1980–81 Serie A1 was the thirty-sixth men's volleyball major Italian championship; it was won by Turin-based team Klippan, which got its third title in a row.
Format Twelve contestants took part in a simple round-robin tournament, earning two points for each win. In the end, the final chart-leading team won the title, while bottom two teams were relegated in the lower division.
Teams TeamCity and RegionVenueSeasons in major league MapAmaro Più LoretoLoreto, MarchePalasport 3Carisparmio RavennaRavenna, Emilia-RomagnaPalaCosta 14Edilcuoghi SassuoloSassuolo, Emilia-RomagnaPalasport, Modena 5Latte Cigno ChietiChieti, AbruzzoPiano Vincolato 1Panini ModenaModena, Emilia-RomagnaPalasport 13Polenghi MilanoMilan, LombardyPalaLido 5Radio CUS PisaPisa, TuscanyPalaCUS 8Riccadonna AstiAsti, PiedmontPalasport 1Robe di Kappa TorinoTurin, PiedmontPalaRuffini 9Santàl ParmaParma, Emilia-RomagnaPalaRaschi 33Torre Tabita CataniaCatania, SicilyPalaSpedini 9Toseroni RomaRome, LazioPalazzetto dello Sport 8
Key dates 8 November 1980: opening day of the tournament. The defending champion, Robe di Kappa Torino (who enrolled Dimitar Zlatanov), easily defeated Radio CUS Pisa 3–0 (15–2, 15–1, 15–6), while its most accredited rival for the title, Santàl Parma,Fabio Vergnano. «Pallavolo verso l'anno boom», from Stampa Sera, 8 November 1980, 285/1980, p. 35 with newcomers Negri and Lanfranco), lost in Loreto 2–3 (15–8, 15–6, 7–15, 14–16, 13–15).«Robe di Kappa esordio facile», from La Stampa, 9 November 1980, 248/1980, p. 21 22 November 1980: Robe di Kappa defeated 3–1 Torre Tabita Catania, its rival during 1979–80 season and maintained the first place in the classification, along with Edilcuoghi Sassuolo, Polenghi Milano and Panini Modena (3:0); on the contrary, Torre Tabita was occupying last place (0:3). 10 December 1980: Edilcuoghi lost its first match (0–3 in Rome), while Robe di Kappa beat Panini Modena 3–1 away (9–15, 15–11, 15–11, 15–13)«Robe di Kappa vince anche con la Panini», from La Stampa, 11 December 1980, 275/1980, p. 25 and reached the solitary top of the chart (6:0). 24 January 1981: winning also on Edilcuoghi's ground 3–1 (4–15, 14–16, 11–15, 6–15)«Robe di Kappa rischia, poi travolge l'Edilcuoghi», from La Stampa, 25 January 1981, 21/1981, p. 19 Robe di Kappa (11:0) was firmly maintaining the top of the chart after the first half of the season. Panini Modena was occupying the second place (9:2). 21 February 1981: Robe di Kappa beat Toseroni Roma 3–0 (15–7, 15–8, 15–10)Rino Cacioppo. «Facile la Robe di Kappa», from La Stampa, 22 February 1981, 21/1981, p. 19 and, after 15 rounds, was full score with 30 points, 4 more than Panini (second place) and 10 more than Toseroni and Santàl (third place). 7 March 1981: defeating runner-up Panini Modena 3–0 at Palaruffini, Robe di Kappa extend its advantage in the league table to 8 points. 21 March 1981: Robe di Kappa knocked off Amaro Più Loreto 3–0 (15–7, 15–9, 15–10)«Scudetto a Torino, è il terzo», from La Stampa, 22 March 1981, 69/1981, p. 21 and won its third title in a row with 3 matches still to play. 11 April 1981: in the last round, Robe di Kappa beat Edilcuoghi 3–1 (6–15, 15–11, 15–3, 15–2) and closed its tournament unbeaten, with a 22:0 score (fifteen matches won 3–0 and seven 3–1); Torre Tabita was unpredictably relegated.Rino Cacioppo. «La Robe di Kappa chiude imbattuta», from La Stampa, 12 April 1981, 87/1981, p. 27
League table
Results
References
Bibliography La Stampa, years 1980 and 1981.
External links Official Lega Pallavolo Serie A Site