Parma.Perugia is the first finalist in the Italian Men's Volleyball Supercup tournament. In the first semifinal at the "PalaRaschi" hall in Parma, Angelo Lorenzetti's team defeated Trento 3:1 (22:25, 25:20, 25:18, 30:28) and qualified for the decisive match for the trophy.
The match started better for Trento, who won the first set 25:22. However, Perugia gradually imposed its rhythm and equalized after 25:20 in the second set. In the third set, Lorenzetti's volleyball players continued to dominate and took the lead after 25:18.
The fourth set proved to be the most contested, with both teams battling point for point. Trento tried to bring back the intrigue and send the match into a tie-break, but Perugia showed stronger nerves in the decisive rallies and closed the match at 30:28.

The most effective player for the winners was the Belgian opposite Ferre Reggers with 20 points. Polish international Kamil Semeniuk and Ukraine international Oleh Plotnytskyi added 17 each, while Argentine middle blocker Agustin Loser finished with 11 points, 4 of which were blocks.
For Trento, Daniele Lavia scored the most points - 16. Alessandro Michieletto added 15, and French opposite Théo Faure contributed 14.

Statistics show Perugia's superiority in the main game elements. The winners finished with 55% attack efficiency against 48% for Trento, won 10 points from blocks against 7 for their opponent, and scored 7 aces against only 2 for the opposing team. Perugia also had an advantage in positive reception - 53% against 41%.
This is Perugia's second victory over Trento within six days, after the two teams also met in the Italian SuperLega on November 8, when Lorenzetti's squad won 3:2.
In Sunday's final, Perugia will face the winner of the second semifinal between Verona and Lube Civitanova, where Bulgarian internationals Aleksandar and Simeon Nikolov play.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov