Trento, 16 November 2024

SuperLega, on Sunday in Piacenza for the eighth round of Regular Season

There will already be a match in the weekend right at the start of the eighth round of SuperLega Credem Banca 2024/25 regular season. Sunday 17 November Itas Trentino will be busy with the big match of the day, challenging Gas Sales Bluenergy at PalaBianca in Vicenza: the third versus the second in the rankings. The starting whistle is scheduled for 3.30 p.m.: direct on RAI Sport, Radio Dolomiti and (paid) live streaming on the platform OTT VBTV.
HERE IS ITAS TRENTINO The week spent with a suitcase comes to an end in Emilia for the Champions of Europe who, after re-entering just this Thursday from Romania, have departed this morning towards Piacenza to face one of the most significant trips of the entire championship. After all, they have to defend second place from the opponent’s assault, who are only one point behind.
“After the not-so-simple midweek match of CEV Cup in Romania, we go back on our path in SuperLega Credem Banca to face one of the most recognized teams on its field, one which has gathered the most point in the rankings - explains coach Fabio Soli on the venue of the presentation - . With the results that Piacenza already obtained on the field, they are only reinforcing what was thought before the beginning of regular season: they are a strong formation, with a roster that justifies its ambition and which registers considerable numbers, similar to ours, knowing full well that all of this can make us grow even further. It’s important to be able to live every situation in a positive manner, with the right spirit; it will help us improve our play system and allow us to take a leap forward from a mental perspective, too”.
Trentino Volley reached Piacenza at lunch time with all their selected 14 players and will be training this evening at PalaBanca to measure the playing field, since the traditional refinement of Sunday morning is not planned. It will be officially game number 1.055 in the history of the men’s section of Trentino Volley, the 601st in regular season and will see the yellow-blue team go hunting for the 735rh victory ever, possibly the 352nd away.
THE OPPONENTS The Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza will show themselves once more in front of their audience, where they have won every match in the championship (nine points over nine available points, leveling Taranto and Modena 3-1 and Milan with a 3-0) to try to turn the page on their first ko in the championship which they endured last Sunday in Civitanova. The 0-3 they suffered in the home of Cucine Lube has put an end to their initial streak of six victories and removed Anastasi’s team from first place, who still remains only three points away from the top. The absence of this round’s ex-player Kovacevik (113 attendances and 1.518 points for the yellow-blue between 2017 and 2020 of a Club World Cup and a CEV Cup), halted since the 2nd of November due to a joint problem, has evidently removed some certainty for the white-red team, who even without the Serbian beast in place 4, they can still count on an absolutely valorous couple composed by the Turkish Mandiraci and the Canadian Maar, taken from Monza in the summer alongside Galassi. The statistics of the first seven days of regular season speak of all the incisiveness of Piacenza on the serve (already 47 aces, only Perugia has done better) and on the wall (57 winning blocks), which put them among some of the most efficient formations during the breakpoint phase also thanks to the specific weight which guarantees a player like Simon (with numbers in hand, the second best middle-blocker in the tournament).
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD The head-to-head record between Trentino Volley and Gas Sales Bluenergy runs deep, as shown by the numbers: with 75 previous matchups, Piacenza is the third most faced opponent in the club’s history (only Civitanova with 99 and Modena with 88 are ahead). The detailed breakdown includes 42 regular season matches, 28 Play Off Scudetto games (spanning the Finals in 2008, 2009, and 2013, the 2023 semifinal, and the quarterfinals in 2005, 2021, and 2022), 3 Coppa Italia clashes (the 2023 final, the 2014 semifinal, and the 2015 quarterfinal), and 2 CEV Cup encounters (the 2017 quarterfinal). The record favors the yellow-and-blue Club with 51 wins to 24 losses, bolstered by a strong streak in recent years. Since Piacenza’s return to the top national league in the 2019/20 season, they have only managed six victories in 21 official matches. The most recent encounter in Emilia took place on January 20, with a 3-1 SuperLega win for the yellow-and-blues, led by Michieletto and Rychlicki, who each scored 18 points. Overall, Trento has triumphed at the PalaBanca in 17 of the 32 official matches played there.
THE REFEREES The match will be officiated by Massimiliano Giardini from Verona (a Serie A referee since 2014) and Umberto Zanussi from Treviso (active since 2006). This will mark the fifth SuperLega match they officiate together in their careers. Giardini will officiate his third league match of the season and returns to a Trento game one month after his last encounter—a 3-1 home victory over Modena on October 20. He has previously officiated only one Trento-Piacenza match: the 3-2 win on March 10, 2021. Zanussi, on the other hand, will be officiating his fifth match of the 2024/25 men’s league season. He last encountered the yellow-and-blue team on April 27, during Game 2 of the Play Off Scudetto Third Place Final (Milano-Trento 3-1). He has overseen three prior Trento-Piacenza clashes, resulting in two wins for Trento and one for Piacenza—a 3-1 victory for the Emiliani at the PalaBanca on October 16, 2022.
RADIO, INTERNET, AND TV The match will be a global media event, with live coverage on TV, radio, and the internet. On television, it will be broadcast by RAI Sport, available on digital terrestrial platform channel 58.
Live commentary will be provided by Radio Dolomiti, Trentino Volley's media partner. The regional network's frequencies can be found on the website www.radiodolomiti.com, where the live commentary will also be available via streaming.
The match will also be streamed live on the OTT platform Volleyball World TV. The service is subscription-based, and more details on access can be found at https://it.volleyballworld.com/volleyball-tv-it.
Additionally, a match summary will air on TV on Monday, November 18, at approximately 9:50 PM on RTTR, Trentino Volley's TV partner.
On the internet, real-time point-by-point updates will be available on the Serie A Volleyball League’s official website (www.legavolley.it) and Trentino Volley’s official website (www.trentinovolley.it). Updates will also be shared actively on Trentino Volley’s social media channels: Instagram and Twitter.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office