With an impressive six aces from Mattia Bottolo, Cucine Lube Civitanova returned the “favor” to Itas Trentino Trento and took their turn in shutting out the opponent at home to level the best-of-five final playoff in the Italian men’s SuperLega Credem Banca at one (straight-set) win each.

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Outside hitter Mattia Bottolo earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors in Lube’s 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22) sweep of the second-leg game of the final against regular season winners, reigning European champions and FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship silver medalists Trentino. In front of over four thousand fans on the sold-out stands at the Eurosuole Forum in Civitanova Marche, he put away nine kills in attack and one kill block, in addition to the six aces, which made the difference in the match. With a total of 16 points to his name, Bottolo emerged as the best scorer of the game. His Bulgarian cross-court teammate Aleksandar Nikolov contributed another 12 points, all in swings at a 55% success rate in offense.

Three players reached the double digits on Trentino’s side – American opposite Gabriel Garcia with 12 points and outside hitters Alessandro Michieletto with 11 and Daniele Lavie with 10.

“Tonight we were very focused and determined. This made the difference, because it allowed us to play as we know how, especially in serving,” Bottolo commented. “Each match of this playoff is a story in itself. To do well you need a lot of patience. Today's victory is very important, but we need to reset immediately and already think about the next one.”

The third game of the series will be played in Trento on Sunday, May 4.

SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 championship playoff, 3rd leg:
May 04, 15:20 local (13:20 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Cucine Lube Civitanova

SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 third-place playoff, 2nd leg:
May 03, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza v Sir Susa Vim Perugia

SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 fifth-place semifinals:
May 03, 17:30 local (15:30 UTC): Allianz Milan v Rana Verona
May 03, 17:30 local (15:30 UTC): Valsa Group Modena v Sonepar Padova Padua

SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 schedule and results

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