With one regular season leg remaining in the Italian men’s SuperLega Credem Banca, the list of eight participants in the upcoming quarterfinal playoffs was completed, as Valsa Group Modena and Cisterna Volley snatched the last two vacancies. The exact places in the playoff bracket will be finalized next weekend. The two teams to progress straight into the fifth-place playoffs are also known and they are Sonepar Padova Padua and SuperLega rookies Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina. Meanwhile, only two teams remained in danger of relegation and the last leg next weekend will decide whether last season’s silver medallists Mint Vero Volley Monza or Gioiella Prisma Taranto will end up at the bottom of the final standings and move down to Serie A2 next season.
SuperLega playoff line-up complete; only two remain in danger of relegation
Recap of Italian SuperLega 21st-leg matches
Published 07:56, 24 Feb 2025
Modena’s Jacopo Massari on the serve against Prisma
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None of the four teams that were at risk of relegation ahead of Sunday’s matches managed to gain any points in their 21st leg games, but that meant that now for two for them - Padova and Grottazzolina – the safety gap from the 12th place is wide enough to guarantee them salvation.
In Sunday’s opener, Valsa Group Modena achieved a 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23) home victory over Gioiella Prisma Taranto to book a ticket to the quarterfinals and to get the parties started for Padova and Grottazzolina before their games had even begun. Modena climbed to seventh place in the current standings on 26 points and an 8-13 win-loss record, while Prisma remained 11th, on 14 and 4-17, just a point above the relegation spot. Modena’s Austrian opposite Paul Buchegger was the best scorer of the match with 19 points.
Then, Mint Vero Volley Monza failed to stand up to mighty Sir Susa Vim Perugia and take advantage of Prisma’s loss to get out of the relegation spot. In a remake of last year’s final, the defending champions claimed a 3-1 (28-26, 23-25, 25-17, 25-16) home win over Vero Volley, remained on top of the current standings on 54 and 19-2 and kept their opponent at the bottom of the table, in 12th place on 13 and 5-16, one point below Prisma. Sir’s Japanese outside Yuki Ishikawa fired four aces and raised two kill blocks, and shared the top scorer honours with his German counterpart Erik Rohrs, who put away three aces and two blocks for Vero Volley towards a 20-point tally.
Already happy about their salvation, Grottazzolina and Padova could not find enough strength to fight on for the playoff spots and lost their matches on Sunday evening.
Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina were shut out at home by Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, who crowned Ljubomir Travica’s debut as head coach of the team with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) sweep. Cuban middle blocker Robertlandy Simon impressed with five aces and two blocks and joined Canadian outside Stephen Maar on top of the scorers’ chart with 12 points each for the winners. Then Rana Verona produced a 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-15) turnaround at home to beat Sonepar Padova Padua, with a match-high 26 points from Slovenian outside Rok Mozic, including three blocks and two aces. Fourth-placed Verona and fifth-placed Gas Sales improved to 39 and 13-8 each, separated on set ratio. Padova are ninth on 19 and 6-15, four points below the cut-off for the playoffs, and Grottazzolina are just below them, in 10th place on 18 and 5-16.
“We talked about it before the match in the locker room, after seeing the results of the other teams,” said Padova’s head coach Jacopo Cuttini. “Mathematically, salvation had arrived, and it was a huge satisfaction. I know how hard it was for the boys to get this far, how many sacrifices they made, especially in the most difficult moments of the season. I want to thank and congratulate everyone – the staff and all the players – because no one ever stopped pushing to reach this common goal. It is a huge satisfaction and now we have to enjoy it.”
The other two matches of the 21st leg were played on Saturday.
Itas Trentino Trento delivered a 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-23, 25-19) home victory over Cucine Lube Civitanova to stay within reach of the first place, just a set won behind leaders Sir. Lube had already cemented the third place, where they stand on 43 and 13-8. Luxembourgish opposite Kamil Rychlicki led the way with 19 points for Trentino, including two aces and two blocks.
Allianz Milan celebrated a 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23) win over Cisterna Volley on the road to stay within reach of the fifth place. They are currently in sixth on 36 and 12-9, while Cisterna are in eighth on 23 and 9-12. Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers was the best scorer of the match with 20 points.
The last leg of the SuperLega regular season is scheduled on Sunday, March 2.
SuperLega Credem Banca 2024-2025 22nd leg:
Mar 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Mint Vero Volley Monza v Cisterna Volley
Mar 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Sonepar Padova Padua v Itas Trentino Trento
Mar 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Allianz Milan v Valsa Group Modena
Mar 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza v Sir Susa Vim Perugia
Mar 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Cucine Lube Civitanova v Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina
Mar 02, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Gioiella Prisma Taranto v Rana Verona
