The road to mathematical confirmation of the UD Ibiza-Ushuaïa Volley’s permanence in the Men’s Superliga will not be simple in the closing stretch of this challenging season 2021-22. The team from Ibiza, who is currently in tenth and penultimate place in the standings with 9 points, will have to try to overcome countless obstacles in the coming weeks, in which they must face several crucial and completely decisive clashes against direct rivals in their fight for salvation, as well as two Balearic rivalry derbies against Palma and Manacor, in addition to visiting the courts of the two first classif clubs.
The challenge, while difficult and extremely demanding given the island team’s starting position, forces the UD Ibiza-Ushuaïa squad to give its best in each of the eight matches it has left to play until March 19, when the regular phase of the Men’s Superliga is scheduled to end, after which the top eight in the table will play the final play-off for the title, while the relegation to Superliga-2 of the last two classified will be determined.
Luca Cuminetti, receiver for UD Ibiza-Ushuaïa Volley and now the second best player in his position in the Superliga rankings, believes the team is mentally prepared for the final stretch of the competition: “I believe we must treat each of these matches as a final. Every set and point we gain will be extremely crucial in achieving our goal of retaining the category. We believe we can beat anyone with the work we’ve been doing recently, and we want to finish as high as possible.”
Valencia, the first key date for UD Ibiza-Ushuaïa Volley
UD Ibiza-Ushuaïa Volley travels this weekend to Valencia, where he will visit this Sunday January 30 to Leleman Valencia, in a direct face to face for salvation and no margin for error against his immediate pursuer in the standings, which the islanders are ahead by one point, but with a game less than the Valencians, which Matias Pacino, coach of the Pitiusos, do not trust at all.
“We understand that we have a crucial game against Leleman Valencia and that we cannot afford to lose it. The sensations are nice right now, but the fact is that the team that is better and performs better that day will win,” says UD Ibiza’s coach, who also warns: “Leleman Valencia is playing much better currently. I am a friend of Fabián Muraco, the coach of Leleman Valencia, and I know him well since he has coached the national teams of Argentina for more than 20 years, and he also went to the Olympics in Tokyo this summer, where they finished third. To put it another way, they have a first-rate coach. The Leleman Valencia team that came to see us is not the same one that came to see us. They’re playing very well, and you can feel their coach’s influence. It’s impossible for me to walk into a game against that coach quietly because I know his team, whoever is on the court, will play well and orderly “.