Verona, 18 October 2023

Pre-season closed with 3-1 win over Verona: Italian champions ready for Cisterna debut

Coach Fabio Soli had to wait 56 days before being able to see his new Itas Trentino team at work in a test match, but such expectation was rewarded by the good choral performance and the comforting result (3-1 victory) obtained this evening in the test match played in Verona. In the last dress rehearsal ahead of Sunday's SuperLega debut in Cisterna di Latina, the Italian champions showed that they had not lost the flair and understanding that had led them to win the Scudetto in May. At the AGSM Forum, the yellow-blue displayed excellent volleyball, shrewd at the wall (scoring 15 times), fluent at ball change and very active in defense and reconstruction. In the first two sets, the new Trentino coach fielded what could be the starting line-up, and the responses were very comforting. The Scaligeri, deprived of former duty player Džavoronok, struggled to keep up with the opponent's pace in the first set, soon losing contact, but then succumbed at a distance in the second, after a very aggressive start. Driven by a very incisive high-ball trio (Rychlicki-Lavia-Michieletto, 33 points in three) and an inspired middle pair at the net (block and first set), Itas Trentino took a 2-0 lead, convincing in all respects. From the third set, Soli shuffled the cards on the table, operating a large turnover, but the tricolor players' game remained effective; Nelli, Cavuto and Magalini completed the work, closing the challenge 3-1 after losing the central partial at the sprint and leading the next one from start to finish.
"The whole group offered positive notes, and I'm not just referring to the first half of the match; even in the second half we were convincing and determined," explained Fabio Soli at the end of the test match. "I liked the team's approach to the match: we were very focused and I would like us to always have this kind of mentality. From the second half onwards, we got a little tired, but this is largely understandable. Now it will be up to us, as a staff, to manage their strengths and, at the same time, put fuel in the tank of all the players".
The preparation for Sunday's Lazio engagement will now continue with a weights session on Thursday, a double training session on Friday, and two hours with ball on Saturday morning, before the departure for Cisterna.

Below is the scoreboard of the joint training session held this evening at the AGSM Forum in Verona.

Rana Verona-Itas Trentino 1-3
(17-25, 23-25, 25-21, 21-25)
RANA VERONA: Mozic 8, Mosca 6, Spirito 2, Trutchev 6, Grozdanov 4, Emaeilnezhad 12, D'Amico (L); Cortesia 6, Sani 10, Uriel 1. N.e. Zanotti, Zingel, Jovovich. Coach Radostin Stoytchev.
ITAS TRENTINO: Sbertoli, Michieletto 7, Podrascanin 6, Rychlicki 16, Lavia 10, Kozamernik 7, Laurenzano (L); Nelli 10, Acquarone, Pellacani 2, D'Heer 5, Cavuto 5, Magalini6, Pace (L). Coach Fabio Soli.
SET LENGTH: 22', 25', 26', 21'; tot. 1h 35'.
NOTES: Approx. spectators. Rana Verona: 4 blocks, 2 ace, 14 serve errors, 5 action errors, 51% in attack, 61% (36%) in reception. Itas Trentino: 15 blocks, 6 ace, 23 serve errors, 11 action errors, 50% attack, 54% (42%) reception.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office