Trento, 01 January 2022

SuperLega, back on court in 2022 for the 18th round

The year 2022 opens immediately with a regular season SuperLega Credem Banca appointment at the BLM Group Arena for Itas Trentino. On Sunday 2nd January at 6pm, the eagerly awaited big match of the 18th round against Sir Safety Conad Perugia will be played earlier than originally scheduled. Live on RAI Sport +, Radio Dolomiti and live streaming on the OTT Volleyball World Tv platform.
HERE ITAS TRENTINO After closing the year 2021 in the best possible way, thanks to the three points obtained on Thursday evening in Milan, the yellow-blue team is looking for the first victory of the new year and the second half of the season (which began on Boxing Day with a 3-2 victory in Verona) against the leader team, so far in the regular season. The completed recovery of Sbertoli and Lisinac, already on the court against Allianz last 30th December, will offer additional guarantees.
"2022 has a really important match in store for us, but we are happy to be able to play it at home, starting our journey into the new year together with our public - explained Itas Trentino coach Angelo Lorenzetti - . Perugia is certainly the team that has done better so far in the championship and, also considering the alternatives at its disposal, it will be able to continue to do so in this second half of the season. This is therefore an important opportunity, and we want to play it to the best of our ability and collect everything that this appointment has in store for us".
Itas Trentino started preparing for the match in the early afternoon today, after a day and a half of rest given by the technical staff due to New Year's Eve. For Trentino Volley, this will be the 913th match in its history, the 419th at home, in which it will be looking for the 637th success ever, possibly the 15th of the season in 22 matches played.
FIRST TIME AS A FORMER PLAYER AT BLM GROUP ARENA FOR SIMONE GIANNELLI After wearing the Trentino Volley jersey for the previous twelve seasons, making 315 appearances for the first team (130 as captain) and making an important contribution to winning ten titles (including six in the youth sector), the setter Simone Giannelli will be appearing for the first time as a former player at BLM Group Arena to face the club where he first started his career. The yellow-blue Club will thank him for the many emotions he gave them with a dedicated moment in the pre-match.
THE OPPONENTS Sir Safety Conad arrives in Trento with the title of Winter Champion already secured several weeks ago thanks to an almost perfect regular season. In the first fourteen matches played, the Umbrian team has conceded just two points to the opponents (those stolen from Modena in the tie break lost at PalaBarton) and a total of nine sets. The quality of the shortlist and the range of alternatives available (which also made it possible to cope with the recent absences due to Covid of Rychlicki, Anderson and Mengozzi, now recovered) have therefore allowed coach Nikola Grbic to choose a highly competitive and effective sextet, capable of winning the entire away game every time: seven three-point victories in the first seven away games, the last of which closed with a 3-1 victory in Cisterna on Boxing Day. Perugia is the team that scores the most aces (average of 2.12) and blocks (average of 2.74) per set, thanks to its absolute individuality in both fundamentals: in addition to being the second top scorer in the tournament, Leon is the top hitter and the third top attacker in terms of weighted average, a ranking in which the former player Solé stands out.
PREVIOUS MATCHES There have already been 42 official meetings between Trentino Volleyball and Sir Safety Perugia, with a perfect draw (21-21); this season, however, the situation is 2-1 in favour of the Umbrian team, thanks to two 3-0 victories at PalaBarton: on 7th November in SuperLega (scores of 25-12, 25-22, 25-18) and on 2nd December in the Champions League (scores of 25-21, 25-18, 25-23). However, Trento won the most important match, because it was a knockout one: on 23th October, in Civitanova, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23) in the semifinals of the Italian Super Cup. The most recent challenge played at the BLM Group Arena was on 18th March 2021: Champions League semi-final of the first half of the season, secured by the yellow-blue team for 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-23). In the via Fersina arena, Perugia has won only four of the eighteen previous matches played: the last one on 18th October 2020 for 3-1 in a regular season match.
THE REFEREES The match will be refereed by Massimo Florian (first referee from Altivole - Treviso, in Serie A since 2007) and Giuseppe Curto (second referee from Gorizia, in Serie A since 2013), both in their seventh match of their 2021/22 SuperLega season. The last previous match with Trentino Volley for Florian dates back to November 18th 2021 (3-1 victory at the BLM Group Arena), while for Curto it dates back to October 31st, 2021 (home victory in four sets).
TV, RADIO AND INTERNET The challenge will be a global media event, enjoying simultaneous live coverage on TV, radio and internet. On the small screen it will be broadcast by RAI Sport +, channel present on the digital terrestrial platform (number 57 in HD, 58 in sd), with commentary by Maurizio Colantoni and Andrea Lucchetta.
As always, there will be live commentary on Radio Dolomiti, Trentino Volley's media partner. The frequencies to listen to the regional network can be consulted on the website www.radiodolomiti.com, where it will also be possible to follow the live commentary in streaming.
Also confirmed is the live video streaming on the OTT platform "Volleyball World TV"; the service is subject to payment. For more information on how to use the service, see www.welcome.volleyballworld.tv/faq-it.
A summary of the match will also be broadcast on TV on  Monday 3rd January at 21.45 on RTTR - Trentino Volley's partner TV.
On the Internet, point-to-point updates will be provided by the Lega Pallavolo Serie A website (www.legavolley.it) and by www.trentinovolley.it and will be available on the team social networks (www.trentinovolley.it/facebook, www.trentinovolley.it/instagram and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter).
TICKETS AND ENTRANCE METHODS For this match Trentino Volley will allow a limited number of spectators into the stands of the via Fersina arena; everyone must have a SUPER GREEN PASS (Covid-19 green certification obtained through vaccination or recovery) and an ffp2 mask, to be worn at all times while inside the arena. The match is the first one included in the season ticket of the second half of the season; the entrance door to be used to access the stands is indicated on the card. Ticket presale is active at any time on the internet by clicking https://trentinovolley.vivaticket.it/it/event/itas-trentino-perugia/173670. The BLM Group Arena ticket offices will be available starting at 4:45 PM, the same time that the arena entrances will open.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office