In one of two five-set matches in the Italian SuperLega Credem Banca over the weekend, Sonepar Padova Padua overcame Valsa Group Modena to add two precious points towards safety from relegation as the two most threatened teams – Mint Vero Volley Monza and Gioiella Prisma Taranto – lost their games and failed to make any progress towards salvation. In another interesting development, Rana Verona mastered a clean sweep of their game on the road at Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and overtook the opponent into fourth place in the current standings.
Superlega 2024/25
Padova overcome Modena, widen safety gap from relegation
Recap of Italian SuperLega 20th-leg matches
Published 07:32, 17 Feb 2025
Padova’s Marko Sedlacek in attack
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Fuelled by a 26-point match high, including three aces, from Marko Sedlacek, Sonepar Padova Padua battled it out for a 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 15-6) home victory over Valsa Group Modena on Sunday afternoon to delight the 3,200 fans on the stands. The Croatian outside hitter earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. His cross-court teammate Luca Porro also fired three aces, to which he added two kill blocks towards a total tally of 19 points, while their Belarusian counterpart Uladzislau Davyskiba led Modena with 20 points.
With the two points earned, Padova improved their standing to 17 points and a 5-14 win-loss record, with a game in hand, in 10th place and widened the distance from the relegation spot to four points with two legs to go to the end of the regular season. Meanwhile, Modena lost some ground and dropped one spot to eighth place on 23 and 7-13, still comfortably within the playoff zone, five points away from the next candidate for a quarterfinal berth.
“It’s always difficult to express emotions when it’s hot, but we’re definitely very happy,” commented Luca Porro. “We knew it would be a tough match, and it was. Winning today was fundamental. We managed to bring home two precious points and this gives us great satisfaction. We played as a team. Even in difficult moments, we remained united and helped each other, and I think this made the difference. The ability to overcome difficulties together was our strength.”
In the other five-setter of the weekend, on Saturday, Cisterna Volley celebrated a 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 26-28, 15-10) home victory over Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina and climbed to seventh place on 23 and 9-10, an important step towards securing a playoff spot. Grottazzolina, on the other hand, fell further behind from the playoff zone, standing in ninth place on 18 and 5-15, but the point earned also distanced the SuperLega rookies from the threat of relegation. French opposite Theo Faure was Cisterna’s best scorer of the match with 21 points, including three aces and two kill blocks, while his Serbian counterpart Dusan Petkovic produced a match-high 28 points for Grottazolina.
Last season’s silver medallists Mint Vero Volley Monza remained in the red spot at the bottom of the table after losing at home to Itas Trentino Trento on Saturday. The reigning European champions mastered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-15) shutout with outside Daniele Lavia and Luxembourgish opposite Kamil Rychlicki sharing the top scorer honours with 15 points each. Trentino are second in the standings on 48 and 17-2 with a game in hand, while Vero Volley trail bottom in 12th place on 13 and 5-15.
Next-to-last Gioiella Prisma Taranto failed to take advantage of Vero Volley’s loss to distance themselves further away from relegation. In the leg’s closing match on Sunday evening, third-placed Cucine Lube Civitanova beat them by 3-1 (17-25, 25-11, 26-24, 25-22) to improve to 42 and 13-6 with a game in hand. 11th-placed Prisma stand on 14 and 4-16, just a point above their rivals from Monza. Outside Mattia Bottolo contributed a match-high 20 points, including five blocks and two aces, towards the home team’s victory.
There was a switch between the fourth and the fifth in the table after Rana Verona hammered out a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-21) shutout of their hosts Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza on Sunday afternoon with Malian opposite Noumory Keita leading the way with 17 points. This way, Verona surpassed Gas Sales in fourth place on set ratio as each of the two opponents now stands on 36 and 12-8.
Defending champions Sir Susa Vim Perugia added three points to their record at the top of the table, 51 and 18-2, after a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19) home win over Allianz Milan, who remained in sixth place on 33 and 11-9. Sir’s Ukrainian outside Oleh Plotnytskyi impressed with six aces towards a 19-point tally, while Tunisian opposite Wassim Ben Tara was the winners’ best scorer with 21 points. His Belgian counterpart Ferre Reggers topped the match charts with 25 points for Allianz.
Next on the SuperLega agenda are two midweek matches, postponed from the 12th leg, to be played on Wednesday and Thursday.
SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 12h leg:
Feb 19, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Cisterna Volley
Feb 20, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Sonepar Padova Padua v Cucine Lube Civitanova
SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 21st leg:
Feb 22, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Cisterna Volley v Allianz Milan
Feb 22, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Cucine Lube Civitanova
Feb 23, 15:30 local (14:30 UTC): Valsa Group Modena v Gioiella Prisma Taranto
Feb 23, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Sir Susa Vim Perugia v Mint Vero Volley Monza
Feb 23, 19:30 local (18:30 UTC): Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina v Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza
Feb 23, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Rana Verona v Sonepar Padova Padua
