Three Italian teams qualify for semis of EuroVolley Cup

The semifinalists of the EuroVolley Cup 2011 are already determined after the first day of action in Castellana Grotte, with Italy’s M. Roma Volley, Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo and the hosts of Materdomini Volley being joined by the Slovaks of ATC Trencin Cop.
Bre Banca Lannutti CUNEO totally outclassed Croatia’s HAOK Mladost in straight sets (25-12, 25-18, 25-22) with the excellent contribution of spikers Andrea Galaverna and Edoardo Picco, a 17-year old boy who stands at 207 cm. ATC Trencin Cop opened its campaign by edging in straight sets Albania’s Tirana (25-18, 25-10, 26-24) in the morning session. Bre Banca Lannutti needed – quite unexpectedly – four sets to cruise past Tirana but eventually pocketed a ticket for the semis.
ATC Trencin Cop stamped a second win in straight sets, this time against HAOK Mladost, to keep a perfect record at the end of the opening day.
In the second Pool M. Roma Volley and the hosts of Materdomini Volley caught a good start with a couple of 3:0s to defeat England’s Newcastle Staff respectively Leixões Sport Club of Portugal.
The Italian teams continued their good march in the afternoon easily clipping their second match and thus qualifying for the semis.
Additional info, including detailed results, pictures and videos, is available at www.eurovolleycup.it