Trento, 07 March 2025

On Saturday at ilT quotidiano Arena (8:30 pm): the road to the 2025 Playoffs begins

The 2025 SuperLega Credem Banca Scudetto Playoffs begin this Saturday. In the quarterfinals (first round of the Italian championship bracket for the 2024/25 season), Itas Trentino will face Cisterna Volley in a best-of-five series for a spot in the semifinals. Game 1 will take place on March 8 at the ilT Quotidiano Arena in Trento, with the match set to start at 8:30 PM. The game will be broadcast live on Radio Dolomiti and via paid streaming on the OTT platforms VBTV and DAZN.
HERE IS ITAS TRENTINO The gialloblù team enters the playoffs as the number 1 seed, having won the regular season. They will face the same opponent they met in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia earlier this season.
“With this match, a new chapter of the season begins, one that will require a different approach compared to the regular season,” explains coach Fabio Soli as he previews the series against the Pontine team. “We will need to bring our maximum level of focus in order to consistently perform at our best. We can count on the support of our fans in three out of the five potential matches of the series, which is a real advantage for us. On the other side of the net, we will find a team that will certainly put up a fight, strong in its individual talents and skills, especially in serve, block-defense, and fast-paced play. These qualities may not have fully shown in the most recent encounter a few weeks ago, but we know they are part of Cisterna's game”.
Saturday marks the start of the 10th career playoff appearance for Nicola Pesaresi, the player with the most playoff appearances in the current squad (with one win – 2017 edition with Civitanova), while it will be the 5th such appearance for Alessandro Michieletto, the player with the most playoff appearances in the current squad (33). Three players will make their playoff debut: middle blockers Bartha and Pellacani, and outside hitter Bristot. This will be Trentino Volley’s official match number 1,084 in club history, the 155th in the Scudetto Playoffs, and they are aiming for their 759th all-time victory.
THE PLAYOFF HISTORY OF TRENTINO VOLLEY Saturday night marks Trentino Volley’s 22nd playoff appearance in 25 seasons. The team has missed the playoffs only in the 2000/01, 2001/02, and 2019/20 seasons (the latter due to the pandemic). In the previous 21 appearances, Trentino Volley has progressed past the first round 16 times. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Modena (2002/03 in five matches and 2013/14 in two matches), Perugia (2003/04 in four matches, after winning the regular season), Piacenza (2004/05 in five matches), and Cuneo (2006/07 in three matches). In this edition, the club will aim for their potential 10th final in their last 17 playoff appearances. Excluding the unlucky 2013/14 season (where they were eliminated in two matches), Trentino Volley has always won at least one match in every playoff they’ve participated in, winning the opening match in 17 of the 21 seasons (including the 3-0 victory over Modena last year in the 2024 edition).
THE OPPONENTS Cisterna Volley returns to Trento just over two weeks after their last meeting (February 19, a rescheduled match from the 12th round of the regular season) to begin their first-ever playoff campaign since the club’s rebranding in the summer of 2023, when they took over the sporting title of Top Volley Latina. In Latina, the Scudetto Playoffs are returning for the first time in two years (after finishing 9th in the previous season). They will face the number 1 seed of the bracket, but Cisterna has already caused difficulty for Trentino in both the opening match of the season (September 29, away) and the Coppa Italia quarterfinal on December 29, where they won a set in both cases.
Coached by Falasca, Cisterna closed the regular season with nine wins from 22 matches, showing great strength in blocking (ranking 3rd in the league with 197 direct points), led by Serbian middle blocker Nedeljkovic (the best blocker in the league with 61 blocks). The team also boasts a high-scoring opposite, Frenchman Faure (4th top scorer with 370 points), and solid defense from libero Pace, one of the two ex-players from Trentino, alongside opposite Mazzone. The experience is bolstered by setter Baranowicz, who is making his 9th playoff appearance, having played for six different teams, including Lube, with whom he won the 2014 Scudetto.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS Itas Trentino and Cisterna Volley have met three times this season (all won by the gialloblù) and will meet at least three more times, as the quarterfinals are a best-of-five series. This will further solidify Cisterna’s position as the 5th most frequent opponent Trentino has faced in the club's history. In total, they have met 50 times (with a 40-10 win-loss record for Trentino). Ahead of them are only Civitanova (103 matches), Modena (89), Piacenza (77), and Perugia (57). Cisterna has won two of the last five matches played on their home court: 3-0 on March 20, 2022 (final regular season match of 2021/22) and 3-2 on January 15, 2023. In Trentino, the situation is quite different: Cisterna has not won since April 13, 2014 (1-3), in a playoff match for 5th place, and they have only won three of the last 22 encounters. At the Fersina Arena, they have only won twice in the past 26 matches, with victories on December 1, 2002, and January 6, 2007. The last meeting was on February 19, with a 3-0 victory for Trentino, with set scores of 25-17, 25-15, and 25-19, and Bartha named MVP.
THE SERIES The quarter finals are played in a best-of-five format, as are the semifinals and the final; the team that wins three matches advances. After Game 1, the teams will return to the court in Cisterna for Game 2 on Sunday, March 16, at 6:00 PM, and will continue their rivalry at the ilT Quotidiano Arena on Sunday, March 23, at 5:00 PM for Game 3. If necessary, Games 4 and 5 will be scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, in Lazio (8:30 PM), and Sunday, March 30, in Trento (time to be confirmed). The team that advances will face the winner of the Verona-Piacenza matchup in the semifinals, a match that opens on Sunday in Veneto. The other two quarterfinals in the lower part of the bracket are Perugia-Modena and Civitanova-Milan.
THE REFEREES The match will be officiated by Maurizio Canessa (from Bari) and Alessandro Cerra (from Bologna), marking their fourth joint SuperLega match in their careers. Canessa is overseeing his ninth match of the season in the league, four of which involved Trento, always victorious: a 3-2 home win against Grottazzolina on January 19, a 3-1 away win in Taranto on December 22, a 3-1 home win against Verona on November 10, and a 3-0 win in Padova last Saturday. He has previously officiated a match between Cisterna and Trento: on January 15, 2023, a 3-2 home win for the pontini. Cerra is officiating his 16th match of the season in SuperLega and will meet Itas Trentino again after their tie-break win in Perugia on January 12, a 1-3 loss in Civitanova on December 1, a four-set victory in Milan on October 13, and a recent 3-0 win over Cisterna on February 19. He has also officiated another match between Trento and Cisterna: on November 1, 2020, a 3-1 away victory for the yellow-blues.
TV, RADIO, AND INTERNET The match will be live-commented by Radio Dolomiti, Trentino Volley's media partner. It is possible to listen to the regional network at www.radiodolomiti.com, where there is the chance to also follow the live radio commentary via streaming.
The match will also be available via live video streaming on two separate OTT platforms: VBTV and DAZN; the service is paid for both.
A highlights package will be aired on Monday, March 10, at 9:40 PM on RTTR – Trentino Volley's media partner.
For live point-by-point updates, visit the Lega Pallavolo Serie A website (www.legavolley.it) and Trentino Volley's own website (www.trentinovolley.it), with ongoing updates also available on the yellow-blue social media channels (www.trentinovolley.it/facebook, www.trentinovolley.it/instagram, and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter).
TICKETING The match is included in the 2024/25 season subscription. Single tickets can be purchased at any time online by clicking
https://trentinovolley.vivaticket.it/it/event/itas-trentino-cisterna-quarto-di-finale-play-off-q1/262073, or directly on Saturday evening at the box office of the ilT Quotidiano Arena, which will open at 7:30 PM, when the arena entrances will also open.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office