Four matches in the third leg of the Italian Men's Superlegga playoff quarter-finals were played last weekend.
The first match was held on Saturday the 22nd, between Verona, who were the runners-up in the Coppa Italia and placed 4th in the regular season, and Piacenza, who placed 5th. In the previous two matches, Piacenza had won consecutive matches against Verona, who had been lackluster due to injuries to key players and the sudden departure of their manager, putting them in a position to win. In the first set, Verona, led by OP Keita and OH Sani, played a nearly perfect game with high attack success rates and service aces, and took the lead by a large margin of 25-16. However, from the second set onwards, Piacenza made it difficult for Verona with their serve and blocks, winning three consecutive sets 17-25, 20-25, 19-25 to come from behind and win 1-3, advancing to the semi-finals.
The MVP was OP Romano with 14 points, but young Turkish player OH Mandiraci scored the most points (4 of which were from the ace), and veteran MB Simon also played well with 5 block points. Piacenza made up for their loss to Verona in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals and made it to the semi-finals of the league for the first time in two seasons. There are rumors that captain S. Brizard will be leaving the club at the end of this season, so it will be interesting to see if he can finish on a high note.
Verona's captain OH Mojic returned to the court from injury in this match, but he was replaced in the middle of the third set, probably because he was not fully recovered. If Verona had been in perfect condition, they might not have lost three games in a row, but that is also part of the team's strength. Verona made it to the Coppa Italia final for the first time, but their first league semi-final appearance will have to wait until next season.
Piacenza's semi-final opponents will be Trentino, who finished in first place, or Cisterna, where Tarumi Yume, who finished in eighth place, plays. It seemed like this match would end with Trentino winning three straight games, but Cisterna won the second game at Cisterna's home, making the score 1-1. Meanwhile, the third game was held at Trentino's home on Sunday the 23rd. In the first and second sets, Trentino's OH Lavia and OH Micheletto played a variety of attacks and blocks, while Cisterna made many mistakes, and Trentino won by a large margin of 25-17 and 25-16. In the third set, Cisterna made a comeback in the final stages with an opening fall and the efforts of OH Tarumi, who entered the game as a substitute, and took the game 23-25, but in the fourth set, Trentino won 25-21 with an offensive serve and won 3-1.
The MVP was OH Lavia who scored 19 points. This season, Trentino has often relied on OH Michelet for points, but in this match OH Lavia showed his presence with his high attack efficiency and serve. This match came right after their unexpected loss to Ziratbank (Turkey) in the CEV Cup semi-finals, so it must have been physically and mentally difficult, but it was a match where Trentino showed their determination as the leader of the regular season. With this, Trentino is one step closer to the semi-finals.
On the other hand, OH Tarumi of Cisterna also played in the second set and scored 7 points, with an attack efficiency rate of 421 TP 3 T, and performed well, but he lost 3 points in serve reception, so he wanted to hold out a little longer. The key to victory for Cisterna will be whether they can endure the opponent's serves and get more middle attacks into their attacks. The next game will be at Cisterna's home, so they will want to win like they did in the second game and move on to the fifth game.
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