Trento, 22 March 2025

Playoffs, on Sunday back to the ilT quotidiano Arena: game 3 of the quarter

On Sunday, March 23rd, at the ilT Quotidiano Arena, Game 3 of the Quarterfinal Playoff Series for the SuperLega Credem Banca 2025 Scudetto will take place. After last weekend's loss in Lazio, Itas Trentino will face Cisterna Volley again, this time in front of their home crowd. The match is set to begin at 3:30 PM, with live coverage on RAI Sport, Radio Dolomiti, and streaming on the OTT platform "VBTV".
HERE ITAS TRENTINO Returning Thursday afternoon from the double trip to Lazio and Turkey, the yellow-and-blue team is back in front of their home crowd to try to regain the lead in the series, now tied at 1-1, and to turn the page after two consecutive defeats with the identical score of 1-3.
"We are diving back into the Scudetto Playoff series with Cisterna, having had very little time to prepare, and with the need to channel what has happened in recent days into positive energy for our performance," analyzed coach Fabio Soli, presenting the sixth encounter of the season against Cisterna. "On the other side of the net, we will face an opponent clearly boosted by their Game 2 victory, achieved through an excellent performance they will certainly try to replicate in the upcoming matches. We can rely on the support of our crowd, a critical factor for starting the game strong and showing both quality and consistency in play, but our ability to accept a point-by-point battle and our determination, translated into concrete actions, will be essential to resolve this situation in our favor".
Supporting Itas Trentino is also their performance at the ilT Quotidiano Arena, where they haven't lost in over four months and have won their last fourteen consecutive matches, conceding only ten sets to their opponents. Their last home defeat dates back to October 27th, in a regular season match against Perugia (1-3). Sunday's match will be the 44th of the season for Trentino Volley's men’s team, the 18th on their home court, where the yellow-and-blue club will be aiming for their 761st all-time victory (in 1,088 official matches).
ELEVEN WINS AND THREE DEFEATS IN PREVIOUS "GAME 3" QUARTERFINALS In its previous twenty-one participations in the Scudetto Playoffs, Trentino Volley has played fourteen Game 3 quarterfinal matches, achieving eleven wins and just three defeats. The victories include the 2003 and 2006 editions (both 3-2 against Modena), 2009 (3-2 against Vibo), 2010 (3-0 against Verona), 2011 (3-0 against San Giustino), 2016 (3-0 against Molfetta), 2018 (3-0 against Verona), 2020 (3-0 against Padova), 2022 (3-0 against Piacenza), 2023 (3-1 against Monza), and 2024 (3-0 against Modena). The defeats occurred in the 2003 edition (0-3 against Perugia), 2004 (1-3 against Piacenza), and 2007 (2-3 against Cuneo). Sunday’s match for the Club from Via del Brennero will mark its 157th Scudetto Playoff game ever (with a record of 92 wins and 64 defeats) and its 84th at the ilT Quotidiano Arena, where it has not lost in the quarterfinals for eleven years (March 27, 2014, 0-3 against Modena in Game 1).
THE OPPONENTS Cisterna Volley returns to Trento two weeks after Game 1, buoyed by their victory, marking their first-ever win at Trentino Volley’s home ground in the history of the new club (which acquired the title from Top Volley Latina in the summer of 2023). The win on Sunday allowed them to level the quarterfinal series. To secure another success, coach Falasca’s team will once again rely on the offensive contributions of opposite hitter Faure (32 points over the first two matches, surpassed only by Michieletto, who has six more winning points), the effectiveness in serve and attack from the foreign outside hitter duo Bayram-Ramon, and the strong form of two former Trentino players, Mazzone and Pace, who were among the best performers in last weekend’s match.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Sunday will mark the sixth meeting this season between the two teams, who have already faced off on September 29 in Cisterna di Latina, then three times in a row at the ilT quotidiano Arena in Trento (on December 29, February 19, and March 8), and finally again in Lazio one week ago. The current head-to-head this season stands at 4–1 in favor of the yellow-blue team (Trentino). Out of the total 52 matches played so far between the two clubs, Trentino Volley leads the all-time series 41–11, although the Lazio-based side has won three of the last six meetings played on their home court. Regardless of the outcome of Game 3, there will be at least one more match in the series, which will already be a potential decider to clinch a spot in the semifinals for whichever team wins it. A team from the province of Latina hasn’t won in Trento since April 13, 2014 (1–3) and has claimed victory in only three of the last 23 matchups. At the venue in via Fersina, Cisterna (or Latina) has managed to win only twice out of 27 matches played there, both in four-set battles: on December 1, 2002, and January 6, 2007.
