Lube Civitanova suffered a painful and dramatic third loss, this time as a guest to Padua with2:3 (25:22, 20:25, 23:25, 25:23, 17:19)in a match from the Italian SuperLega. The clash lasted a total of131 minutes, and the full stands in Kioene Arena gave wings to the hosts, who snatched the victory on their very first match point in the tie-break.
The Bulgarian highlights from the match were two the phenomenal performance of Alex Nikolov, who carried Lube on his back, and the presence of Boris Nachev in Padua's squad, albeit without participating in the match.
Individual Statistics Alex Nikolov
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Points | 30 |
| Coefficient | +14 |
| Aces | 4 |
| Blocks | 1 |
| Attack | 56% |
| Positive Reception | 62% |
| Perfect Reception | 23% |
Nikolov's statistics are MVP-level even in a match lost by his team. His 30 points, high attacking efficiency, and huge contribution on serve objectively cast doubt on the distribution of responsibilities \u2013 Lube practically relied only on him.
Statistics \u2014 Team errors and key elements
| Indicator | Padua | Lube |
|---|---|---|
| Service errors | 20 | 26 |
| Points from service | 3 | 10 |
| Blocks | 14 | 10 |
| Attack | 48% | 52% |
| Points received from errors | 27 | 38 |
| Total points | 112 | 112 |
Although Lube had the upper hand in attack and a huge advantage on serve (10:3 aces), the difference of38 gifted pointsis fatal. This is a direct indicator of a lack of stable play and weak psychology in key moments. Padua compensated with better blocking and fewer unforced errors \u2013 enough to tip the scales.
Leading scorers
| Padua | Points |
|---|---|
| Orioli | 22 |
| Masulovic | 21 |
| Gardini | 11 |
| Polo | 11 |
Padova distributed the scoring load among four main scorers. This variety in attack allowed the team to remain unpredictable and constantly maintain pressure on Lube's block. Mattia Orioli deservedly became the MVP of the match.
| Lube | Points |
|---|---|
| Alex Nikolov | 30 |
| Lyopki | 12 |
| Botolo | 12 |
| Gargiulo | 11 |
Nikolov is the only highly effective scorer on his team. The second-best scorers have only 12 points each – too few for a top-level team to contend for a win in a marathon match.
Chronology of the drama
In the fourth set, Nikolov, with a series of powerful serves, erased a 5-point deficit and brought Lube to23:24, but he missed the last serve, and the match went into a tie-break.
In the decisive set, Lube fell 4 points behind early on, but reachedfour consecutive match points – 14:13, 15:14, 16:15, 17:16.
At18:17Padova got their first match point and converted it immediately.
Lube loses a match in which they had more points from service, a better attack, and an MVP performance from Nikolov. The difference is simple:lack of support and too many errors. A team with championship ambitions cannot depend on one player — this became painfully clear in Padova.
