JCU Coed Volleyball team has finally put pedal to the metal and earns an incredible victory, last night, in the third game of the Universities of Rome Championship.
Our Gladiators play an excellent game against Università Europea di Roma (UER), winning 3-0.
The first set is really intense. The two teams battle fire with fire on the court, scoring back to back until the advantage points where it is JCU who prevails over UER, 26-24.
In the second set, JCU keeps its groove, finding efficient offensive solutions that are hard to stop for the opponents. Our Gladiators take home a good set with a 25-19 win.
In the last set, UER attempts for a strong reaction, and in the first part, the Panthers take the advantage. This, however, doesn’t deter JCU from keeping the focus, and in a blink of an eye, our Gladiators are back at leading the game, which ends with a 25-22 win.
“We finally get this first victory, and we are extremely happy about it,” coach Papari comments. “We are training well, and we finally reap the benefits of our hard work. Our improvements in reception definitely gave us a head start in the game tonight and allowed us to be more efficient with the offense. In particular, Filippo gave a sensational performance, scoring many points with his powerful and incisive spikes.”
With this victory, JCU takes home three precious points that help them start to climb up the ranking. Congratulations, Gladiators! You deserve this win, and we hope this could be the first of a long series of victories!
MVP – Filippo Belloni
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Another victory comes from Petriana Court where our JCU Men’s Basketball team defeats, 71-54, the current top team in the league of the UISP tournament, La Salle Basket (LSB).
In the first quarter, the two teams play head to head. JCU finds some difficulties in reading the opponents’ defensive strategies and in adjusting the offense accordingly. Despite Buratti‘s and Giordano‘s three-point shots, our Gladiators close the first quarter down by one point, 13-14.
In the second quarter, however, JCU is able to find better tactical solutions, which result in an efficient reading of the game and great cooperation with perfect plays. The defense also works really well with our shooting guards Giordano, McLain, and Corral who all set as valid playmakers. The second quarter ends 15-12 for JCU.
In the third quarter, the score gap between JCU and LSB starts to become significant and hard to make up for the rivals. Our Gladiators dominate the third quarter with the flawless and threatening trio of Buratti, Tricarico, and Kaplan who set up a sensational offense. JCU wins the third quarter 24-9.
In the last set, despite the expulsion of Hershberger due to the number of fouls he committed, JCU is still able to maintain a high-intensity game with a powerful contribution by Buratti and Chapman in defense. Tricarico and Corral also help increase the score with great free-throws and three-point shots.
“Overall, the entire team played at a very high level with the perfect intensity and mentality,” coach Serraino points out. “It wasn’t an easy game because we played against a very competitive and solid team who never lost a game until now. We chose to defend man to man in order not to leave any space to the opponents from the beginning. Our intesity in defense was the key factor that helped us win the game.”
Congratulations, Gladiators! We are proud of you!
MVP – Claudio Buratti
