Superlega 2024/25 - News.

Lube v Trentino (source: legavolley.it)

It is time for the second game of the Italian men’s SuperLega Credem Banca championship playoff! On Thursday, Cucine Lube Civitanova will host Itas Trentino Trento in an attempt to level the best-of-five series for the national volleyball title.

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Cucine Lube Civitanova will welcome Itas Trentino Trento to the sold-out Eurosuole Forum in Civitanova Marche on May 1 at 18:15 local time (16:15 UTC). On Sunday, Trentino mastered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-21) shutout of Lube in front of four thousand spectators in Trento to take a 1-0 lead in wins in the series.

The long-time rivalry between Lube and Trentino has already had 104 editions, with the club from Civitanova leading the all-time head-to-head record by 56-48 in wins. The two teams have already met five times this season alone. Besides Sunday’s first game of this title playoff, in December, Lube beat Trentino in four sets in a SuperLega home match, but a few days later, Trentino shut them out in a Club World Championship semifinal; in January’s Coppa Italia semifinal, the team from Civitanova squeezed out a tight 3-2 victory, and in February’s SuperLega encounter, the squad from Trento put together a 3-1 home win.

It is the fourth time in history these two clubs lock horns in the SuperLega final. In 2012 and 2017, Lube emerged victorious with the titles. Two years ago, in 2023, Trentino triumphed as champions. Trentino are now aiming at their sixth national championship crown, while Lube have already collected seven titles. Interestingly, Trentino have never won the second-leg game of a SuperLega final playoff.

“I'm marking my 600th appearance in Italy, not bad! I'm proud, because in my life I've achieved the dream of asserting myself in the most important tournament in the world. Now I prefer to think about Lube and the approach we'll have in the second game with Trento. We intend to do something more than we did on Sunday. We've recovered our energy after the long series with Perugia and we want to restore the balance in the final with Trento in front of our fans, our extra player. We have to take advantage of the opportunity to play for the title. The approach must be gritty, at a higher level. It will be essential to hit well like we did in Perugia. We are focused and ready for the match!” Marko Podrascanin, middle blocker of Cucine Lube Civitanova
“In game one, we played at a very high level and we also took advantage of our freshness compared to Civitanova, which was coming off a five-match semifinal, which finished in Perugia only three days earlier. However, we know perfectly well that Cucine Lube is a tough team, which never gives up, and therefore we expect an even more difficult second challenge, because we will be playing away. The right approach will be needed. We are working hard to live this final series to the fullest and we have started on the right foot.” Daniele Lavia, outside hitter of Itas Trentino Trento

SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 championship playoff, 2nd leg:
May 01, 18:15 local (16:15 UTC): Cucine Lube Civitanova v Itas Trentino Trento

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