European Volleyball Championship: Italy-Macedonia 3-0. The Azzurri fly to the quarterfinals

Italy-North Macedonia 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-15) In the penultimate stage of this tour of Italy of dunks, Fefé De Giorgi’s Azzurri easily landed in the quarter-finals of this home European Championship which arrived in Bari for the first two games of the playoffs. On Tuesday evening (9pm) Italy will face the winner between Germany and Holland (who are playing now) to reach the top four national teams in Europe. The Azzurri never decrease their concentration, on the contrary. They keep the bar straight and aim directly for Rome where the Final Four of this tournament will be played. But first the quarterfinals. Simone Giannelli, very lucid, distributes the game as he likes, varying the Azzurri’s attack patterns as much as possible and this sends the Skopje team into confusion, which is already in trouble halfway through the first set. The Macedonians push forward and get some glimpses of glory, but the first set is firmly in the hands of Lavia and co. The Calabrian spiker himself (with a past in Puglia) is the most prolific of the second set with 5 points.

Little turnover

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No turnover De Giorgi doesn’t get upset and even if the team responds well he doesn’t change formation i.e. he continues to reward the 7 players on the pitch who have now got into the right rhythm. There are dozens of signs celebrating Fefé De Giorgi, including one from his native Squinzano, a town in the Lecce area which named the sports hall after him when he was still playing and which after the European Championship victory gave him the keys to the city. Italy also spreads in the third set. Nikola Gjorgiev, Macedonia’s most famous striker tries in every way to change the course of the match, but to no avail. Italy wastes very little, makes the difference between the two national teams count and finishes in the shortest time possible. Leonardo Scanferla (for Balaso) and Alessandro Bovolenta also enter in the final in place of Romanò to gain some playing time. Sbertoli also makes a serve that almost gets an ace. De Giorgi’s idea is to consolidate the starting team, while also giving space to the bench. Now two days to best prepare for the quarter-finals where the opponent’s level will necessarily be much higher.