Fabulous Civitanova is in the Scudetto final. Verona eliminated but in Champions
The Scudetto final has its second star player: Cucine Lube Civitanova. Thanks to a clear 3-0 win over Rana Verona in game-4 of the semifinals, the Marche players clinched the pass to the final act, where they will face Sir Susa Vim Perugia in a series that promises spectacle. For Civitanova this is the 11th time, while Verona nevertheless closes a brilliant season, embellished by winning the Coppa Italia SuperLega and the Supercup final, as well as qualifying for next year’s CEV Champions League.
Big star of the evening is Eric Loeppky, MVP with 15 points (3 aces and 12 attacks). In double figures also Aleksandar Nikolov (13 points, 1 ace and 2 walls) and Mattia Bottolo, author of 12 points with as many as 5 walls, decisive especially in the third set. For Verona, the only one to exceed ten points is Noumory Keita (15), while Fabio Soli rotates all available men: 9 points for Francesco Sani, 8 for Aidan Zingel.
The match opens with a good start by Verona (5-1, with two aces by Toncek Stern Mozic), but Civitanova reacts promptly: dragged by a surgical Loeppky (8 points in the set with 88% in attack), Gianlorenzo Blengini Medei’s team overturns the partial and closes 25-23. In the second set, the hosts started strong (6-3 with Bottolo), stretched to 13-6 thanks to Nikolov’s wall and resisted the Veronese comeback attempt (18-14), then closing the partial on 2-0 accomplice also to a Sani hitting error. The third set is dominated by Civitanova: two consecutive walls by Bottolo make it 9-3, then the same setter also signs 13-4. Verona tries to fight back with Sani (two aces) and Keita, but to no avail. Closing the score is Nikolov, who gives his team its second consecutive final (the eighth in the last nine seasons).
Race-1 of the final is scheduled for Thursday, April 30, at 8:30 p.m.: it will be again Sir Susa Vim Perugia against Cucine Lube Civitanova, for a challenge already seen five times and ready to live its sixth chapter.
