Monza lost their home game against Cisterna with a dramatic 2:3 (18:25, 25:18, 25:23, 21:25, 13:15). The balance of two wins for each in the previous matches was an ideal calling card for the fifth encounter between Vero Volley Monza and Cisterna Volley
— two teams that started the season hesitantly and were separated by only one point in the standings. Until now, the home advantage factor had always been decisive, but this time the guests from Lazio broke the trend and snatched the victory after a contested tie-break.
The drama in today's fifth match came at the end of the tie-break, where the final point was awarded after a video check that showed a foot fault in the opponent's court. Otherwise, Monza would have tied the score at 14:14, and the match would have been decided in extra points.
Monza started with difficulty and lost the first set, in which Martin Atanasov started as a starter, and Jasmina Velichkov also appeared at the end of the set. In the next two sets, Atanasov was substituted but returned to play in the fourth set and remained on the court until the end. The Bulgarian outside hitter finished the match with 8 points (1 ace), receiving 22 serves with 73% positive and 41% perfect reception. In attack, out of 11 attempts, he was blocked only once and achieved 64% efficiency.
Velichkov made brief appearances in the first, fourth, and fifth sets, recording 1 point.
For Monza, Eric Röhrs was the top scorer with 21 points (2 aces). For the winners from Cisterna, Tomaso Guzzo led with 23 points (4 blocks) and was named MVP.
Efe Bayram added 18 (1 block, 1 ace).
The match also brought a personal record — Daniele Mazzone surpassed the 700 career blocks mark, after finishing the game with 13 points (6 blocks).
With this success, Cisterna now leads 3:2 in head-to-head matches and added two valuable points to their tally. The team from Lazio overtook Monza in the standings, occupying 10th place with 4 points, while the Brianza team remains 11th with the same number of points, but with one less win.
Photos:legavolley.it
