Italian international Manuel Zlatanov, grandson of Bulgarian volleyball legend Dimitar Zlatanov, became the top scorer in Piacenza's 4:0 (25:23, 25:19, 25:17, 27:25) victory over Cuneo in a preseason friendly.
The young outside hitter scored 13 points, distinguishing himself with two consecutive aces at the start of the second set and a successful solo block. In the third set, he also completed a back-row attack for 15:10.
Manuel is the third generation of the famous volleyball family. His father, Hristo Zlatanov, had an impressive career in Italy and played for the national team of the country, whose jersey his son wears today.
The match at "PalaBancaSport" hall started difficult for the hosts, who were trailing 8:13 in the first set, but managed to win it 25:23. Piacenza controlled the next two sets, and in the fourth, saved a set point at 23:24 and secured the victory after an attack by Destro for 27:25.
McHenry, Leon, and Bovolenta each finished with 10 points for the winners. Dante Boninfante's team achieved 48% attacking efficiency against 34% for their opponent, and also had an advantage in aces (6:2) and blocks (10:9).
"We took a step forward. At the beginning, we had difficulties in attack, but the guys handled the situation. I saw more consistency and fewer errors. We are on the path we have set for ourselves," commented Boninfante to the club's website.
Cuneo saw the debut of Iranian outside hitter Porya Khanzadeh, a former teammate of Alex Nikolov at Lube Civitanova. He joined his new club after winning the gold medal with the national team at the Asian Games.
Piacenza concluded its series of seven friendlies with seven victories. On October 10 and 11, the team will participate in the Sardinia International Volley Cup in Cagliari, where their first opponent will be Germany's Lüneburg. In the other semifinal, Trento and Czech Karlovarsko will meet.

photo:gassalespiacenza