4 Towers Ferrara 3Hokkaido Bologna 0(25-22, 26-24, 25-15)
LITTLE HORSE 4 TOWERS : Ciardo 1, Margutti 15, Bellia 9, Reccavallo 4, Focosi 13, Rossetti 8, Roboni (L1); Ghidoni. Not on: Daddio, Ioli, Dosi, Devranis (L2), Sanzogni, Dalmonte. Coach: Dall’Olio.
HOKKAIDO BOLOGNA: Falzone 5, Tapparo 8, Ronchi 9, Tito 4, Bernardis 12, Bandieri 4, Imperato (L1); Serenari, Russello 2, De Cocinis, Rivola. Did not enter: Costanzini (L2). Coach: De Marco.
Referees: Pampalone and Bosio.
Matchday eight splits the standings: Rubicone and Osimo are the favorites for the playoff spot, while San Marino, Forlì, and Loreto are chasing. Last of the contenders, 4 points behind second place, is FerraraThanks to the home win over Hokkaido, Bologna suffered another away defeat, for the third consecutive time, this time fighting hard. The Estense team struggled through the first two quarters, which ended in a tie. In the third, coach De Marco’s Rossoblù suffered a dramatic collapse, showing signs of improvement in their ability to stay in the game and find solutions to difficult moments. It’s still not enough, not against one of the teams fighting for the playoffs.
Set setter Falzone added five aces, but overall the numbers showed eight service winners and 15 errors versus the home team’s six aces and 10 errors. Hokkaido had better reception (33 percent versus 25 percent), but the difference was made, especially in key moments, by attacking and blocking: Bologna ran at 33 percent in attack, with only spiker Bernardis in double figures, compared to Ferrara’s 44 percent (with two players in double figures despite the absence of former player Dalmonte), who had 10 block winners in three sets against the Rossoblu’s six. The absence of opposite hitter Ricci Maccarini was a factor, but it will be extended, and Hokkaido will have to learn to deal with it, at the end of a day that saw the Rossoblu remain in mid-table, with a safe margin in the fight for survival.
The other matches: San Severino-Consar Ravenna 3-1, Sab Group Rubicone-Paoloni Macerata 3-1, Querzoli Forlì-M&G Grottazzolina 3-0, Sabini Falconara-Osimo 2-3, Gemini Med San Marino-Loreto 2-3, Montorio-Don Celso Fermo 0-3.
The standings: Sab Group Rubicone 22; Osimo 20; Med San Marino 18; Querzoli Forlì 17; Loreto, Cavallino 4 Torri Ferrara 16; Macerata 12; Hokkaido Bologna 11; San Severino 10; Falconara 8; M&G Grottazzolina 7; Don Celso Fermo 6, Montorio 3; Consar Ravenna 2.
Marcello Giordano
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