THE SERIES Itas Trentino and Cisterna are currently tied 1–1 in their SuperLega Credem Banca 2025 Playoff Quarterfinals series, which is played in a best-of-five format. Game 1, held at the ilT quotidiano Arena on March 8, ended with a 3–0 home win for Trentino (25–23, 25–19, 25–14), while Game 2 saw Cisterna even the series with a 3–1 home win this past Sunday (25–21, 27–25, 19–25, 26–24). After Sunday’s clash, the teams will meet again in Lazio for Game 4, scheduled for Wednesday, March 26 at 8:30 PM. A potential decisive Game 5, which would determine who advances to the semifinals, would be played in Trentino on Saturday, March 29 at 8:30 PM (date and time to be confirmed). The winner of this quarterfinal series will face the winner of Verona vs. Piacenza in the semifinals; that series currently stands at 2–0 in favor of the team from Emilia (Game 3 is being played tonight in Verona). The other two quarterfinal matchups in the upper half of the bracket are Perugia vs. Modena (2–0) and Civitanova vs. Milano (1–1).
THE REFEREES The match will be officiated by Armando Simbari (from Milan, Serie A referee since 2007 and international since 2016) and Rossella Piana (from Carpi – Modena, in Serie A since 2005 and international since 2015). This will be their fourth SuperLega match officiated together, and their second this season. Simbari is officiating his 14th match of the 2024/25 SuperLega season; the only one involving Trentino Volley was their 1–3 home loss to Perugia on October 27. Piana, on the other hand, is officiating her 11th SuperLega match of the season and previously refereed Itas Trentino in their five-set loss to Civitanova in the Coppa Italia semifinal in Bologna (January 25), as well as their 3–1 home win over Padova on November 27. Both referees have already officiated two matches each between Cisterna and Trento over the course of their careers.
TV, RADIO & ONLINE COVERAGE The match will be a global media event, broadcast live across all major platforms. On television, it will be aired live on RAI Sport, available on digital terrestrial channel 58 and also through the "Rai Play" App.
Radio coverage will be provided by Radio Dolomiti, Trentino Volley’s official media partner. Frequencies to tune in to the regional network can be found on www.radiodolomiti.com, where the live commentary will also be available via streaming.
Additionally, the match will be streamed live on the OTT platform "VBTV" (subscription required). For more details on how to access the service, visit:
https://it.volleyballworld.com/volleyball-tv-it.
A match highlights recap will also be broadcast on RTTR – Trentino Volley’s TV partner – on Monday, March 24 at approximately 9:45 PM.
Live score updates, set by set, will be available on the official Lega Pallavolo Serie A website (www.legavolley.it) as well as on www.trentinovolley.it. Real-time content and updates will also be posted on Trentino Volley’s official social media channels: (www.trentinovolley.it/instagram and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter).
TICKETING The match is included in the 2024/25 season ticket package. Single match tickets can be purchased at any time online via:
https://trentinovolley.vivaticket.it/it/event/itas-trentino-cisterna-quarto-di-finale-play-off-q3/262523
Tickets will also be available at the ilT quotidiano Arena box office on Sunday afternoon, opening at 2:30 PM, the same time arena gates will open for spectators.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office