In the sixth round of the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Vibo Valentia, the team of Japanese national team southpaw Nishida Yuto, played against Ravenna at home. They won 3-0 in straight sets, earning their second win of the season. Nishida was also selected as the MVP of the match.
Results
Vibo Valentia vs Ravenna 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-21)
First set. Vibo's setter Saitta (Italy) chose Nishida for the first shot, and Nishida responded with a powerful shot that lived up to expectations. The next shot was blocked by the opponent's block, and Nishida missed the break chance, but Vibo still took the lead in the early stages and advanced to the advantage. From the middle stage onwards, he showed even more tenacity, and succeeded in breaking with a counter attack from a dig. Vibo also took the first set, with the performance of OH Basic (France), who was in the starting lineup for the first time this season, shining through.
Nishida Show was waiting for us in the beginning of the second set (lol). When the serve came around at 1-1, he got three consecutive service aces, two in zone 6 and one in the net! Three consecutive service aces after two matches is a monster after all. After that, the spikers, including the middle, played well and developed side-outs stably. Ravenna also showed tenacity in the final stages, shutting out Douglas (Brazil) and closing in on the difference to one point at 21-20, but after that he made a series of mistakes and a service mistake at the end allowed Vibo to win two sets in a row.
The third set started with a service ace from Ravenna's OH Yakhtov. After that, Ravenna extended their lead to 4-1 with blocks from MB Compaloni (Italy). However, Nishida Yuji's consecutive breaks, including a service ace just before the end line, led to a 5-4 reversal. However, from there, the exchange of side-outs continued, with neither side giving an inch. Here again, Nishida. This time, he shut out the opponent's pipe attack with a block and succeeded in breaking, extending the lead to 11-9, a two-point difference. Furthermore, at 13-11, he blew away the opponent's receiver with his fifth service ace of the day! No one can stop this man today. Vibo maintained this lead until the end, and finally the opponent's serve error set the game. Vibo Valentia won 3-0 in straight sets against Ravenna.
Nishida scored 16 points on the day, the most on the team, with 10 spikes (53% success rate), 5 service aces, and 1 block. He was of course the MVP of the match. Also, although he was blocked, which has been a concern in recent matches, he only had one at the beginning of the first set, and he only made one spike error, so I think it was very good that he conceded few points. In any case, it was good to see a lively Nishida pounding away with his serves. Coincidentally, Plotnicki, who I introduced in yesterday's article about the Milan match as a player similar to Nishida, also had 5 aces in that match. Personally, I'm really looking forward to the showdown between these two!!
Also, in today's game, Basic, who started in place of OH Mauricio (Brazil), was very good. He scored 12 spike points, had an attack success rate of 671 TP3T, and no attack losses! Although his reception return rate was only 31%, it more than made up for that with his performance. I wonder who will be in the starting lineup for the next game. At first, the veteran Candelaro (Italy) was playing as a middle blocker, but now the young Gargiulio has established himself as a starter, so I think there is a possibility that he will continue to use Basic.
The next round, the 7th round of the first half, will be held at home against last year's champion Civitanova on Sunday, November 21st at 3:30pm. How effective will Nishida's jump serve be against the King? Will we see a battle between Nishida and Juan Torena? Or will we see a showdown between the Brazilian representatives Douglas and Lucarelli? There's a lot to look forward to!
Photo: Lega Pallavolo Serie A
English 
Japanese