Trentino gets back at Grupa Azoty and stays unbeaten in Pool D
Match Report
Trentino Itas Trento remained the only undefeated team in Pool D of the men’s CEV Champions League Volley 2023. In a remake of the final match-up of the last two seasons, the Italian team got back at two-time defending champions Grupa Azoty Kedzierzyn-Kozle of Poland with a 3-1 (25-20, 17-25, 26-24, 25-23) Super Match of the Week victory at home, at the BLM Group Arena on Tuesday evening. Trentino leads the current pool standings on a 3-0 win-loss record, leaving ZAKSA in second on 2-1.
A run of six consecutive points on Alessandro Michieletto’s serve, decorated with a fiery ace, gave Trentino an early 6-1 lead in the first set. With Lukasz Kaczmarek spearheading Grupa Azoty’s offence, the Polish team tried fighting back, but all it could do through the rest of the set was catch up momentarily at 16-16, before the home side broke away again. Michieletto was very valuable in Trentino’s attack and contributed six spiking points. In the money time, he aced again to bring in set point and it was soon over at 25-20.
Grupa Azoty’s reaction was swift and emphatic. The Polish side greatly improved its blocking effort in the second set. Dmitrii Pashitskii raised two back-to-back kill blocks within a four-point streak that put the visitors at a 6-3 advantage. Kaczmarek kept hammering away and Tomasz Kalembka added three more stuffs to power Grupa Azoty to a wide lead. Finally, a first-tempo swing by Pashitskii delivered the set point at 24-16 and the set was closed on a serving error at 25-17.
The third set was a real rollercoaster. The lead swung back and forth from three points ZAKSA’s way to four points Trentino’s way. Adrian Staszewski and Aleksander Sliwka powered Grupa Azoty’s attacks, but the Polish team also committed far too many unforced errors. And when it came down to overtime at 24-24, two spiking mistakes in a row handed Trentino the set at 26-24.
The home side stormed the fourth set on a 4-0 run and kept pace to stay well in control through 15-10. And when it looked like Trentino was cruising towards the win, Grupa Azoty came up with five in a row, garnished by two aces from Kalembka, to level it at 15-15. It was time for experienced captain Matey Kaziyski to lead his squad in this fierce battle. He delivered a fantastic 10 points, including the one for 24-22 that pushed the team to within one from victory. Finally, it was sub-in Donovan Dzavoronok that hammered the match winner at 25-23.
Alessandro Michieletto, who was named MVP of the game, and Lukasz Kaczmarek shared the top scorer honors of the match with 21 points apiece. Michieletto’s tally included four aces, while Kaczmarek produced two of those and a kill block. Adrian Staszewski added 18 points for Grupa Azoty, while Matey Kaziyski contributed 14 to Trentino’s victory.
Angelo Lorenzetti“We succeeded in moving on from the previous championship’s defeats. We played with plenty of determination and we won, even though our opponents proved that they were better at blocking and defense. It is an important victory and I hope it will be a turning point for our season.”
Head coach of Trentino Itas Trento
Alessandro Michieletto"We did great at fighting in every single moment and winning by 3-1, which is also important for our Pool D rankings. We did our best and now we have to keep going like this. The job isn’t finished. It was very difficult today, because ZAKSA is a very good team with a lot of great players. So I am very happy for my team and for this victory, because we worked hard every day in the gym and this is the result."
Outside hitter of Trentino Itas Trento, MVP of the match
Tuomas Sammelvuo“We knew it would be an emotional match. Trentino didn’t play well in the last match of the SuperLega, so we knew the team could have a strong reaction. However, I am happy that after the bad start we stuck together and continued to play point by point. It was a good, hard-fought game.”
Head coach of Grupa Azoty Kedzierzyn-Kozle