Sir Susa Vim Perugia (source: legavolley.it)

Kamil Semeniuk once again led Sir Susa Vim Perugia to victory in the Italian SuperLega Credem Banca. In an advanced ninth-leg game on Wednesday, the reigning club world champions shut out Pallavolo Padova Padua and rose to the top of the current standings. The match was moved to an earlier date because of the Block Devils’ upcoming title defence at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship in India from December 6 through 10.

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Spiking at a 55% success rate, the Polish outside hitter produced the match high of 14 points towards his team’s victory and earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) nomination. Semeniuk’s tally included two aces and a kill block. Tunisian opposite Wassim Ben Tara added another 10 points, also delivering two aces. Meanwhile, Brazilian middle blocker Flavio Gualberto shined with a 100% success rate in his first-tempo attacks to finish the match with seven points. On the other side of the net, outside hitter Davide Gardini impressed with his serving, firing five aces to lead Padova’s scorers with a total of 12 points.

It was Sir’s sixth win in seven matches played. They improved to 18 points and took over the top of the table, two points clear of undefeated champions Itas Trentino Trento, who have a game in hand. Padova stayed in seventh place on a 3-4 win-loss record and seven points.

“This victory was important. We suffered through it and we took another small step forward,” Sir’s libero Massimo Colaci said. “But honestly, I'm not entirely happy with our overall performance, at least as a feeling on the court. We suffered in some situations, where they were good, but we could have done several things better.”

“We knew that the match against Perugia would be difficult,” commented Padova’s setter Marco Falaschi. “We took to the court a little hesitant in some situations. Then in the long run we managed, however, to have a good game. We are a very young team and our main objective is to continue on a growth path. Now we have to work on certain elements in order to be more competitive in complex matches like this one.”

SuperLega action resumes on Saturday with the first of this weekend’s six seventh-leg fixtures.

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024 7th leg schedule:
Nov 25, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Cisterna Volley v Valsa Group Modena
Nov 26, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Farmitalia Catania
Nov 26, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Rana Verona v Sir Susa Vim Perugia
Nov 26, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Cucine Lube Civitanova v Gioiella Prisma Taranto
Nov 26, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Allianz Milan v Pallavolo Padova Padua
Nov 26, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Mint Vero Volley Monza v Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza