The 54th match against Rana Verona is approaching. Giampaolo Medei's team will face Radostin Stoychev's squad in the fourth round of the second phase of the regular season in the SuperLega Credem Banca.
The overall balance from previous encounters shows a superiority for the red and whites with 43 wins against 10 for the team from Veneto. Lube's home wins against Verona are 23 out of a total of 27 matches, with 72 sets won and 22 lost. Civitanova's last home win against the team led by Radostin Stoychev was from Match 5 of the playoff quarterfinals in the 2022/23 season.
In the current championship, Lube lost the first phase match in Verona in four sets.
Last season, the two teams met four times. They played at the Eurosuole Forum in the 10th round of the first phase of the regular season. After an extremely hard-fought battle, the Verona team won in a tie-break. In the last round of the regular season, Lube won 3:0 away at Pala Agsm Aim, breaking the opponent's unbeaten home streak throughout the entire second phase. In the third round of the playoffs for 5th place, the Veneto team returned the favor to the red and whites, winning in four sets with a maximum difference, but it was in the most important match of the season – the aforementioned 5th place final – that Lube managed to find a solution, winning 3:1 in Verona, which opened up new perspectives, especially in European competitions.
The most contested match between the two teams took place on January 5, 2012, in the 13th round of the first phase of the regular season. On Venetian soil, Lube prevailed after a comeback and a tie-break with set scores of 33:31, 21:25, 40:38 (the most contested set in the history of the encounters), 14:25, and 9:15, with a total of 251 points. In the history of the duels, a default win for Lube stands out in the first phase of the 2002/03 season when Verona used an unregistered player. The easiest set won by Civitanova ended 25:8 and coincided with the first set of the 3:0 home win on February 2, 2020, a season interrupted due to the health crisis.
This season, Rana Verona has won points in the last six championship matches, with five wins and only one loss – a home tie-break defeat against Italian champions Sir Susa Vim Perugia. Giampaolo Medei's men, invigorated after breaking the curse of the Coppa Italia quarterfinals at the end of 2024, want to maintain their invincibility at home to overtake Verona in the standings and start the new calendar year with an important victory. The hosts will have to limit Noumory Keita's physical superiority at the opposite hitter position, but Radostin Stoychev's team, who will have to manage without Donovan Džavoronok, also has other dangerous players in their squad, led by Rok Možič.
The path of the two teams in the championship
Civitanova and Verona are tied with 27 points at the foot of the podium, but Verona has one more win than the 'cooks,' who, however, have to play their postponed away match against Padova from the first round of the second phase, postponed to a date yet to be determined due to a clash with the Club World Championship in Brazil. The red and whites are coming off a disappointing tie-break loss in Brianza, while the Venetian team is coming off a hard-fought last-minute home victory against Grottazzolina.
Standings
Sir Susa Vim Perugia 38, Itas Trentino 33, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza 29, Rana Verona 27, Cucine Lube Civitanova 27, Allianz Milano 21, Cisterna Volley 15, Valsa Group Modena 15, Sonepar Padova 13, Gioiella Prisma Taranto 10, Mint Vero Volley Monza 9, Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina 9.
1 match less: Cisterna Volley, Cucine Lube Civitanova, Itas Trentino and Sonepar Padova.
