Cisterna began their Superliga campaign with a 3:0 victory over Velo Volley Milano on Sunday evening. The hosts dominated from the opening set, capitalising on their home advantage. It was their first match of the season, though the table shows them alongside Milano in sixth and seventh place respectively, both with zero games played.
The result upended expectations. We had given Milano the edge at 57 per cent confidence, pointing to their 4:0 win against Monza on October 3rd as momentum. Cisterna, by contrast, had lost their last two meetings with the visitors in April. The match simply refused to follow that narrative.
Set scores:
- First set: Cisterna 25:21
- Second set: Cisterna 25:19
- Third set: Cisterna 25:23
Milano struggled to find their rhythm early, and once Cisterna extended their unbeaten run at home, the visitors never really got back into the contest. The third set tightened things up, but Milano could not break through when it mattered. There is no value left at that number—23 points is not a margin you recover from when serving is off.
For Cisterna, this was a chance to rewrite the script after two heavy defeats to Milano in the spring. They can raise the tempo when they need to, and today they did exactly that. Milano, meanwhile, will look at the Monza result and wonder whether it was an outlier.
The standings remain unchanged in practical terms—both sides still have zero points after one match—but the psychological weight of the result sits with the visitors. Cisterna now hold the early advantage in what could be a tight season.
