Great anticipation at Palaverde tomorrow for the 22nd round of the championship, the 9th return match, which sees the unbeaten leaders Prosecco DOC Imoco Conegliano facing off against Numia Vero Volley Milano at 20:45 in a replay of the Italian Cup final played on Sunday in Casalecchio. A parade of stars will be on the court with seven Olympic champions and a host of international champions, drawing the attention of the entire volleyball world to Palaverde for a match that has been sold out for two weeks and will be broadcast across five continents.
This season, the two teams have already met in September for the Italian Super Cup in Rome (3-2 victory for Conegliano), in Milan during the regular season’s away match (3-0 Conegliano), in the semi-final of the Club World Championship in Hangzhou, China (3-0), and in the Italian Cup final the other day with another 3-0 for the Venetians. For Milano, Sylla, Egonu, and Danesi are former players of the match. Coach Santarelli has his full squad available.
The live broadcast is assured by Rai Sport HD and streaming on Volleyballworld.tv.
Referees are Piana and Cavalieri.
STATEMENT FROM COACH DANIELE SANTARELLI
“It will be a particular match; there’s the Italian Cup just played between the two teams, still ‘hot’, and we’re back on the court three days later due to the calendar’s overlap. On Sunday, there was a trophy at stake, this time ‘only’ three league points, but this match has its intrinsic importance because it pits two significant teams of this championship against each other, and between Conegliano and Milano, it will never be a routine game. It’s great to play such matches against real powerhouses, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and a fantastic crowd because our Palaverde will be packed once again, as is increasingly common, so all the ingredients are there for a great show and for teams to give their best.
Milano has shown after the difficulties at the start of the season that they’ve reached excellent form; they’re growing, and now, almost at full strength, they’re playing better and better, always one of the toughest opponents to face and they improve over time. We will certainly meet them again later in the season. I don’t know how much they can still improve, but I’m sure they’ll be among the contenders for the next trophies we’ll face, and what’s certain is that if we’re not at our best against them, it will be difficult.
The team is doing well; there are obviously some residues from the cup, but our opponents will have them too. Today, before the match, we’ll manage our energies to try to be ready and sharp for tomorrow’s game, so we’ve set up some light work because, after the Italian Cup, this will be another challenging week for us, with Milano at home and Novara away on Sunday.”
INITIATIVES AND ENTERTAINMENT
MARKASERVICE SPONSOR DAY
Markaservice, a long-standing sponsor of Prosecco DOC Imoco Volley, is the sponsor of the day for the super match with Milano. Markaservice will award the MVP of the match with one of its products and “dress” the game at Palaverde.
EUDORA VIOLINIST DURING INTERVALS
During the intervals between sets, the captivating performance of Eudora Violinist, real name Eudora Nasato, a 21-year-old violinist from Treviso, will be presented, bringing her infectious energy to entertain during the game breaks at Palaverde.
TESTA AND MOLINARO, SAN DANIELE HAM FOR THE CAPTAINS
During the warm-up, the sponsor of the Pantere, Testa&Molinaro, will gift two San Daniele hams to the captains of both teams, Asia Wolosz and Alessia Orro.
THE PANTHER OF THE MONTH WITH DA ROS GREEN IS MARINA LUBIAN
The fans’ vote on the Imoco Volley WhatsApp channel has declared Marina Lubian as the “Da Ros Green Panther of the Month for January”, who won the social contest against Bardaro, Eckl, and Zhu. Antonello Da Ros, owner of Da Ros Green, will award the central blocker of the Pantere before the game!