The positive streak of WithU Verona is interrupted, which at PalaBarton fails to contain the fury of Perugia, capable of obtaining the entire booty in three sets. Sapozhkov’s name still stands out among the yellow-blue ranks, with 15 points on the ground, one more than his teammate Keita (14). WithU Verona will be back on the field on Saturday 22 October at 18.00 on the PalaOlimpia taraflex against the Gioiella Prisma Taranto.
FIRST SET
From the first minute coach Stoytchev relies on the same six who defeated Trento a week ago. Raphael confirmed in the control room, with Sapozhkov completing the diagonal in the role of the opposite. In the band there are Keita and Mozic, with the couple Cortesia-Mosca in the center and Gaggini free. The first point puts Leon on the ground at the precise suggestion of Giannelli. The Gialloblù go under, but remain in the game thanks to a block by Raphael (4-3). The hosts try to escape but two impregnable balls from Sapozhkov bring the guests back to -1 (9-8). The Umbrians maintain a decent advantage, especially thanks to Leon’s effectiveness. Verona is back in the limelight, also taking advantage of some mistakes of the opponents (14-13). Then a first half by Solè puts an end to an interesting exchange, which is worth the extension at 16 to 13. The Scala troop responds present with a direct point from Keita’s nine meters (17-17). The challenge is now in perfect balance. A lucky ace from Giannelli allowed him to go 24-22, with Semeniuk replying immediately afterwards, closing the first set.
SECOND SET
Upon returning to the taraflex, Sir starts aggressively, galvanized by another ace, this time scored by the former Solè (4-1). The good understanding between captain Rapha and Moscow allows Stoytchev’s boys to shorten the distance, but a well-addressed line by Semeniuk is worth the break for the bianconeri (8-3). Then Keita rises to the chair, who with a grazing serve puts Anastasi’s defense in difficulty. Perugia raises its voice on the wall with Solé and Rychlicki, who evade the yellow-blue attacks (13-7). Verona tries to react, but loses some clarity and the opponents take off (18-9). Yet another ace of the clubs, by Russo, is worth 23-13, with the yellow and blue who are unable to react. It is Rychlicki who puts an end to the set at 25-14.
THIRD SET
Verona tries to rearrange itself in the third fraction after having suffered the blow. The start is convincing on the part of the Scala family, who withstand the impact of Perugia. Sapozhkov places two balls on the ground that bring the result in a draw (5-5), then a monster block from Raphael is worth the momentary advantage (5-7). Giannelli and his companions do not give up and go back forward, making little or no mistakes in all the fundamentals. WithU remains in the wake, taking advantage of Sapozhkov’s centimeters in particular, which keeps him afloat. Mozic is switched on, first reducing the gap and then bringing the partial in a draw (16-16). An ace cut by Giannelli bags on the sideline, bringing a break to Perugia. Perugia goes on the run and closes the accounts with an ace from Rychlicki.
Coach Stoytchev’s statements at the end of the match: “Today we met a different opponent than in the first two games. They forced us to play a lot of balls off the net and this didn’t favor us. A man sees himself in times of trouble. I didn’t have a chance to change much today. Now we understand where we need to improve, because only the work we will resume from Monday will help us to arrive in the best conditions for the match against Taranto ”.
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