National player Aleksandar Nikolov and his Cucine Lube (Civitanova) suffered their fourth defeat this season in the Italian SuperLega. The squad led by Giampaolo Medei lost as a guest to Valsa Group Modena with a score of 1:3 (23:25, 24:26, 25:20, 11:25) in a match from the tenth round.
The match was full of fluctuations from Lube, who let slip two evenly contested sets, won the third, but collapsed in the fourth, where Modena demonstrated clear superiority. The loss leaves last season's silver medalists in sixth place in the provisional standings with 17 points (5 wins, 5 losses), while Monza is fourth with 19.
In the next round, Aleksandar Nikolov and his teammates will host Allianz (Milano) on Sunday, December 14. Modena, on the other hand, will face Rana Verona.
Aleksandar Nikolov was once again among the brightest figures for his team. The outside hitter scored 20 points, including 2 aces, with 41% positive and 29% perfect reception, as well as 46% attack efficiency. Canadian Eric Loeppky added 14 points, including one block.
For Modena, Belarusian national player Vlad Davyskiba finished with 15 points and 2 blocks, while middle blocker Giovanni Sanguinetti had an impressive match with 13 points, including 5 aces and 3 blocks. Luca Porro and Paul Buchegger contributed 10 points each to the victory.
The statistics clearly highlight the reasons for Lube's defeat. Modena dominated blocking with 12 against only 4 for the guests – a key factor that tipped the scales at decisive moments. On serve, the hosts also had an advantage with 9 aces against 7.
In attack, Modena achieved 49% success, while Lube remained at 40%, which again reflects the more aggressive and effective play of Giuliani's team. The only component in which Lube surpassed their opponent was reception, but this element proved insufficient to compensate for weaknesses in attack and blocking.
The loss puts additional pressure on the champions, who need stability and more aggression in key components if they want to return to the fight for the top positions. The next match against Allianz Milano will be indicative of whether Lube manages to reverse the trend.
