Trento, 08 May 2025

Cucine Lube-Itas Trentino 2-3, the final match #4 report

Match Report – Game 4 Both teams lined up as expected. Itas Trentino stuck with the same starting seven from Sunday’s 3–0 home win: Sbertoli as setter, Rychlicki as opposite, Michieletto and Lavia on the outside, Kozamernik and Flavio as middle blockers, and Laurenzano as libero. Cucine Lube had Bottolo back and paired him with Nikolov in the outside hitter positions, joined by Boninfante (setter), Lagumdzija (opposite), Gargiulo and Chinenyeze (middles), and Balaso as libero.
The hosts started strong, with Bottolo and Nikolov applying pressure from the service line and surging ahead (4–7, 6–9, 9–13). Trento responded through Michieletto’s serve (including an ace) to pull within one (12–13), but after a timeout by coach Medei, Lube surged again with Lagumdzija (12–16). Coach Soli called two quick timeouts, but Civitanova continued to pull away (12–18), controlling the rest of the set with ease (18–22, 19–24), and closing it out with Nikolov at 21–25. The second set began in similar fashion, with Lube jumping ahead thanks to strong serving (1–5). Trentino quickly called a timeout, and Michieletto helped close the gap with a few effective serves (5–6). Rychlicki brought Trento level, but Lube pulled ahead again, scoring break points in nearly every rotation (8–11, 11–15, 16–20). Trento clawed back through solid blocking and a few Lube errors (20–21), but Lagumdzija and Boninfante’s block on Rychlicki extended Lube's lead again (20–23). Trento’s response was dramatic: Michieletto served them into the lead (24–23), and after three more set points, Kozamernik’s block clinched it 28–26 to tie the match 1–1. Trento kept the momentum in the third set, with Lavia firing two straight aces to make it 8–5. Civitanova quickly leveled the score (8–8), and a tight sideout battle ensued until Kozamernik broke it with a block (15–13). Michieletto’s attacking added to the lead (18–14, forcing a timeout from Medei). Trentino extended their dominance with two nearly consecutive aces by Sbertoli and closed the set at 25–17 to go up 2–1. Lube tried to mount a comeback in the fourth set with more aggressive serving and a block from Gargiulo (14–16). Lavia’s ace tied it again (16–16), but Civitanova pulled away with Nikolov (18–22). Trento made one last push with Michieletto and Lavia (20–22) but couldn’t stop Boninfante and Nikolov from sending it to the decider. In the tie-break, Trento immediately took control with Michieletto and Rychlicki (ace for 7–4). Flavio’s block stretched the lead to +4 (10–6), prompting another timeout from Medei. But there was no stopping Trentino: Rychlicki sealed the deal at the first match point (15–9). Trentino Volley are the 2025 Italian Champions!

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