Champions League: a perfect Modena sweep Perugia at playoff opening

2 min read

23 February 2021 Ivan

The first duel of the all-Italian clash in the playoff quarterfinals of the 2021 CEV Volleyball Champions League ended with a surprising result: favored Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia unexpectedly lost against Leo Shoes Modena in straight sets in the first leg. Partially, it was 25:21, 25:18, and 25:22.
Modena, who finished 7th in the SuperLega regular season, unlike Perugia who won it, and had only 3 days to prepare for the match (Perugia had a 10-day break) dominated the match from start to finish.
So, in the rematch at their PalaBarton, scheduled for March 2, Perugia will need a great reaction to avoid the (shocking) elimination from the competition.
Luca Vettori top-scored Modena with 15 points, while American Micah Christenson made 4 winning blocks. Cuban-Polish Wilfredo León tallied 13 points on the other side, while Argentine Sebastián Solé set up 5 blocks.
Perugia scored more points in service and block – 4 and 9 respectively – than Modena (1 and 5), but Modena’s winning spikes and Perugia’s own errors hugely affected the final score of the match.

Vital Heynen, coach of Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia: “We have been in a lot of difficulties. We also started well, but then Modena played very well, we were under pressure. We have a week to recover. It is certainly not easy, it is a great challenge, but we have the qualities to show that we can return after a difficult moment”.

| 2021 CEV Volleyball Champions League, playoff quarterfinals – 1st leg:
| February 23, 2021
• Leo Shoes Modena – Sir Safety Perugia 3-0 (25:21, 25:18, 25:22)