Against San Giovanni in Marignano key challenge for Busto Arsizio

The last day of the first leg and everything still to be decided ahead of the Italian Cup pairings. Eurotek Laica UYBA, on the strength of its current sixth position, faces Omag-Mt San Giovanni in Marignano on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the e-work arena with the goal of gaining a victory that could prove crucial to confirm the’excellent placement. In fact, the ranking situation is still in full swing: ahead of Busto Arsizio, Milan, Chieri and Novara are playing for positions from third to fifth, while behind the butterflies the competition is tight. UYBA is on 16 points, although one has to be subtracted because it was already won in the return round in the advance against Conegliano; despite this, it remains ahead of Vallefoglia, paired at 15 but with a worse set quotient, and must also watch out for Bergamo at 14 and Florence at 13.

Martino Davidi

Beyond the crossovers for the Italian Cup, UYBA is mainly aiming to return to victory after the good performance in Milan that, although convincing in several aspects, did not bring any points. Doing so in front of their own public would add value and confidence to a group that has been working steadily during the week under the orders of coach Enrico Barbolini. The red-and-white coach should reintroduce the 6+1 seen right in Milan, with the only doubt in spot four where Battista and Gennari remain in the ballot for a starting jersey.

On the other side of the net will come Omag-Mt San Giovanni in Marignano led by coach Bellano, a formation that occupies last place in the standings with 7 points but has shown signs of growth in recent weeks, despite the recent home loss against Chieri. The Romagnola girls should line up Straube at the dribble in diagonal with Brancher, Caruso and Kochurina at the center, Piovesan and former Bracchi at the band, Tellone free. Watch out, however, because the team was reinforced during the week with the’arrival of Chinese setter Yushan Zhuang, who could make her debut right in Busto Arsizio. The challenge will begin at 5 p.m., with boxes open from 3:30 p.m. and tickets available for presale at https://volleybusto.vivaticket.it/. For those who cannot be at the e-work arena, the match will be broadcast live on Volleyball World TV.

So Katja Eckl: “We have been training well during the week, we have learned a lot from the loss to Milan last Sunday and in these days we have been working a lot on the mistakes we made at the Allianz Cloud. On Sunday comes here San Giovanni in Marignano, which is a tough team in spite of the ranking: they will come to the arena fierce and we will have to try to impose our game from the start. We also expect our fans to be numerous because they are an extra charge for us”.