A beautiful weekend unfolded in the Italian SuperLega Credem Banca. Four of the six matches were decided in tie-breakers, before Cucine Lube Civitanova stunned table leaders Sir Susa Vim Perugia in four sets in Sunday’s late match, handing them their second consecutive defeat and rising to third place in the current standings.

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In front of over four thousand spectators at a sold-out Eurosuole Forum, Cucine Lube Civitanova came back from a set down against defending champions Sir Susa Vim Perugia to delight the home fans with a 3-1 (23-25, 29-27, 25-22, 25-16) victory, which lifted the team to third place in the table on 36 points and an 11-5 win-loss record with a game in hand. Sir, for whom it was only the second loss since the start of the season, are still on top, on 42 and 15-2, but now only two points clear of second-placed Itas Trentino Trento, who also have a game in hand.

With some notable absences on both sides of the net, Lube’s outside hitter Mattia Bottolo led the way with 20 points, including three kill blocks and two aces, and claimed the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija added 18 points, Canadian outside Eric Loeppky finished with 14, while French middle blocker Barthelemy Chinenyeze was instrumental in his team’s main weapon in this match, the blocking, putting up four of Lube’s 13 stuffs to also reach the double digits with 10 points. Cuban opposite Jesus Herrera was Sir’s most prolific player with 19 points. Outsides Yuki Ishikawa of Japan and Kamil Semeniuk of Poland added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

“We made some mistakes in the first set, in which we weren't able to give that extra boost we wanted, especially with the serve. However, this is a great victory, which gives us a lot of confidence ahead of the Coppa Italia Final Four,” commented MVP Mattia Bottolo. “We showed that we are a complete team with few weak points, but Bologna will be tough. We will have to be ready, arrive there with the right head and feet firmly planted on the ground.”

At the other end of the table, the two bottom teams, Gioiella Prisma Taranto and Mint Vero Volley Monza, engaged in a five-set duel for survival. Hosts Prisma squeezed out a vital 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 27-25, 15-11) victory to widen the distance from the relegation spot to three points. They are on 13 and 4-13 in 11^th place, while last year’s silver medallists Vero Volley are on 10 and 4-13, trailing in 12th. Former Italian international Filippo Lanza powered Prisma as the best scorer of the match and earned the MVP recognition. The outside hitter contributed 30 points to the victory, including two aces. Canadian opposite Arthur Szwarc led Vero Volley’s effort with 22 points.

Another team that is not completely out of danger of relegation, SuperLega rookies Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina, stand in 10^th place on 15 and 4-13 after earning a point from their visit at mighty Itas Trentino Trento. They came back from a set down twice in the match before the reigning European champions managed to finally have their way, 3-2 (25-12, 18-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12). Trentino’s outside Alessandro Michieletto was the best scorer of the game with 27 points, while his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Tatarov led Grottazzolina with 22. Trentino are in second place, well within reach of the first, on 40 and 14-2 with a game in hand.

Last season’s bronze medallists Allianz Milan mounted a comeback from two sets down at home against Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza to celebrate a 3-2 (24-26, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-9) victory. The winners were led by Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers with 21 points, including four aces, and French outside Yacine Louati with 20, while Gas Sales’ opposite Yuri Romano produced a match-high 26 points, also including three aces. The team from Piacenza dropped to fourth place on 35 and 12-5. Allianz are sixth on 29 and 10-7.

Five sets were played in Saturday’s only match as well. In the context of the race for the playoff spots, Cisterna Volley achieved a 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 17-25, 15-8) win on the road at Sonepar Padova Padua to put an end to a five-match losing streak between the SuperLega and Coppa Italia and widen the gap from Padova to two points. Cisterna are right above the cut-off for the playoffs, in eighth place on 17 and 6-10. Padova are right below it, in ninth place on 15 and 4-12. Cisterna’s Serbian middle Aleksandar Nedeljkovic, who raised an impressive eight kill blocks, and Padova’s outside Mattia Orioli shared the top scorer honours with 16 points apiece.

In the leg’s only straight-setter, Rana Verona mastered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) shutout of their hosts Valsa Group Modena. Malian opposite Noumory Keita was the winners’ top scorer with 18 points, while his Austrian counterpart Paul Buchegger produced a match-high 19 points for the home team. Verona improved to 30 and 10-7 in fifth place. Modena are seventh on 18 and 6-11.

Next on the agenda is the Del Monte Coppa Italia Final Four in Bologna this weekend. The 18^th leg in the SuperLega will then take place the following Sunday, February 2.

Del Monte Coppa Italia 2024-2025 Final Four:
Jan 25, 16:15 local (15:15 UTC): Sir Susa Vim Perugia v Rana Verona
Jan 25, 18:30 local (17:30 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Cucine Lube Civitanova
Jan 26, 15:15 local (14:15 UTC): Final

SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 18th leg:
Feb 02, 16:00 local (15:00 UTC): Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza v Cucine Lube Civitanova
Feb 02, 16:00 local (15:00 UTC): Rana Verona v Itas Trentino Trento
Feb 02, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Mint Vero Volley Monza v Sonepar Padova Padua
Feb 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina v Allianz Milan
Feb 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Sir Susa Vim Perugia v Gioiella Prisma Taranto
Feb 02, 19:00 local (18:00 UTC): Cisterna Volley v Valsa Group Modena

SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 schedule and results

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