05/12/2016 22:25
PIACENZA is back on European stage, hosts Belarusian champions
2017 CEV Volleyball Cup - Men
Piacenza, Italy, December 5, 2016. Italy’s LPR Volley PIACENZA celebrate their comeback to the European stage this coming Thursday, December 8 when hosting Stroitel MINSK of Belarus in the opening round of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Cup – Men. It’s a very much anticipated comeback for PIACENZA whose roster was signifcantly strengthened with the arrival of many star players, and especially three from Cuba – Leonel Marshall, Raydel Hierrezuelo and Fernando Hernandez. On top of this, the Italians have signed the promising French player Trévor Clevenot.
PIACENZA had two difficult seasons but they are back on track now. The team boasts a formidable trio of middle blockers – Luca Tencati, Aimone Alletti and Viktor Yosifov – plus liberos Loris Manià and Samuele Papi, who has moved to this position after playing as an outside spiker for 26 years!
Stroitel MINSK lost in the second round of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League to Finnish champions Tiikerit KOKKOLA. They did so after a golden set and as a result the team from the Belarusian capital moved to the CEV Volleyball Cup. PIACENZA and Stroitel already crossed their ways in the 2013 edition of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup with the Italians recording two straight 3-0 victories before seizing the trophy without dropping a set along the way in 12 matches.
PIACENZA are currently ranked fifth in their national league after beating Gi Group MONZA 3-1 this past weekend with a record of nine wins and four losses in 13 matches. As for Stroitel, they are in second place of their country’s national championship.
“We don’t have any time to rest,” says PIACENZA head coach Alberto Giuliani, “because we immediately have to think about our first match in the CEV Cup. It will be a difficult journey, but a very stimulating one and we are ready to go for it. My team has developed a different chemistry because Marshall cannot start as an Italian in our national league. As a result, maybe we struggled at the beginning of the season but we got used to this. Now we dive into the second half of the regular season in the Italian national league which is not going to be an easy one for us. We have achieved a certain level of playing which has allowed us to win a series of matches in a row. I am happy with this but now we think only about the CEV Cup. We want to achieve a good result there as well and are motivated to play our best.”
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