Wednesday 1st May at 6pm the first leg of the quarter-finals is played and Bonitta’s team, without Bovolenta called up to the national team, finds the Friulian team who eliminated Aversa in the previous round.
After the playoff semi-final, in which they led Grottazzolina to a tie-break in game 3, then moved up to the SuperLega, Consar Ravenna returns to the field tomorrow, Wednesday 1 May, to play the quarter-finals of the Del Monte Italian Cup. And the opponent of Goi and his companions is still there Tinet Pratafinished fifth in the championship and eliminated by Ravenna in the quarter-finals of the playoffs in three games and for this reason animated by a spirit of revenge.
At the Pala Crisafulli in Pordenone the game will be played at 6pm (free live on Volleyballworld.tv, refereed by Armandola from Voghera and Priserà from Turin). Race 2 will be Sunday 5 May at Pala De Andrè at 7pm: in case of equal scores, the golden set will be played in game 2.
“It is now impossible for the two teams to go the wrong way – Consar coach Marco Bonitta comments laughing – we still find ourselves facing each other, each with its own motivations and no more secrets. I saw that against Aversa, in the previous round, Tinet gave space to some less used players. That’s what we will do too. The current situation forces me to think about those guys who have had less space during the year and who deserve to play. Among the eight teams in contention there are some who are very motivated, others who wish to make up for a lackluster championship finish. We will try to do everything we can to win and go to the final four in Cuneo because for me the principle of playing matches to win is always valid.”
In this final part of the season Consar will not be able to count on Alessandro Bovolenta: the opposite of Ravenna is playing collegiately with the national team in view of the Volley Nations League in which he is looking for a pass to the Olympics. His seasonal score with Ravenna for the regular season shows 516 points, eight more than last season, to which must be added 119 points in the six playoff games, for a total of 635 points, which make him the second best attacker after Nielsen of Yuasa Battery.
“We had the idea of playing the Italian Cup with full ranks – Bonitta specifies – but the situation has changed slightly because the national team has officially asked us to have Bovolenta available. I spoke with De Giorgi more than once and I understood the reasons that pushed him to this important request: it’s not a question of asking us for the player just to make the VNL. There is the national team that must qualify and above all that must do so as soon as possible in order to then plan the Olympics well and I think it was right to leave Alessandro the chance to fight for this great objective. I talked about it with him and we agreed. He was sorry not to be with us anymore because the first thing he said to me, after the match in Grottazzolina, was ‘now let’s go and get the Italian Cup’. Then these dynamics took over and I believe that the good of the national team is above all else.”
Bovolenta’s absence will also have repercussions on Consar’s qualification path for the final eight of the Junior League. Last night, Monday 29 April, the team from Ravenna, led by Mollo, won 3-1 in Santa Croce against Kemas Lamipel, with 24 points from Orioli and 16 from Feri, and next 8 May at Pala Costa they will have the chance, by winning against Castellana Grotte, to access the final eight.
“The Junior League remains an excellent objective for the club. This also explains the use of all 2004 first team players – Bonitta clarifies -: Bovo’s absence forces us to reformulate our tactical thoughts but here too we will try to do the best we can to get into the final.”
