Italy: Civitanova, Verona and Modena claim opening victories in SuperLega Playoff Quarterfinals

Quarterfinals Game 1 of Play Off Scudetto of 2025/26 Superlega Credem Banca have been completed with three matches on Sunday, following Sir Susa Scai Perugia’s win over Vero Volley Monza on Saturday, as the race for the Italian volleyball title officially began.
No.6 in regular season standings Cucine Lube Civitanova opened their series with an impressive 1-3 away win on the field of No.3 Itas Trentino (21:25, 25:27, 26:24, 17:25).
The match was tightly contested for three sets before Civitanova pulled away in the decisive fourth, led once again by an excellent Alex Nikolov who led all scorers with 26 points to his name and earned MVP honors with his 48% in attack (22/46), 55% positive receptions, 1 ace and 3 blocks, while Mattia Bottolo added 16 (52% in attack, 40% positive receptions, 1 ace and 4 blocks), Erik Loeppky 14, and Giovanni Gargiulo left the court also in double digit with 10. For Trentino, Theo Faure scored 15 points.
No.2 Rana Verona enjoyed a comfortable night in front of their home fans, trampling over No.7 Allianz Milano 3–0 (25:16, 25:15, 25:21).
Noumory Keita finished as top scorer with 18 points to his name, while captain Rok Mozic also contributed with 14 points and three aces to claim MVP awards, with Darlan adding 16 (59% in attack and 3 aces).
Milano struggled offensively, with middle blocker Edoardo Caneschi leading the team with only seven points.
In the day’s most dramatic match, No.4 Valsa Group Modena rallied from two sets down to beat No.5 Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza 3–2 (23:25, 22:25, 25:20, 25:16, 17:15) at their Palapanini.
Luca Porro led the winners with 20 points to his name through 53% in attack, 57% positive receptions, 3 aces and 1 block, followed by Paul Buchegger who added 16 and Vald Davyskiba with 14. A strong contribution also came from setter Amir Tizi-Oualou, allowing his team to attack at 50% also scoring 6 points including 1 ace and 4 winning blocks.
For Piacenza, Efe Mandiraci scored 22 points, with Jose Gutierrez adding 17.

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🏐| 2025/26 Superlega CredemBanca Playoffs | Quarterfinals

Gara 1 – Game 1

Saturday, March 7 2025
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Sir Susa Scai Perugia (1) – Vero Volley Monza (8) 3-1 (21:25, 25:20, 25:16, 25:17) Series: 1-0

👉🏼Sunday, March 8 2025

• 17.00 (Local Time) | Itas Trentino (3) – Cucine Lube Civitanova (6) 1-3 (21:25, 25:27, 26:24, 17:25) Series: 0-1
Itas Trentino: Sbertoli 2, Ramon 9, Resende Gualberto 9, Faure 15, Lavia 9, Torwie 2, Boschini (L), Bristot 0, Pesaresi 0, Garcia Fernandez 1, Laurenzano (L), Bartha 7, Acquarone 0. N.E. Sandu. Coach. Mendez.
Cucine Lube Civitanova: Boninfante 4, Bottolo 16, Gargiulo 10, Loeppky 14, Nikolov 26, D’Heer 6, Bisotto (L), Orduna 0, Balaso (L), Kukartsev 0. N.E. Hfaiedh, Podrascanin, Duflos-Rossi, Tenorio. Coach. Medei.

• 18.00 (Local Time) | Rana Verona (2) – Allianz Milano (7) 3-0 (25:16, 25:15, 25:21) Series: 1-0
Rana Verona: Christenson 1, Mozic 14, Cortesia 8, Ferreira Souza 16, Keita 18, Vitelli 2, Staforini (L), Zingel 1, Gironi 1, D’Amico (L), Glatz 0. N.E. Planinsic, Sani, Nedeljkovic. Coach. Soli.
Allianz Milano: Kreling 0, Otsuka 5, Masulovic 6, Reggers 5, Ichino 8, Caneschi 7, Corbetta (L), Catania (L), Barbanti 2, Lindqvist 1, Rotty 0, Di Martino 0. N.E. Masajedi, Benacchio. Coach. Piazza.

• 20.30 (Local Time) | Valsa Group Modena (4) – Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza (5) 3-2 (23:25, 22:25, 25:20, 25:16, 17:15) Series: 1-0
Valsa Group Modena: Tizi-Oualou 6, Davyskiba 14, Mati 8, Buchegger 16, Porro 20, Sanguinetti 12, Federici (L), Massari 0, Perry (L), Anzani 0, Bento 0, Ikhbayri 0, Giraudo 0. N.E. Tauletta. Coach. Giuliani.
Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza: Porro 1, Mandiraci 22, Comparoni 4, Bovolenta 9, Gutierrez 17, Simon 10, Loreti (L), Leon 0, Pace (L), Andringa 0, Seddik 0. N.E. Travica, Bergmann, Iyegbekedo. Coach. Boninfante.

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Gara 2 – Game 2

Saturday, March 14 2025
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza – Valsa Group Modena

Sunday, March 15 2025
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Vero Volley Monza – Sir Susa Scai Perugia
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Cucine Lube Civitanova – Itas Trentino
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Allianz Milano – Rana Verona

Gara 3 – Game 3

Tuesday, March 17 2025
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Valsa Group Modena – Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza

Wednesday, March 18 2025
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Itas Trentino – Cucine Lube Civitanova
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Rana Verona – Allianz Milano
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Sir Susa Scai Perugia – Vero Volley Monza

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