Superlega 2023

Sir on to SuperLega final; Vero Volley strike again to tie Trentino

A recap of Italian SuperLega’s fourth-leg semifinal matches

Published 06:40, 12 Apr 2024

Setter Fernando Kreling and his Vero Volley teammates celebrate during their game against Trentino (source: legavolley.it)

Setter Fernando Kreling and his Vero Volley teammates celebrate during their game against Trentino

Sir Susa Vim Perugia were the first team to qualify for Italy’s 2023-2024 SuperLega Credem Banca championship series after closing their semifinal playoff against Allianz Milan on Thursday evening. Meanwhile, Mint Vero Volley Monza stunned defending champions Itas Trentino Trento again to level the series and push it to a deciding fifth match on Sunday.

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

The team that has dominated the entire SuperLega season so far, Trentino, failed to use their second opportunity to complete their job in the semifinal against Vero Volley and, with the series now levelled at 2-2 in wins, will surprisingly be forced to resolve it in a do-or-die fifth game. After shocking their opponents in Trento on Sunday, Vero Volley did it again on Thursday evening at home, delivering a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-11) comeback from a set down.

Brazilian playmaker Fernando Kreling showed his magic in front of the over three thousand spectators on the stands at the Opiquad Arena in Monza and led his team to victory, conducting all five of his attacking teammates to double digits and earning the Most Valuable Player award. Canadian outside hitter Stephen Maar produced a match-high 19 points, including two kill blocks. His compatriot in the opposite position, Eric Loeppky, hammered out another 17, while Japanese outside Ran Takahashi finished with 14 points. Middle blockers Gabriele Di Martino, who impressed with five stuffs during the match, and Gianluca Galassi added 11 and 10 points, respectively, towards Vero Volley’s victory. Trentino’s outsides Daniele Lavia and Alessandro Michieletto led their team’s scorers with 15 points each. While the latter mostly spearheaded the offence, the former fired three aces and raised two kill blocks.

“A fantastic match today! We played great. We are really happy, because this year we are doing great things and today we proved again that we are a team. Now game five awaits us in Trento and I can't wait to play it, for us players, for the club and all the fans.” Gabriele Di Martino, middle blocker of Mint Vero Volley Monza
“We left the court early after playing the worst set of our season. Congratulations to Monza, because they are playing very well and deserved a game five on Sunday in Trento. However, we still have everything in our hands. We must remember this, forgetting this bad evening and starting again with the contribution of our fans.” Marco Podrascanin, middle blocker and captain of Itas Trentino Trento

Monza vs. Trentino | Highlights | Superlega | Round 4 of the Semifinals

The other semifinal on Thursday evening also lasted four sets, but in this one it was the favourites who managed to come back from a set down and win. Despite the support of a fantastic crowd of over 5,400 spectators on the stands at the Allianz Cloud, the home team could not produce another surprise against Sir. The reigning club world champions celebrated a 3-1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-18) victory in the game and success in the series by 3-1 in wins to advance to the championship playoff and secure a spot in next season’s CEV Champions League. The season is not over for Allianz. They will compete in the third-place playoff for the bronze and for the third Italian ticket to Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

Sir’s libero Massimo Colaci was brilliant in defence throughout the match and earned the MVP award. His teammates, Polish outside Kamil Semeniuk and Tunisian opposite Wassim Ben Tara, as well as Allianz’s Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers, all shared the top scorer honours of the match with 18 points each. Ukrainian outside Oleh Plotnytskyi hammered three aces for the team from Perugia to finish with 15 points. The two outsides of the home team, Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa with 15 points and Bulgaria’s Matey Kaziyski with 13, and Sir’s middle blocker Roberto Russo with 10 also reached the double digits in scoring.

“If we had won the second set for 2-0, it might have been a different match, but matches are won on the court. They are a great team, played a great series and fired two great serves at the end. It's a shame, because we wanted to move forward so much. Now we have to look at the third-place playoff the same way. We really want to go to the Champions League for the first time." Paolo Porro, setter of Allianz Milan
“It hasn't been an easy road. All of the games against Milan were difficult. Even tonight we suffered in the first set. We have to learn to start matches better. Then we improved and I think we played well. We are happy to have reached the final. We will try to prepare for it well and, obviously, we will try everything to win it.” Kamil Semeniuk, outside hitter of Sir Susa Vim Perugia

Milano vs. Perugia | Highlights | Superlega | Round 4 of the Semifinals

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024 semifinal playoffs – 5th leg:
Apr 14, 18:00 local (16:00 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Mint Vero Volley Monza

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024 fifth-place playoffs – 4th leg:
Apr 13, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Rana Verona v Valsa Group Modena
Apr 14, 17:00 local (15:00 UTC): Pallavolo Padova Padua v Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza
Apr 14, 18:00 local (16:00 UTC): Cucine Lube Civitanova v Cisterna Volley

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024: full schedule and results

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