Trento, 10 January 2025
SuperLega, Sunday showdown at the top in Perugia: notes and statistical curiosities

Some notes and statistical curiosities in view of the sixteenth seasonal regular season commitment of the SuperLega Credem Banca of Itas Trentino, scheduled for Sunday, January 12, 2025, at PalaBarton in Perugia against Sir Susa Vim (6:00 PM).
FIVE POINTS. Sir Susa Vim holds the top position in the standings with forty-one points collected out of forty-five available, without having lost any of the fifteen matches already played. Itas Trentino is five points behind, which can potentially be reduced to two since the gialloblù have to make up a game (the first round of the second leg against Cisterna, not played due to the team's commitments in the Club World Cup in December). During the first fourteen games of the season, Trento dropped points to only two opponents (Perugia and Civitanova), always achieving the full haul in all other twelve matches. Perugia, despite being the leader, has conceded points to more opponents, winning only in the tie break against Padova and Verona and at home with Civitanova and Piacenza. Considering also the matches of the previous season and those played this season between the Champions League and the Super Cup, the Umbrian team comes to the appointment with twenty-three consecutive victories. The last defeat was on April 21, 2024, in Monza (2-3 in Game 2 of the Scudetto Final).
ITALIAN DUOPOLY. Itas Trentino-Sir Susa Vim Perugia also represents the clash between the two clubs that have won the last six titles in Italian men's volleyball. The gialloblù club started last May 17, 2023, by winning the championship, then the Umbrian club won in order: the 2023 Super Cup, the 2024 Italian Cup, the 2024 Championship, and the 2024 Super Cup. The last club other than these two to win a trophy was Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza on February 26, 2023, in Rome with the victory of the Italian Cup, taking it in the final against Trento.
FAVORABLE JANUARY. In the past, it has already happened seven times that a regular season matchup in the SuperLega championship between Perugia and Trento took place in the month of January, and on six occasions, the gialloblù colors smiled: January 6, 2013 (3-2 at home), January 18, 2015 (3-1 in Trento), January 23, 2016 (3-0 at home), January 5, 2019 (3-0 at home), January 3, 2021 (3-1 in Perugia), and January 2, 2022 (3-2 in Trento). The only defeat in the championship duel in the first month of the calendar year dates back to January 15, 2017: 3-0 at home for Perugia, with the then Diatec Trentino team featuring Giannelli, Colaci, Solé, and coached by Angelo Lorenzetti.
A CHALLENGING PALABARTON. There have been fifty-six official matches between Trentino Volley and Sir Perugia, with a positive balance for the Umbrians at 32-24, thanks in part to nine victories in the last ten matches played. The only recent victory for Trento dates back to December 17, 2023 (3-1 against ilT quotidiano Arena, led by Michieletto); after that win, they suffered three consecutive defeats, including both matches already played this season: a tie-break loss in Florence on September 22 in the Supercup Final and a four-set defeat in Trento on October 27 during the first half of the season. The player who has participated in the most matches between Trento and Perugia is Simone Giannelli: 34 with the yellow-blue jersey and 16 with the Umbrian team (a total of 50). The first match of the season is not included in this count, as the National Team Captain was on the bench due to injury. Overall, the yellow-blues have won six times in twenty previous encounters at PalaBarton, with the last victory occurring on February 25, 2024 (losing 1-3 in the penultimate regular season match).
EXCELLENCES. Statistics in hand, on Sunday evening at PalaBarton, two teams will face each other that, in different voices, represent the best that the SuperLega Credem Banca has to offer in the 2024/25 season. Sir Susa Vim is by far the team with the most winning blocks (140 in total, averaging 2.41 per set) and aces (129 – 2.22 per set) in the entire regular season. Itas Trentino responds with the skill of Flavio and Michieletto (first and second attackers by weighted average). Alessandro also ranks high in the standings for best spiker (which effectively measures the "quality" offered in every fundamental) and has engaged in a battle for the most winning serves with Perugia's Plotnytskyi: 35 points for the Ukrainian (1st), 27 for the Italian (2nd).
EX-PLAYERS. There will be six former players on the court this Sunday at PalaBarton. The freshest will be Flavio Gualberto, a Brazilian middle blocker who moved from Trento to Perugia last summer, following in the footsteps of Kamil Rychlicki, who made a similar move twelve months earlier and will return as an ex for the first time in Umbria. On the Umbrian side, besides coach Angelo Lorenzetti (337 appearances on the yellow-blue bench between 2016 and 2023), the following have also worn the yellow-blue jersey: setter Simone Giannelli (315 official matches between 2014 and 2021 and 131 times captain), middle blockers Sebastian Solé (189 caps between 2013 and 2017) and Davide Candellaro (81 between 2018 and 2020), and libero Massimo Colaci (345 between 2010 and 2017). Emanuele Birarelli was the first to move directly from one club to another at the end of the 2014/15 season, which culminated in winning the Scudetto as captain.
REFEREES. The match will be officiated by Dominga Lot from Santa Lucia di Piave (Treviso) and Alessandro Cerra from Bologna, marking their third joint SuperLega match in their careers. Both referees have previous experience with individual matches between Perugia and Trento: two for Lot (3-1 home win for the yellow-blues on December 17, 2023, and 3-0 also in Trento on January 5, 2019) and one for Cerra (home win for Perugia by 3-1 on November 20, 2022).
Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office