The Coppa Italia final, a cup competition in the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, was held in Rome on Sunday, February 26th local time, with Piacenza defeating Trento 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-23) to win the championship.
They dominated the match with 10 service aces and 9 blocks, and OH Real also played a major role, scoring 20 points (67% attack success rate), keeping their opponent Trent at bay and winning in straight sets, just like in the semi-finals.
This is Piacenza's first championship since the new club was founded (and the second time in nine years for a club based in the city).
Trent also came in second place for the second consecutive year, following on from last year.
First set starting lineup
Piacenza
OH: Lucarelli (Brazil), Real (Brazil)
MB: Simon (Cuba), Caneschi (Italy)
OP: Romano (Italy)
S: Brisard (France)
L: Scanfera (Italy)
Torrent
OH: Micheletto (Italy), Lavia (Italy)
MB: De Gea (Belgium), Podrascanin (Serbia)
OP: Kaziski (Bulgaria)
S: Sbertori (Italy)
L: Laurenzano (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
In the first set, both teams traded side outs from the start, but Piacenza managed to break consecutively with spikes from OP Romano and extended their lead to 8-6.
On the other hand, Trento also scored points with a service ace from OH Micheletto and a spike from OP Kaziyski, tying the score at 15-15. However, right after that, OH Real scored consecutive spikes from a counterattack after a solid defense, and Piacenza again widened the gap to 19-15.
Even in the final stages, Piacenza continued to take side outs with spikes from OH Lucarelli and S Brizard, and took the set 25-22.
In the second set, Piacenza took the lead 4-0 early on with a block from MB Simon and two consecutive service aces from S. Brizard, and then OH Real also had an ace, widening the gap to 10-5.
OP Kaziski fought hard for Trent, scoring one after another with spikes and serves to close the gap to 14-12, but Piacenza also got a side-out with a spike from OH Real, preventing them from following suit any further.
At 21-17 in the final stages, Piacenza managed to break consecutively with an ace from OH Lucarelli's serve, a block from MB Simon, and a spike from OH Real, taking the set 25-17.
In the third set, the match was close in the beginning, but S. Brizard again hit two consecutive aces to give Piacenza a 10-7 lead.
After that, OH Real continued to get side outs with their spikes, and with a service ace from MB Simon, a block from MB Kaneschi, and a service ace from OH Real, Piacenza managed to get a break and maintain their lead at 17-13.
Trento also closed the gap to just one point at 17-16 thanks to a block from S. Sbertori and a spike from OP Kaziski, but then an ace from relief server OH Gironi (Italy) and a block from OP Romano allowed Piacenza to pull away to 23-19.
In the final minutes, Trento closed the gap to one point again with blocks from OP Kaziski and MB de Gea at 24-23, but in the end, OH Real, who was in top form that day, scored a high spike to win the set 25-23 and Piacenza won 3-0 against Trento.
MVP: OH Yolandi Leal (20 points (2 serves, 0 blocks), 67% attack success rate, 50% serve reception success rate)
Photo: Lega Pallavolo Serie A
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