National player Georgi Tatarov finished with 8 points (63% positive and 32% perfect reception) in his Grottazzolina's latest loss in a SuperLega Credem Banca match in Italy.
Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza returned to winning ways in the preliminary match of the 10th round of the regular season, defeating Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina with a convincing 3:0 (25:23, 25:21, 25:20) at Pala Banca in front of just over 2000 spectators. This was a vital victory for the red-and-whites, who broke a streak of three consecutive losses and returned to third place in the standings a round before the end of the first half of the season.

The match, which lasted just under an hour and a half, saw Piacenza impose its superiority thanks to Simon (12 points), Romano (13 points), and Galassi (8 points). Kovačević returned to the court after more than a month of absence. Simon was chosen as the MVP of the match.

On the other side, Grottazzolina fought bravely and managed to stay in the match mainly due to the good performance of Fedrizzi and Petković, each scoring 10 points. However, the physical and technical difference between the two teams was evident in the decisive moments: the visitors paid dearly for their lack of consistency and some serving errors (a total of eight missed serves in the first set).
An ace by Galassi and Romano's attacks closed the first set at 25-23, while in the second, Piacenza increased the tempo thanks to Maar's accuracy from the back row and Simon's effectiveness, who closed the set at 25-21. In the third set, despite the visitors' good start with two aces by Fedrizzi, Piacenza pulled ahead by 5 points, extinguishing Grottazzolina's hopes for something better, with the red-and-whites finishing the set at 25:20.

After the match, coach Andrea Anastasi expressed satisfaction with his team's performance: "Today the important thing was to win. We weren't brilliant, but I saw good things, such as Kovačević's return and order in the block. Grottazzolina played with great determination, but we were effective when it mattered, especially on serve."

Simon also did not hide his joy: "We won three important points for the standings, now we are thinking about the Italian Cup and the match against Perugia."

For Grottazzolina, who finished the first half-season with only two points in the standings, the match represents further evidence of a complex season, marked by absences and difficulties in fielding the ideal lineup. Despite everything, the visitors showed good things for large parts of the match, but against a team of Piacenza's caliber, any naivety proves fatal. Piacenza, for its part, regains its confidence in view of the upcoming matches, aware that the road is still long, but the team has the potential to handle the many commitments in the second part of the season in the best possible way.

In the other match today, Allianz Milano defeated Cisterna 3:1, with Matey Kaziyski scoring 4 points.