallies. Led by outside Alessandro Michieletto with 17 points, defending champions and table leaders Itas Trentino Trento mastered a shutout of visiting Cisterna Volley, whose French opposite Theo Faure excelled from the serving line with six direct points and delivered a match-high 20 points. Trentino improved to 31 and 11-1 atop the standings, while Cisterna are in 10th place on 10 and 3-9.
Second-placed Sir Susa Vim Perugia also achieved a straight-set victory, at Farmitalia Catania, with a 14-point match high from Ukrainian outside Oleh Plotnytskyi. The club world champions upped their record to 28 and 9-3, while bottom-placed Farmitalia are on 4 and 1-11.
After a away victory at Pallavolo Padova Padua, third-placed Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza widened the gap from the fourth place to five points. They stand on 27 and 8-4, five points clear of Lube, while Padova are ninth on 10 and 4-8. Outside Francesco Recine led Gas Sales with 18 points, while his Padova counterpart Davide Gardini topped the match chart with 23 points.
2024 action will start with the Coppa Italia quarterfinals on Wednesday and Thursday, before the 13th leg of the SuperLega takes place with two games on Saturday and another four on Sunday.
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
SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024 13th leg:
Jan 6, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Cucine Lube Civitanova v Pallavolo Padova Padua
Jan 6, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza v Allianz Milan
Jan 7, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Gioiella Prisma Taranto v Itas Trentino Trento
Jan 7, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Valsa Group Modena v Rana Verona
Jan 7, 18:15 local (17:15 UTC): Susa Vim Perugia v Mint Vero Volley Monza
Jan 7, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Cisterna Volley v Farmitalia Catania
