Italy: Modena and Verona set for a high-stakes PalaPanini showdown: Tubertini seeks a reaction, Soli wants to build momentum

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The third round of the 2026/27 SuperLega will bring an intriguing clash to the PalaPanini on Sunday, as Valsa Group Modena welcome Rana Verona.
It is still early in the season, but the meeting carries considerable significance for two clubs with ambitions well beyond the opening weeks of the championship. For the hosts, the immediate priority is to get their campaign moving after two defeats; for the visitors, it is an opportunity to confirm that the encouraging signs of recent weeks can translate into consistent results.

Both head coaches have spoken ahead of the encounter, with Lorenzo Tubertini calling for a response from his Modena players and Fabio Soli stressing the importance of continuing Verona’s development. Their messages reflect two different situations, but a shared awareness that the PalaPanini is rarely an easy place to visit.
Modena’s start has been more difficult than expected. The Gialloblù opened their campaign with a 0-3 home defeat against Itas Trentino, before suffering another straight-set loss away to Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza. They have yet to collect a point and currently sit at the bottom end of the early standings, alongside other teams still searching for their first win. Tubertini, who has returned to the club where his coaching career began, is nevertheless looking beyond the numbers.

“We want to get that zero off the standings – it is a number we do not like. The group is focused on its work and on improving its level of play. The first two matches confirmed that we are still on a journey of development, but we approach the game against Verona with optimism and confidence,” said the Modena coach.

The former coach of Narbonne is well aware that improvement must be accompanied by greater efficiency when opportunities arise. Modena have shown glimpses of progress, but have not yet managed to turn promising moments into results.

“We must not look only at the results, but above all at the quality of our game. When you create favourable situations but fail to make the most of them, it is frustrating, but that must become an incentive to understand where we need to improve. Compared with our opening match, we have made progress, especially in the consistency of our side-out, while we are working to make our serve more effective. From a physical point of view, Luca Porro has recovered from his injury and is back to full fitness, while we continue to manage some situations within the group that were already known.”

Tubertini also highlighted the challenge posed by a Verona side equipped with considerable attacking and serving potential.

“Verona are a complete team, with great potential in serving and attack. It will be essential to maintain stability in reception and manage difficult game situations well. We will face an opponent coming off a victory and therefore highly motivated, but the numbers tell us that we are close to the level required to compete. I am confident: we want to play to win.”

The visitors arrive in Modena with a different feeling after responding to their opening defeat against Cucine Lube Civitanova with a 3-1 away victory over Vero Volley Monza. That result gave Soli’s team its first three points of the season and offered a more encouraging picture of a squad that has retained much of its core while adding some significant names.
Verona’s ambitions are backed by the progress made last season. Rana Verona finished second in the 2025/26 regular season with 48 points, won the Coppa Italia for the first time in the club’s history and reached the Scudetto semi-finals. The summer brought further continuity, with key players such as Rok Možič, Noumory Keita and Micah Christenson remaining at the club, while the arrivals of opposite hitters Paul Buchegger and Anders Mol, setter Kellian Motta Paes, middle blocker Simone Anzani and libero Leonardo Scanferla added depth and experience.

The upcoming campaign will also mark a historic milestone: Verona will make its first appearance in the CEV Champions League. Drawn in Pool E alongside Poland’s BOGDANKA LUK Lublin, France’s Tours VB and a team emerging from the qualifying rounds, the Italian side will begin its European adventure at home against Tours in December.

Soli is pleased with the work carried out during the week and wants to see the same attitude transferred from training to competition.

“We arrive in Modena after a good week of work, during which we have shown steady progress both technically and in the quality of our play during training, as well as in the team’s commitment and ability to remain focused on its objectives. We want to continue along this path of development.”

The Verona coach, who will return to the city where he was born, knows that the atmosphere at the PalaPanini will make Sunday’s challenge particularly demanding.

“We encountered several difficulties in our first two matches, but it is important for us to learn how to manage these situations as well, because a difficult challenge awaits us in Modena, both because of the quality of the opposition and the atmosphere. Playing in that arena is always special, and I expect a very closely contested match.”

For Soli, the team’s development is not simply a matter of results, but also of its ability to respond to different situations and maintain its focus.

“The team is beginning to please me in the way it deals with different situations during training, and I hope it can bring that same attitude onto the court in matches.”

There is also a significant European story on the other side of the net. Modena, one of the most decorated clubs in Italian and international volleyball, will return to continental competition in the 2026/27 CEV Cup after three seasons away. The club’s last European campaign ended with victory in the 2022/23 edition of the same competition, its fifth CEV Cup title. This time, Modena will begin against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s OK Napredak Odžak, with the first leg scheduled away from home between November 10 and 12 and the return at the PalaPanini between November 17 and 19. Should they progress, Halkbank Ankara will be their next opponent.

The European commitments add another dimension to the season for both organisations, but Sunday’s meeting comes first. Modena need a result to turn early frustration into renewed confidence; Verona want to demonstrate that last season’s achievements were not an isolated peak, but the beginning of a new chapter. At the PalaPanini, two different journeys will meet in a match that promises intensity, quality and plenty at stake.

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