Trento, 11 February 2023

SuperLega, on Sunday top match in a sold-out BLM Group Arena

The nineteenth round of the regular season of SuperLega Credem Banca 2022/23 is being played this weekend. Itas Trentino will be the protagonist of the big match of the day, hosting at the BLM Group Arena the leading team Sir Safety Susa Perugia in its only home match of the month of February scheduled for Sunday 12th at 6.30 pm. Live coverage on Rai Sport (channel 58 DGTV), Radio Dolomiti and live streaming on the OTT Volleyball World Tv platform.
HERE ITAS TRENTINO Exactly two months after their last meeting, the yellow-blue will find on the other side of the net the team that has so far laid down the law in the championship, and for the first time this season they will do so counting on the home court factor. "All those who face Perugia have spoken similar words on the eve of the match, making proclamations and showing legitimate good intentions," explained coach Angelo Lorenzetti on the eve of the match. "The reality is that Sir Safety Susa has always won anyway; I therefore prefer to avoid bombastic declarations and concentrate all my energy on the very difficult match that awaits us".
The Trentino coach will repropose the starting six seen on the court in the last three matches, with the Belgian D'Heer diagonally opposite Podrascanin at center. During the week Lisinac resumed training for part of the sessions with his teammates, but his actual participation is reasonably still in doubt. The preparation for the match will be completed with this afternoon's training sessions and with Sunday morning's final training session. On Sunday Trentino Volley will play the 975th official match in its history, the 446th home match overall, and will be hunting for victory number 677 ever, possibly the fifth consecutive. In the current season the yellow-blue have already played 31 matches, picking up the victory in twenty-two circumstances and playing a total of 118 sets (78 won and 40 lost).
THE OPPONENTS 31 consecutive victories taking into account all the matches played so far, the first place in the regular season already secured at the end of January, the best serving performance (2 ace per set) and block (2.57 blocks per partial) in the championship. At the BLM Group Arena comes a Sir Safety Susa Perugia that has already amply demonstrated its value, dominating the championship and at the same time centring two important goals such as the Supercup and the World Club Championship. The team coached by Andrea Anastasi is still on a full points lead in the regular season, having left opponents with just nine sets in eighteen matches played. The quality and depth of the team at the disposal of the Mantuan coach have made the difference; Particularly exalted in a triumphant year so far have been the great former player Simone Giannelli (who will meet again the public and the stadium that was his between 2014 and 2021, a period in which he collected 315 appearances in the first team), captain Wilfredo Leon (the league's top striker and third aceman) but also Poland's Semeniuk (best hitter and receiver in terms of weighted average) and two other familiar faces at the BLM Group Arena such as Colaci and Solé, great protagonists of the last yellow-blue Scudetto, won in 2015. In 2023 alone, which has just begun, the Umbrians have achieved seven victories: five in SuperLega and two in the Champions League, where they could find Trento again, should both teams overcome the quarter-final hurdle.
THE BACKGROUND The two clubs have already faced each other 50 times in official matches in five different competitions (championship, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa, Champions League and World Club Championship); the tally is in favor of the Block Devils 23-27, thanks to nine wins in the last eleven games; seven of these have been played in the calendar year 2022 and already three in this season, always with the victory for the Umbrians players: 3-2 on October 31st in Cagliari (Supercoppa semifinal), 3-1 on November 20th in Perugia (first leg match of the championship) and 3-1 on December 12th in Betim (international Final). However, Trentino Volley has been able to take advantage of the home advantage in as many as fifteen of the twenty-one matches played at the BLM Group Arena; the result that has occurred most often is Perugia's victory in four sets (thirteen out of the previous 50, including three at the BLM Group Arena). The current yellow-blue player who has played the most Trento-Perugia games is Matey Kaziyski (20), while the overall player is Simone Giannelli, who has played 34 in Trento's jersey and 11 in Perugia's (for a total of 45). Second one is Marko Podrascanin: 35 (20 with Perugia, 15 with Trento). The last previous meeting at the Fersina Street’s facility ended in... a draw: 3-3 in the second leg semifinal of the 2022 CEV Champions League on April 7th, also taking into account the golden set won by Trento immediately after the conclusion of the regular match that had seen the guests in the tie break.
THE REFEREES The match will be managed by the duo Gianluca Cappello (from Sortino -Syracuse, in Serie A since 2004) and Umberto Zanussi (from Treviso, in the highest category since 2006), respectively in their ninth and tenth matches of the season in SuperLega Credem Banca 2022/23. Cappello's last previous match with Trento dates back to November 3rd, 2022 (three-set victory in Monza), while for Zanussi, the most recent match dates back  with the Piacenza away match (defeat by 1-3 on October 16th, 2022).
TV, RADIO AND INTERNET The match will be a global media event, enjoying simultaneous live coverage on television, radio and the Internet. On the small screen it will be broadcast by RAI Sport +, a channel present on the digital terrestrial platform at number 58. Live coverage is planned on Radio Dolomiti, media partner of Trentino Volley. Frequencies to listen to the regional network can be found at www.radiodolomiti.com, where it will also be possible to follow the radio report in live streaming. The live video streaming on the OTT platform "Volleyball World Tv" is also confirmed, the service is for a fee. For more in-depth information on the use of the same consult the site www.welcome.volleyballworld.tv/faq-it.  
On TV the match recap will be aired on Monday, February 13th at 9:40 p.m., on RTTR - partner TV of Trener Street’s Society. Eventually, on the Internet point-to-point updates will be edited by the website of the Italian Volley League Serie A (www.legavolley.it) and by www.trentinovolley.it itself and will always be active on the yellow-blue’s team social networks (www.trentinovolley.it/facebook, www.trentinovolley.it/instagram and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter).
SOLD-OUT TICKETS The BLM Group Arena has already registered, "sold out": 4,000 spectators in the bleachers. Therefore, on Sunday, the facility’s box offices will be open starting at 5:30 p.m., only for accreditation pickup, while at 5:40 p.m. the entrances will open.
The match is included in both types of season tickets offered for this season by Trentino Volley (full and basic).
LOACKER DAY To celebrate together with the yellow-blue public the renewed partnership, Trentino Volley and Loacker will prepare a variety of initiatives on Sunday that will see the official sponsor as a main protagonist. The Match Program, the hospitality area, the video walls of the BLM Group Arena and the square next to the box offices will be strongly characterized by the Loacker logo, for the occasion. Inside the structure, sweet products from the Loacker confectionery shop will also be given away for free to everyone, while in the spaces behind the Curva Gislimberti will be the "Photo Box",where it will be possible to take nice selfies, as a souvenir of the event. The match’s MVP award, chosen by the journalists in the press box, will also be presented to the most deserving player by Loacker's official mascot, who will walk around the arena before, during and after the game giving smiles and sweet gifts to those present.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office