Trento, 14 January 2024

Itas Trentino-Rana Verona 3-1, the match report

The chronicle of the 47th Adige derby. After two long away matches, Itas Trentino is back in front of their home crowd with a standard line-up: Sbertoli as the coach on the floor, Rychlicki opposite, Michieletto and Lavia as hitter spikers, Podrascanin and Kozamernik as middle blockers, Laurenzano as libero. Verona responded with Spirito as setter, Keita opposite, Džavoronok and Mozic in place 4, Mosca and Cortesia as middle blockers, D'Amico libero. The start was fast-paced and balanced, with breaks and counter-breaks (5-5 and 8-8); with Keita serving (also a direct ace), the Scaligeri obtained a 4-0 lead in their favour and the first double advantage (8-10) of the evening, forcing Soli to interrupt the game. The game picked up in the middle part of the set, with Verona trying to escape (9-12 and 13-16 and 16-19) also thanks to the effectiveness at the net of their hammers Mozic and Keita himself.
Trento did not disband and climbed back up the slope to 22-22 thanks to a great Rychlicki; the set was extended beyond the normal score (24-24): Verona saw three set points cancelled before seizing the fourth thanks to a disputed attack out by Kamil himself (24-26). It is the first set lost by the ITALIAN CHAMPIONS in 2024 and comes after a streak of twenty consecutive wins.
The point-to-point battle resumed immediately after the change of court, with the teams continuing to give life to a contest of rare intensity even in the fundamentals of defence (5-5, 10-9). The hosts stretched their lead (11-9) thanks to a Mozic error at the net, and then held onto it for a long time (14-12), before increasing it (17-13) thanks to another abundant Scaligeri attack, this time by Keita, and a point rebuild by Rychlicki. Stoytchev interrupted the game, but on resumption it was again Podrascanin's serves and Veneto errors that dug an even deeper furrow (20-13). The point of parity in the half-time tally then soon arrived, as early as 25-16.
On the wave of enthusiasm and dragged by its public, Itas Trentino got off to a flying start in the third period (5-2 and 9-4), when Rychlicki and Michieletto capitalised on what the second line had to offer. Alessandro took the lead again (12-5); Keita tried to answer him (15-11), but it was only a moment because then the tricolour break point machine started again with Kozamernik's ace and Rychlicki's block(20-12). The internal 2-1 came shortly afterwards, again on 25-16, with Trento still effective in the changeover phase.
The fourth set was balanced until 10-10, until Rana Verona's attack passed with good regularity. Podrascanin's spurt (two blocks in a row) gave the ITALIAN CHAMPIONS +2 (12-10), but the guests tied it at 15-15 thanks to an invasion at the net by Lavia. It was again the captain (block on Mozic) who widened the gap (20-17); this time the hosts did not let themselves be caught again and travelled confidently to 3-1, still in first class (25-22).

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