Itas Trentino Trento v Cucine Lube Civitanova, one of the two matches, with which the penultimate 21st leg of the Italian men’s SuperLega Credem Banca regular season will get underway on Saturday, is certainly the highest level fixture this weekend, but while at stake to some extent is only Trentino’s finish in first or second place and how the two sides will play out the high potential of meeting again in a far more important playoff series, the other five matches – one on Saturday and four on Sunday – can have a direct bearing on who survives and who is relegated, as well as on who gets the last tickets to the quarterfinals. For sure, it will be interesting...
Superlega 2024/25
Thrilling SuperLega games may check off question marks as penultimate leg is played this weekend
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Published 07:13, 22 Feb 2025
Trentino against Lube in a Coppa Italia semifinal
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On 51 points and an 18-2 win-loss record, the club world silver medallists and reigning European champions Itas Trentino Trento are just a set won below defending champions Sir Susa Vim Perugia and should be aiming at straight-set victories in the remaining matches in order to take advantage of a possible stumble by the table leaders and grab the pole position ahead of the playoffs. Cucine Lube Civitanova, on the other hand, have nowhere to go. They stand third on 43 and 13-7 and the third place is where they will finish the regular season, regardless of the remaining results. Still, a win in the long-running rivalry with Trentino always means prestige and a confidence booster.
Trentino will host Lube on Saturday evening at 20:30 local time (19:30 UTC) for their fourth encounter this season. While Lube won the home match of the 10th leg in the SuperLiga in four sets and the Coppa Italia semifinal in Bologna in five, Trentino shut out their opponent when they locked horns in an FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship semifinal in Brazil.
In the other match on Saturday at the same time, Cisterna Volley will welcome Allianz Milan. Both teams are within the playoff zone in the current standings, but while for Allianz the quarterfinal spot is secured and it is “only” a matter of where between the fourth and the sixth place they will finish, Cisterna still need two points to stamp their ticket to the playoffs regardless of any other results. The squad from Milan is running in sixth place on 33 and 11-9, only three points below the teams in fourth and fifth. 10 points behind Allianz, Cisterna are seventh on 23 and 9-11, four points above the cut-off. In November’s game between the two teams, Allianz claimed a four-set home victory.
It will get even more exciting on Sunday, when all four teams in danger of relegation will play their matches of the 21st leg.
First, at 15:30 (14:30), Valsa Group Modena will entertain Gioiella Prisma Taranto. Modena are hanging on to the edge of the playoff zone, in eighth place on 23 and 7-13, and a three-point win would guarantee them passage to the quarterfinals. Prisma are just a point above the relegation spot, in 11th place on 14 and 4-16, and any point earned in the next two matches may prove a lifeline to salvation. December’s meeting between the two sides produced a five-set battle and ended 3-2 in favour of the visiting team from Modena.
SUPERLEGA 🇮🇹: When you try a little too hard to save the play... 😅🏐💥 Collateral damage incoming!
— Volleyball World (@volleyballworld) February 21, 2025
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Then, at 18:00 (17:00), Sir Susa Vim Perugia will host Mint Vero Volley Monza in a seemingly unequal and pre-decided encounter between the first and the last in the table, but when for one side it is a matter of survival, who knows what can happen. It will be a remake of last year’s SuperLega final, but now the silver medallists are trailing bottom in the relegation spot, 12th place on 13 and 5-15. Being a point away from salvation, every set for them could be a matter of “life or death”. The champions, on the other hand, are not expected to show any mercy. Standing at 51 and 18-12, just a set won above second-placed Trentino, only two straight-set wins in the remaining matches can guarantee them pole position for the playoffs. When they played Sir at home in the fall, Vero Volley managed to take only a set from the mighty opponent.
Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina will welcome Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza at 19:30 (18:30). The SuperLega rookies stand in 10th place on 18 and 5-15. By the time this match starts, they might have already secured a second season in the SuperLega in the case of a Vero Volley loss in Perugia or Prisma not earning any points in Modena, but otherwise any win over Gas Sales would have the same effect. Furthermore, being five points behind Modena, Grottazzolina even have a distant shot at qualifying for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Gas Sales will be eager to crown coach Ljubomir Travica’s debut at the helm of the team with a win, especially since they are still in the running for a home-court advantage in the upcoming quarterfinals. The team from Piacenza is in fifth place on 36 and 12-8, separated from fourth-placed Rana Verona only on set ratio. The previous encounter between the two squads in November went 3-0 the way of the hosts from Piacenza.
In the leg’s closing match at 20:30 (19:30), Rana Verona will try to hold on to their fourth place in the table as they entertain Sonepar Padova Padua, who are also in a position to simultaneously fight for avoiding relegation and qualifying for the playoffs. But just as in the case with Grottazzolina, by the start of their game in Verona, they might already be celebrating their salvation. By all means, winning just a point within the next two matches would guarantee them another season in the SuperLega. Padova are also the first team below the cut-off for the quarterfinals, in ninth place on 19 and 6-14, four points behind Modena. Verona shut out Padova in the away match in December.
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
