Trento, 13 April 2024

Play Off, on Sunday at ilT quotidiano Arena (6 pm) the decisive match of the Semifinal

The fifth and decisive challenge of the Credem Banca 2024 SuperLega Scudetto Play Off Semi Final series between Itas Trentino and Mint Vero Volley Monza will be played on Sunday, April 14th, starting at 6 p.m. at the ilT quotidiano Arena in Trento. Three days after game 4 in Brianza, which brought the match back to a draw, it's back to the court in the via Fersina facility for the match that will award the winner access to the Final. Live coverage on RAI Sport, Radio Dolomiti and live streaming on the OTT platform VBTV.
HERE ITAS TRENTINO The yellow-blue are faced with yet another inside or outside appointment of their season: to continue the race that leads to the Scudetto, a victory is needed, which would allow them to reach the tenth Play Off Final in the company's history. Playing the play-off in front of their own public will offer a small but important advantage, that Fabio Soli's team will try to exploit to get the point of victory.
"Everything that happened in the first four games of the series could have been predictable," explained the Itas Trentino coach presenting the fixture ". We did not get excited after being ahead 2-0, just as now that we got caught up at 2-2 we should not regret too much but think only about game 5 that we will be able to play in front of our audience. We must be aware of our means and that we have the weapons at our disposal to be able to play our chances to the full. Certainly the epilogue of Thursday's match has taught us something and must guarantee us even greater motivation to try to say our piece to the end and win access to the Final".
For game 5, the yellow-blue coach will be able to count on the entire roster of fifteen players; Sbertoli will also be back on the scoresheet, as happened on Thursday in Monza. Trentino Volleyball on this occasion will play the 154th match in the Play Off Scudetto in its history referring to the men's sector; balance: 91 wins and 62 defeats.
19TH DECISIVE MATCH IN THE TRENTINO VOLLEY PLAY OFF STORY In its twenty previous appearances in the Play Off Scudetto, Trentino Volleyball has already played eighteen play-off matches, similar to the one that awaits it on Sunday, winning twelve of them (the last one on 17 May 2023 at home against Civitanova for game 5 of the Final). Among the home walls, the balance of such matches speaks of eleven victories in twelve matches, with Piacenza being the only opponent so far to conquer the PalaTrento (game 5 of Finale 2009). The result occurring most often has been the tie break: seven times out of eighteen, with three yellow-blue victories; before the current one, the Play Off editions in which Trentino Volleyball had played the tie break in the Semifinals were 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023. For Trentino Volley that with the Emilians will be the 1,039a official match in its history, the 43a season.
THE OPPONENTS Mint Vero Volley Monza returns to Trento for the fourth and final time this season with the aim of winning the second consecutive match 5 of the away play-off, as already happened with Civitanova in the quarter-finals. The Brianza club will be hunting for qualification to the first Scudetto final in its history, possibly the third of the season after those played in the Challenge Cup and Coppa Italia.
BACKGROUND With Sunday's match, Monza reaches thirty-six official matches, approaching Vibo Valentia (37), which is the ninth opponent Trentino Volleyball has faced the most times in its men's history. The tally speaks in favour of the yellow-blue at 29-6, including the ten previous matches in the Play Off Scudetto: two in 2016 (quarter-finals, victory for Trento 2-0), four in 2023 (quarter-finals, victory for Trento 3-1) and four in the current edition (victory in game 1 3-0 and in game 2 3-1 in the semifinals). Never before this season had the two clubs faced each other in the penultimate act of the draw; the only semi-final already on record was that of this season's edition of the Coppa Italia (on 27 January: 2-3 for Monza, then runner-up to Bologna). In eighteen matches played in Trento, the Gialloblù club has respected the home court factor until 6 April 2024, losing for the first time just last Sunday (7 April). In the two previous matches of the season in Trentino, one victory in four sets (19 November), one in three (31 March) and one defeat in the tie break (7 April).
THE SERIES Trento and Monza are at 2-2 in the SuperLega Credem Banca 2024 Scudetto Play Off semifinal series that ends on Sunday, by virtue of the 3-0 win in game 1 on 31 March (scores of 27-25, 25-20, 25-22) in Trento and in game 2 on 3 April in Brianza (scores of 25-15, 21-25, 25-18, 25-18) by Itas Trentino, to which Mint Vero Volley Monza replied on 7 April at the IlT quotidiano Arena with an outdoor 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 25-27, 27-25, 13-15) and on 11 April with a home 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 11-25) at the Opiquad Arena. These results necessitated the fifth and decisive play-off challenge. Whoever gets through the round will find Perugia in the Finals series (best of five games, the first is scheduled as early as Thursday, 18 April).
THE REFEREES The match will be directed by the Capitoline duo of Marco Zavater (first whistle in Serie A since 2008) and Stefano Cesare (in the top flight since 1999 and international since 2010). For Zavater seventeenth match of the season against SuperLega teams; four of the previous ones have already been against Trentino Volleyball, including game 2 of the quarter-finals won at the tie break in Modena. For Caesar, it was the twentieth men's 2023/24 with two encounters with Trento: the external success in three sets in Verona (5 November) and the 1-3 defeat in Modena (10 December).
TV, RADIO AND INTERNET The match will be a global media event, enjoying simultaneous live coverage on TV, radio and the Internet. On the small screen it will be broadcast by RAI Sport HD, a channel on the digital terrestrial platform (number 58) and on the 'RAI Play' application.
Live commentary is planned on Radio Dolomiti, Trentino Volleyball's media partner. The frequencies to listen to the regional network can be found at www.radiodolomiti.com, where it will also be possible to follow the radio commentary in live streaming.
Live video streaming on the OTT platform 'VBTV' is also confirmed; the service is chargeable. For more information on how to use it, please visit https://it.volleyballworld.com/volleyball-tv-it.
On television a summary will be aired on Monday 15 April at 21.50, on RTTR - Trentino Volley's media partner.
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 always be active on the Gialloblù social networks (www.trentinovolley.it/facebook, www.trentinovolley.it/instagram  and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter).
TICKET OFFICE The match is only included in the "Full" subscription type. Ticket presale is regularly active at any time on the Internet by clicking https://trentinovolley.vivaticket.it/it/event/semifinale-play-off-2024-s5/233747. The remaining coupons still available will also be sold on Sunday at the ilT quotidiano Arena cash desks, active from 5 p.m. (the same time at which the palazzetto entrances will also open).

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office