Trento, 12 April 2019

Saturday at BLM Group Arena in Trento (at 6.00 p.m) game 3 of the quarterfinals

The third and decisive match of Play Off Scudetto Credem Banca 2019 will be played on Saturday 13th April starting from 6 pm at BLM Group Arena in Trento, between Itas Trentino and Kioene Padova. Six days after game 2 in Veneto, they return on the field for the match that will give to the winner the access to the semi-final. Live coverage on RAI Sport + and Radio Dolomiti.
HERE ITAS TRENTINO The yellow-blue team has to face the most important commitment of the Italian season. To win the Scudetto, a victory with any score is needed, which would allow the access to the eleventh Play Off semifinal over the last twelve years. Giannelli and his mates will be able to face this delicate match in front of their own public and, in all probability, also counting on Kovacevic, absent in game 2 for a back resentment. Actually, the Serbian spiker started playing again with the group and he is among the palyers available of Angelo Lorenzetti.
“When you play the Scudetto playoffs, you perfectly know that the playoff game is an eventuality that is anything but remote; we want to win it and qualify for the semifinal and throughout the week we have spent a lot of time at the gym where we have worked hard for it – explained Angelo Lorenzetti - . We will try to play our volleyball, knowing that the alternation of results in this phase of the championship is quite normal. Kovacevic has returned to training with the team a few days ago; the last training sessions that we will be doing between today and Saturday morning, let us know whether we can put him in the starting six or not ”.
FOURTEENTH MATCH OF PLAYOFF. In the time span of the sixteen previous participations in the Play Off Scudetto, Trentino Volley has already played thirteen play-off games, similar to the one of Saturday, winning eight: two vs Modena (season 2005/06, 3-2 at PalaPanini in game 3 with qualification to semifinal and season 2010/11; 3-1 at Pala Trento in game 5 with qualification to the final won then vs Cuneo); two vs Piacenza; two vs Perugia; one vs Molfetta (3-1 at Pala Trento) and one vs Verona (3-0 in Trento). The only home play-off lost is the one of game 5 of the 2009 championship final, lost at PalaTrento at the tie-break vs Piacenza; the other seven have all been won. The most common result was the tie break. For Trentino Volley the one with Padova will be the 811th official match of its history, the 48th of the season.
THE OPPONENTS. Kioene Padova returns to Trento to experience the most important match of its recent history. The team have not played a play-off in the quarter-finals to enter in the semi-finals since the 1996/97 season, which in the previous seventeen Play Off participation won only once (1989/90, 2-1 on Acireale in the quarter-finals). For this reason, the appointment is deeply felt and expected not only by the Paduan Club but also by its fans who will be at BLM Group Arena in about eighty to try to push their team towards success. The first two matches of the series showed the productivity of the opposite Torres (21 points in two matches), but also of the spikers Barnes (20) Louati (19), and of the setter Travica (game 2 mvp).
PREVIOUS MATCHES. On Saturday the thirty-third official match between Trentino Volley and Pallavolo Padova, the fifth of the 2018/19 season, will be played. The overall analysis sees the team of Via Treber ahead for 27-5, which at home has lost only once in sixteen occasions (7 November 2004, for 1-3). The defeat suffered in game 2 at Kioene Arena interrupted a series of twenty-one consecutive yellow-blue victories. The matches played this season at BLM Group Arena both ended 3-0; February 23 in regular season, March 31 in game 1.
SERIES Trento and Padua are on the 1-1 in 2019 Play Off Scudetto Credem Banca Quarterfinal which ends on Saturday evening, thanks to the 3-0 match at the BLM Group Arena in game 1 on March 31st (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) and April 7th at the Kioene Arena in game 2 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22). These results necessitated the third and decisive play-off game. The winner will face Cucine Lube Civitanova in the Semifinal (the first is already scheduled for Tuesday April 16th). The other sem-final match will see Modena face the winner of the Perugia-Monza play-off (on Saturday night at 8.30 pm in Perugia).
THE REFEREES The referees of game 3 will be Ilaria Vagni from Perugia, and Giorgio Gnani from Ferrara. For Vagni this will be the thirteenth seasonal match in SuperLega; four of these with Trentino Volley: 3-1 victory in Siena (December 26th), in Latina (3-0 on January 27th) and in Modena (3-0 on March 17th); defeat at tie-break in Bologna against Civitanova (February 9th - Coppa Italia semi-final). For Gnani, in the main league since 1997 and international league since 2006, this will be the eighteenth seasonal match; among these also a match against Padova, that has concluded on 3-0 and played on February 23th in Trento. Gnani had also refereed game 3 of the quarter-finals Play Off Scudetto 2018: Trento-Verona 3-0.
TV, RADIO AND INTERNET The match will be a global media event, live broadcast on all types of media. It will be broadcast on RAI Sport +, at channel 57 in hd and 58 in sd of digital tarrestrial and on the satellite platform of Sky at channel 227. There will be the commentary of Maurizio Colantoni and Andrea Lucchetta; the match will also be broadcast on the internet, streaming video-audio at www.raisport.rai.it.
The full match on Radio Dolomiti, Trentino Volley's radio partner, will start at 5.55pm on www.radiodolomiti.com, where it is possible to listen to the radio commentary in streaming by accessing the "On Air" section.
On TV the game will be broadcast on Monday April 14th at 9.50 pm on RTTR - Trentino Volley TV partner.
On the internet, live updates will be available on the Lega Pallavolo Serie A website (www.legavolley.it), as well as on www.trentinovolley.it and on the Trentino Volley Social Networks (www.trentinovolley.it/facebook and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter).
TICKETS, MERCHANDISING AND "CAVIT DAY" Ticket presale is active at any time on the internet by clicking www.vivaticket.it/ita/event/play-off-quarti-di-finale-gara-3-itas-trentino/129396. Tickets will be also available at the BLM Group Arena from 5pm on Saturday.
Inside, behind the Nord bleachers, the fans will find the yellow-blue merchandising point.
During the game at the BLM Group Arena will take place the "Cavit Day". To celebrate the long-time partnership, Trentino Volley and Cavit, that includes 10 Trentino wine cooperatives with 4500 associate vine growers, will prepare a series of events that will see the Cavit logo as protagonist of the Match Program and the Hospitality Area. The mvp prize will be sponsored by Cavit and will be chosen by the jury of journalists at the end of the match: a three-liter Jeroboam of Muller Thurgau Spumante to make a toast with teammates to the excellent performance just provided. It will be consigned by Lorenzo Libera, President of Cavit.

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