Taranto, led by Dante Boninfante, defeated Lube, whose setter is his son Mattia Boninfante, after a full comeback with 3:2 (19:25, 21:25, 31:29, 25:20, 15:11). After taking the first two sets with a difference, the guests from Civitanova already saw themselves as winners, but Boninfante-father and his boys did not intend to give up. The turning point in the match was the third set, in which Taranto gradually imposed its rhythm, the defense worked, the block also did not forgive the attackers from Lube. After building a comfortable 5-point lead (12:7), the volleyball players from the Puglia region were the first to reach the 20th point. Lube managed to get within one point (23:22) after an ace by Lagumdzija. This was followed by 7 equalizations, reaching 31:29 after a successful block by the hosts.
Inspired by this success, Taranto started the fourth set with confidence, where again the block and defense were the main weapons of the hosts, which allowed them to pull ahead by 4 points in the middle of the set (14:10). The score reached 19:13, after errors in attack and service by the guests. Exactly these two elements played a bad trick on Lube, considered the favorite in this match, who by 23:18 already had 25 service errors against 16 for the team from the Ionian Sea. Logically, on the second attempt, the hosts closed the set and sent the match into a tie-break.
It started well for the guests, who managed to pull ahead 1:4, but gradually the hosts equalized the game, again with defense and block. After a video check, which ruled a fumbled ball by Boninfante-son, Taranto was the first to reach the 8th point. Service and attack errors made the score 12:9 for Taranto, who again showed perfect defense, thanks to which they reached 5 match points (14:9). Lagumdzija, who played very strongly in this match, managed to get two points back after a strong serve, but Lube's strength ran out there. Thus Civitanova left with one point and the hosts added two for the temporary standings.
Alex Nikolov finished with 14 points (1 ace), as he was substituted several times, and his serve towards the end of the match was not as strong as in the beginning. Lagumdzija scored the most points for Lube - 20, Botolo added 18, but even those were not enough for the win. Above all was the 191-centimeter Tim Held, who came to Taranto from the champion Perugia. He finished with 25 points (1 block, 2 aces) and was logically named MVP.
Results from the ninth round of SuperLega Credem Banca:
Itas Trentino - Mint Vero Volley Monza 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-20)
Allianz Milano - Sir Susa Vim Perugia 1-3 (25-19, 20-25, 28-30, 15-25)Matey Kaziyski with 13 points (1 ace)
Rana Verona - Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18)
Valsa Group Modena - Sonepar Padova 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22)
Gioiella Prisma Taranto - Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 31-29, 25-20, 15-11)
Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina - Cisterna Volley 1-3 (25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 17-25)Georgi Tatarov with 9 points (2 blocks)
STANDINGS
Sir Susa Vim Perugia 25 (9-0)
Itas Trentino 24 (8-1)
Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza 17 (6-3)
Cucine Lube Civitanova 17 (5-4)
Rana Verona 15 (5-4)
Allianz Milano 15 (5-5)
Valsa Group Modena 12 (4-5)
Cisterna Volley 12 (4-6)
Sonepar Padova 10 (3-6)
Gioiella Prisma Taranto 9 (3-6)
Mint Vero Volley Monza 7 (3-6)
Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina 2 (0-9)
On Wednesday, Lube visits Grottazzolina, when for the first time this season we will have a "Bulgarian" derby - Alex Nikolov against Georgi Tatarov!
