The Lube Civitanova team was one step away from a complete comeback, but ultimately lost as a guest to the European club champion Sir Safety Susa Vim Perugia with a score of 2:3 (15:25, 25:22, 20:25, 25:23, 11:15) in the derby of the round.
The match, played in the packed 'Pala Barton' hall, was extremely competitive, and the guests can regret not being able to capitalize on a good moment in the middle of the tie-break to secure a victory.
After Lube came back from a 1:2 set deficit, Giampaolo Medei's team seemed ready to make a partial comeback. The guests led 8:6 at the change of ends in the tie-break, but then Kamil Semeniuk exploded with powerful serves and precise attacks that completely turned the tide of the match.
Lube failed to match the high tempo and made unforced errors, including an out-of-bounds counter-attack by Bonifante, which brought match point for Perugia. The champions capitalized on their first opportunity and closed the match 15:11.
Individual achievements
| Perugia | Points |
|---|---|
| Ben Tara | 19 |
| Loecher | 14 |
| Semeniuk | 13 |
| Russo | 11 |
| Lube Civitanova | Points |
|---|---|
| Alex Nikolov | 21 (2 aces, 1 block) |
| Porya Fayazi | 13 |
| Bonifante | 8 |
Alex Nikolov continues his impressive performance, being the top scorer on the court with 21 points (1 block, 2 aces), 29% positive and 21% perfect reception, as well as 45% in attack.
The inclusion of the Iranian Porya (13 points), who replaced Loeppky, as well as the good play of Bottolo (13 points) also proved positive, but not enough to tip the balance.
On the other side, four Perugia players surpassed the 10-point mark, which highlights their collective power and squad depth.
In the midweek 3rd round, Lube will host the champion Itas (Trentino). The derby of the round is on October 29 at 9:30 PM Bulgarian time.
The match was also watched by Poland's head coach Nikola Grbić, who was certainly pleased with the performance of his protégé Semeniuk.
During the 2024/25 season, Civitanova and Perugia met seven times. The team from Umbria won again with a tie-break in their home match of the regular season, while the team from Marche retaliated in four sets upon returning home. The playoff semi-final series was a rollercoaster after Fabio Balaso's injury. After the team from the capital of the Umbria region took a 2-0 lead in the series and was one step away from the decisive blow, Lube's revenge came in the tie-break of match 3. This was followed by two victories for "the cooks" and a progression to the final against Trento.
