Superlega 2023

Trentino eager for another encounter with Vero Volley

Watch the 17th leg of Italian SuperLega matches live on VBTV

Published 03:23, 02 Feb 2024

Vero Volley v Trentino (source: legavolley.it)

Just a week after Mint Vero Volley Monza dropped the biggest upset in the 2024 Del Monte Coppa Italia by beating Itas Trentino Trento in one of the semifinals in Bologna, the two teams are up for another encounter, this time in a SuperLega Credem Banca 17th-leg fixture. This match is one of three on the Italian men’s league programme for Saturday. Another three, including a huge clash between Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and Sir Susa Vim Perugia, are coming up on Sunday.

  • Watch Italy’s SuperLega Credem Banca live and on demand on VBTV.

Mint Vero Volley Monza, placed seventh in the current SuperLega standings on 25 points and an 8-8 win-loss record, will welcome defending champions Itas Trentino Trento to the OpiquadArena on February 3 at 20:00 local time (19:00 UTC). Trentino lead the table on 43 and 15-1.

Last Saturday, Vero Volley came back from a set down twice in the match against Trentino to celebrate a victory and advance to their first-ever national cup final. Vero Volley’s Canadian outside hitter Eric Loeppky and Trentino’s Luxembourgish opposite Kamil Rychlicki shared the top scorer honours with 21 points each. However, the club from Trento is still way ahead in the head-to-head, leading the series 26-4. In their most recent SuperLega meeting, the champions produced a win at home back in November. Rychlicki was the best scorer of that game, contributing 23 points to his team’s success.

Trentino vs. Monza | Highlights | Coppa Italia | Semifinals

“It will be a difficult match with Trento arriving at the OpiquadArena eager for revenge after the Italy Cup, an aspect that will increase the difficulty coefficient for us. I'm sure that coach Soli will prepare the match thinking about the last game, as will Sbertoli who is always very attentive to his opponents. We expect something different from them.” Massimo Eccheli, head coach of Mint Vero Volley Monza
“Returning to the court seven days after the last match against Monza is certainly special and very stimulating. We will have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of the match again and understand how much we have managed to take advantage of the events and thoughts relating to last Saturday's game, knowing full well that an even more demanding task awaits us than the previous one because we will be playing at Mint’s home and not on neutral ground. It will therefore be a match full of opportunities to immediately find our best version, made up of attention, determination and joy of being on the court.” Fabio Soli, head coach of Itas Trentino Trento

A big game is coming up on Sunday as well. Third-placed Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, on 32 and 10-6, will entertain second-placed Sir Susa Vim Perugia (40, 13-3), who won the national cup last weekend and added a third trophy to their collection from this season alone, after the Supercoppa Italiana and the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship. The match at the Pala Banca starts at 18:00 local time (17:00 UTC).

It will be the 12th encounter between the two clubs. Sir have won 10 of the previous 11. When they last met on November 19 in Perugia, they put up a nail-biting five-set battle, which ended at Sir’s way, after a turnaround from two sets down, with Gas Sales’ Brazilian outside Yoandy Leal delivering a match-high 25 points, while his Polish counterpart Kamil Semeniuk led the winners with 18 points. The club from Piacenza’s only win over their Perugia opponents came in straight sets in last year’s Coppa Italia semifinals.

Perugia vs. Piacenza | Highlights | Superlega | 6a Giornata

“We know the value of Piacenza and we are aware of our and their standings. We have the will to score a few more points than in the first match. We are aware of the difficulties that arise both from the opponent and from us who come from a Coppa Italia, in which we spent a lot of mental energy. From a more technical point of view, we and Piacenza have very similar numbers. Piacenza, among other things, achieved these numbers despite notable absences and this testifies to the value of the team we are going to face.” Angelo Lorenzetti, head coach of Sir Susa Vim Perugia

The competition weekend will open on Saturday at 18:00 (17:00) with a game between sixth-placed Rana Verona (25, 9-7) and 10th-placed Pallavolo Padova Padua (14, 5-11). Half an hour later, fifth-placed Allianz Milan (26, 8-8) will host 12th-placed Farmitalia Catania (5, 1-15).

At 18:00 (17:00) on Sunday, fourth-placed Cucine Lube Civitanova (29, 11-5) will welcome eighth-placed Valsa Group Modena (19, 8-8), who will be coached by a new person at the helm, Alberto Giuliani. The leg will be closed with ninth-placed Cisterna Volley (19, 6-10) visiting 11th-placed Gioiella Prisma Taranto (11, 2-14) at 20:00 (19:00).

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024 17th leg:
Feb 3, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Rana Verona v Pallavolo Padova Padua
Feb 3, 18:30 local (17:30 UTC): Allianz Milan v Farmitalia Catania
Feb 3, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Mint Vero Volley Monza v Itas Trentino Trento
Feb 4, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Cucine Lube Civitanova v Valsa Group Modena
Feb 4, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza v Sir Susa Vim Perugia
Feb 4, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Gioiella Prisma Taranto v Cisterna Volley

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024: full schedule and results

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