Verona, 14 January 2026 – In the midweek round, Volley Rana Verona secured its fifth consecutive victory.
After winning in Trento, it also won the Veneto derby against Sonepar Padova, who fell 3-0 at the Pala AGSM AIM. The first set saw a series of lead changes,
while in the second set, Verona remained in front before closing out the match in the third set after an initial stalemate. Captain Mozic earned applause and was named MVP after scoring 17 points with three winning blocks. Darlan also scored in double figures (10).

On Saturday, Coach Soli’s team returns to the court in front of their home crowd against Cuneo. In the starting six, Coach Soli shuffled the deck a bit: the main diagonal was confirmed with Christenson and Darlan, while Sani played alongside Mozic on the wing. Nedeljkovic played in the centre with Vitelli and Staforini in the libero role.
The match opened immediately with a double block by Nedeljkovic, then Darlan fired a powerful parallel shot to make it 7-4. The visitors recovered and caught up with a block by Polo, overtaking with another block by Masulovic (8-9). Padova tried to extend their lead, but Verona closed a long rally with a hands-out by Sani, then Masulovic’s ace makes it 11-13. Captain Mozic sounds the charge, Vitelli closes the gaps: the balance returns at 15-15. Verona takes back the reins and Vitelli’s two first-time shots in a row bring the score to 19-16. The hosts advanced, with Mozic taking advantage of two reception errors and making it 24-18. Vitelli’s ace closes the set.
At the start of the second set, Christenson’s block immediately tries to launch the home side, who extend their lead with Mozic’s monster block (6-3). Verona maintains its three-point lead with Darlan’s ace Darlan (11-8). The Paduans tried to close the gap, but the Scaligeri remained composed and Sani’s attack on the baseline kept them three points ahead (17-14). Nedeljkovic was again incisive from the centre, then Verona’s block rose again to make it 22-19. In the final stages, it was once again the Serbian middle blocker who stamped his authority and sealed the second set (25-21).
Mozic opened the second set, but the start was more balanced than the previous set, with the two teams responding blow for blow. Verona tries to break the deadlock with Vitelli’s block, which brings the score to 12-10. Then Held’s serve puts the home defence in difficulty and changes the momentum with an ace for 14-16. Masulovic’s diagonal shot keeps the two-point lead, Sani breaks through the opponents’ hands and halves the deficit, and Darlan grabs the ball (18-18).
Darlan retakes the lead, but Held keeps the score even (21-21). Verona finds the decisive break and closes the set 25-23 with Glatz’s block.

MATCH STATISTICS
Rana Verona-Sonepar Padova 3–0 (25-18; 25-21; 25-23)