Belluno, Italy, February 26, 2011. After claiming also the return game (3:1, 26-28, 25-21, 25-21, 26-24) staged tonight at the “Palaspes” in Belluno and defeating Poland’s Asseco Resovia RZESZOW for the second time in a few days, Sisley TREVISO qualified to the final game of the CEV Cup for the fifth time in its long and exclusively decorated history.

Asseco Resovia played without middle blocker Lukasz Perlowski but started off very aggressive; Sisley went up 8:6 at the first technical break but Resovia got back on track immediately, also by exploiting some errors of the Italians (11:13). The score stayed very tight up to a break claimed by RZESZOW (19:21) via the mighty attacks of Grozer. Sisley was not ready to give up that easily, Bjelica drew the count to 23 all but Grozer scored two consecutive aces to notch the opening set 26-28 for the guests.

Asseco started very well also in the second set with good setting of youngster Baranowicz and a solid performance in defense for Cernic (5:7); Sisley was struggling once again to handle the missiles that Grozer was sending out from the serving line (7:12) but after Jiri Kovar replaced Papi, the Italians claimed a 7:2 positive break to tie at 14. Rob Bontje blocked Grozer for the 16:14 but Cernic restored the balance for Resovia (19:19); after that, Papi and Fei were the set winners for TREVISO with their attacks and blocks (25-21).
Grozer shook once again the Italian defense in the opening of set 3 (4:5) before Papi and Fei could go for the 10:10 and even for a provisional lead at 14:12. In this set the most experienced players made the difference for their respective side, and it was also the case of Matej Cernic for Resovia who played with all his heart in defense and attack. Papi and Bontje sped up the operations for Sisley (18:16) and another 4:1 break provided by Papi and Fei paved the way for the 2:1, the last rally being scored by De Togni (25-21).

Sisley got the lead in set 4 (8:7) with Bontje and Fei, who was really unstoppable and could claim the first break for his team (13:11). However, the last word was yet to be said: Resovia stormed back with a 7:2 for the 16:18, with a great contribution stemming from Matej Cernic. Fei played the drums for Sisley (21:20) but once again Cernic drew to 23 all. In a very close final rush, after a tie at 24, Papi contributed a match ball and one more rally was necessary to start the celebrations of the Italians.

“We played a tremendous game” said the coach of Sisley TREVISO Roberto Piazza after the game. “I think the guys put their hearts on the court tonight to reach the finals. Asseco is one of the most challenging teams in this competition, they showed their will to make it through but we were able to get back from a tricky situation, losing the first set and trailing down 7:12 in the second. I want to thank all the guys, especially Papi, who did everything to help the team at that moment, Fei and De Togni, as his serves caused real troubles to the defense of Resovia. Now we must be focused on the next games of the national league before taking up this European final”.
“It’s great, at the end of the day we deserved this result” said Samuele Papi, “we were more intense and aggressive in the hottest moments of the match tonight, maybe we could have closed it earlier in the fourth set, but the result is what really matters. Now we will wait for the finals, knowing that nothing is impossible for this team if we play with this spirit”.

“I truly believe that this could have been the real final of the CEV Cup” stated the coach of Asseco Resovia, Ljubo Travica, “two great teams who played dramatic games to battle for the final act. Congratulations to Sisley, they were more skilled and precise in the game, we missed some easy shots and you know that you can never give this opportunity to a team like TREVISO”.

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