Trento, 21 April 2024

Sbertoli returns to play full-time right in his home city of Milan: "A great feeling"

Game 2 of the Play Off Final for 3rd place did not give Itas Trentino the desired 2-0 in the series against Allianz, but at least allowed Riccardo Sbertoli to find a place in the starting six after over a month and a half of absence due to an injury to the little finger of the left hand, suffered during the first set of the home match against Berlin (Champions League, February 29). It was right in his hometown and against the Club that launched him into the SuperLega (Powervolley Milano) that the yellow-blue setter was able to regain confidence on court, playing five good sets, as demonstrated by his team's final attack percentage (49%).
"It was nice to experience these emotions again after so many weeks spent working separately from my teammates - admitted Sbertoli the day after the match -. Playing a real match is completely different from doing it in training. Obviously, I can't be happy with the final result, but a bit selfishly I say that playing five sets at this level was definitely the best thing that could have happened to me to get back into my match rhythm. The sensations were positive, both from a physical and technical point of view, and the response I received from my hand was also comforting; I didn't feel any kind of pain and above all I wasn't afraid to block, which was perhaps the most important psychological hurdle to overcome. There are aspects of the game that are still not coming along as I would like, but it is normal; however, I am holding on to the chemistry that I was able to quickly find with my teammates”.
"Saturday night we did not take a good opportunity to address the series in an important way - added Riccardo referring to the match lost at the tie-break at the Allianz Cloud - ; but it must also be said that before the tie-break, in which we failed to defend a three-point lead, we managed to rebuild our game several times, earning the opportunity to play the fifth set with a lot of character. Perhaps we lacked a bit of lucidity, but we have to accept this kind of difficulty given the situation we found ourselves in. Game 3 will be even more important: we have to take a further step forward".
Itas Trentino began preparing for the third round of the series (scheduled for Wednesday at the ilT quotidiano Arena at 8.30 pm) from Monday morning, after a Sunday of rest granted by the coaching staff to the players.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office