Trending Cucine Lube Civitanova continued their excellent spell that peaked last week with the Coppa Italia triumph. On Sunday, they registered their ninth consecutive win (across all competitions), shutting out close rival Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza on the road in an Italian SuperLega Credem Banca 18th-leg match, and broke away from their opponent in the current standings, in third place with a four-point gap and a game in hand.
Superlega 2024/25
Lube keep it up, master straight-set win in Piacenza
Recap of Italian SuperLega 18th-leg matches
Published 09:17, 02 Feb 2025

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Cucine Lube Civitanova mastered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-23) sweep of their away game at Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and improved to 39 points and a 12-5 win-loss record, leaving the team from Piacenza behind in fourth place on 35 and 12-6. French middle blocker Barthelemy Chinenyeze was Lube’s best scorer of the match. He contributed four kill blocks, two aces and six successful spikes, or 12 points overall towards the victory, and earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) nomination. Canadian outside hitter Eric Loeppky (three blocks) and Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija (three aces) added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Gas Sales’ opposite Yuri Romano topped the charts with 16 points, while his Canadian teammate, outside Stephen Maar, scored 11 times.
“We played a great match, managing to express ourselves with the same determination and intensity of play that allowed us to lift the Coppa Italia trophy in Bologna last weekend,” Chinenyeze commented. “Well done to us! The three points we earned are really very important for a standing that could further improve in the coming weeks. The important thing is to take it one step at a time.”
The two leaders did not allow any surprises and also hammered out straight-set wins. Rana Verona failed to build upon the momentum of last weekend’s historic success in the Coppa Italia Final Four and lost at home to Itas Trentino Trento in straight sets. Second-placed Trentino improved to 43 and 15-2 with a game in hand, while Verona are still fifth on 30 and 10-8. Outside Alessandro Michieletto fired four aces to lead Trentino’s scorers with 13 points towards their 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-23) victory. Verona’s Malian opposite Noumorry Keita produced a match-high 16 points.
Defending champions Sir Susa Vim Perugia mastered a 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-22) sweep of their home game against Gioiella Prisma Taranto with a 14-point match high from Japanese outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa and improved to 45 and 16-2 on top of the standings. The heavy loss cost Prisma the spot outside the relegation zone and they dropped to the bottom of the table, in 12th place on 13 and 4-14.
Now with the same number of points, but a 5-13 win-loss record, previous table trailers Mint Vero Volley Monza climbed above the red line, in 11th place, after their 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23) home victory over Sonepar Padova Padua, who fell to 10th place on 15 and 4-13. German outside Erik Rohrs led Vero Volley with 17 points, while Serbian opposite Veljko Masulovic delivered a match-high 23 for Padova.
SuperLega rookies Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina took advantage of Padova’s loss to climb to ninth place on 17 and 5-13 after a hard-fought 3-2 (25-23, 31-33, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11) home win over last season’s bronze medallists Allianz Milan. With the one point earned, Allianz caught up with Rana Verona on 30 points and a 10-8 win-loss record each, but remained in sixth place, separated on set ratio. Serbian opposite Dusan Petkovic contributed a match-high 29 points towards Grottazzolina’s success.
In super Sunday’s closing match, Cisterna Volley and Valsa Group Modena also put up a five-set battle. Spanish outside Jordi Ramon led hosts Cisterna to a 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12) victory, while his Belarusian counterpart Uladzislau Davyskiba put away a match-high 25 points for the visitors. With this win, Cisterna surpassed Modena in the standings. The two teams are tied on 19 points, but Cisterna’s 7-10 win-loss record put them in seventh place, above Modena, who descended to eighth on 6-12.
The 19th leg will take place next weekend with one game on Saturday, February 8, and five on Sunday, February 9.
SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 19th leg:
Feb 08, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza
Feb 09, 16:00 local (15:00 UTC): Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina v Sir Susa Vim Perugia
Feb 09, 16:00 local (15:00 UTC): Rana Verona v Mint Vero Volley Monza
Feb 09, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Gioiella Prisma Taranto v Cisterna Volley
Feb 09, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Valsa Group Modena v Cucine Lube Civitanova
Feb 09, 19:00 local (18:00 UTC): Allianz Milan v Sonepar Padova Padua