After a straight sets defeat in Game 1, a strong four sets win reply in Game 2 at home, and an epic comeback on the field of the rivals a week ago, Cucine Lube Civitanova decided today to put an end to the series, sweeping Rana Verona in just three sets, 3-0 (25:23, 25:19, 25:20) in front of an excited home crowd.
In Final, with Game 1 of best-of-five series scheduled on Thursday, April 30 at PalaBarton, Sir Susa Scai Perugia await, after eliminating Gas Sales BluEnergy Piacenza in just three games.
In addition to a great team performance, Eric Loeppky was a great protagonist of the day earning MVP honors recording 15 points including 3 aces and an impressive 80% in attack, well supported by Aleksandar Nikolov, who added 13 with 1 ace and 2 blocks, and Mattia Bottolo, who also contributed with 12 including 5 of the winners’ 11 winning blocks, decisive above all in third set.
For Verona, double digit only for Noumory Keita, who tallied 15 points, all in attack through 57%, followed by Francesco Sani with 9 (6 in first set) and 8 from middle blocker Aidan Zingel.
Verona started strong in first set, 1-5 with two aces from captain Rok Mozic, but the hosts regrouped, led by Loeppky (8 points and 88% in attack at the end of this set), to close first set with the minimum gap.
And then only Civitanova.
In second set, Bottolo put down the ball of 6-3, forcing Verona to stop the game with a time out from head coach Fabio Soli. A block from Nikolov is worth the 13-6, Bottolo blocks Sani that also close the set with an error.
Something similar happened in third set, in which Bottolo recorded two blocks in a row for the 9-3, and then he stops also Keita for the 13-4. With aces in a row from Sani, coach Medei calls a time-out, and then his team rejects Verona’s desperate attempt to reopen a game, closed by Nikolov 25-20.
Either way Verona will compete in next edition of CEV Champions League thanks to the win of Del Monte Coppa Italia, on January, against defending italian champions Itas Trentino, eliminated in quarterfinals against the same Civitanova, who now will face Perugia in Gran Finale for the title, in a final act that has already been played 5 times between these two rivals!
Civitanova will compete in a final for the italian title for 12th time in club’s history!
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🇮🇹| 2025/26 Superlega CredemBanca | Semifinals
Gara 1 – Game 1
Sunday, April 5 2026
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Rana Verona – Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-0 (34:32, 25:21, 25:21) Series: 1-0
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
Monday, April 6 2025
• 17.30 (Local Time) | Sir Susa Scai Perugia – Gas Sales BluEnergy Piacenza 3-1 (25:23, 25:21, 20:25, 25:22) Series: 1-0
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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Gara 2 – Game 2
Wednesday, April 8 2026
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Cucine Lube Civitanova – Rana Verona 3-1 (26:24, 25:21, 21:25, 25:22) Series: 1-1
Thursday, April 9 2026
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Gas Sales BluEnergy Piacenza – Sir Susa Scai Perugia 1-3 (18:25, 25:22, 20:25, 20:25) Series: 0-2
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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Gara 3 – Game 3
Saturday, April 11 2026
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Rana Verona – Cucine Lube Civitanova 2-3 (25:22, 28:26, 22:25, 19:25, 12:15) Series: 1-2
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
Sunday, April 12 2026
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Sir Susa Scai Perugia – Gas Sales BluEnergy Piacenza 3-0 (27:25, 25:21, 25:15) Series: 3-0
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
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Gara 4 – Game 4
👉🏼Saturday, April 18, 2026
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Cucine Lube Civitanova – Rana Verona 3-0 (25:23, 25:19, 25:20) Series: 3-1
Cucine Lube Civitanova: Boninfante 3, Bottolo 12, Gargiulo 4, Loeppky 15, Nikolov 13, Podrascanin 5, Bisotto (L), Orduna 0, Balaso (L), Kukartsev 0, Duflos-Rossi 0. N.E. D’Heer, Hfaiedh, Tenorio. Coach. Medei.
Rana Verona: Christenson 3, Mozic 4, Zingel 8, Ferreira Souza 3, Keita 15, Vitelli 0, Bonisoli (L), Planinsic 0, D’Amico 0, Staforini (L), Sani 9, Glatz 0, Nedeljkovic 3. N.E. Valbusa. Coach. Soli.
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