In the 8th round of the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Takahashi Ai's team, Padova, played against Verona away on Monday, November 21st local time, and lost in straight sets 0-3 (21-25, 17-25, 21-25).
After the match, Padova's Takahashi Ai gave us a comment.
--How do you feel looking back on today's game?
Takahashi: The opponent had a tall opposite, and I was on the shorter side in this league, so I didn't start this time because I wanted to strengthen my block... I just had to accept it and do my job well when I was in the game, and get the team in rhythm from there. This time, the first set was a little better, but from the second set onwards, the opponent kept pushing me, and it was difficult to turn that around. I'm frustrated that I didn't start because I'm not tall enough, so I think I need to think of something to make up for that lack of height, even just a little, is what I thought looking back on today's match.
-Was it decided early on that you wouldn't be starting in today's game?
Takahashi: That's right. At the start of this week, we had already solidified the A team with the starting members. Before the league started, we had a practice match against Verona, and there were many cases where the opponents were trying to spike me from above, so the coach and the staff wanted us to play in that way at the beginning, and then I would come out at the end and score points. We've been doing it like this since the start of this week after the Milan match (last week).
--You entered the court halfway through the match, and how was it being matched up against the opposing player, Sapozukov (220cm)?
Takahashi: Yes, well, I don't know how to put it (laughs). He's head and shoulders above the big players, so to be honest, when I fought him, to be honest, there was nothing I could do about the height, but I think I need to make up for it with defense and find a way to fight against it. There are cases where I can jump or a player nearly 2 meters tall can jump and still get hit from above, so I felt that I needed to be prepared to get hit and focus on defense.
--You had several break points on your serves towards the end of the third set, which were your final chances to turn the game around. What were you thinking when you were serving at that time?
Takahashi: I was really only thinking about winning. After all, my job is to get a little break, catch up and give the team momentum. I really wanted to fight from the start, so I played with a lot of emotion, including the frustration of not being able to get the height, and made a strong appeal in the last point, or rather, "get myself out there from the start."
-Was it intentional to target Mozic in that situation?
Takahashi: That's right. My serve is not a floater serve, so I try to aim for the interval (between players), or, since Mozic is in the back row, I try to shut him down with a short serve to reduce the number of attacking players even a little. That's what I was conscious of.
-What did you think of Ishikawa's match against Milan last week?
Takahashi: There was a different kind of tension because the opponent was a Japanese player, and I was a little bit tense because I was conscious of that. Of course, it's not something you can do to be conscious of it, but I felt that I have to look at the opponent carefully to know who I'm fighting. Just having Ishikawa as an opponent was stimulating, and my own performance and physical condition were very good, so I wish I could have used that to score more points. We really won the first set and were winning until the middle of the second set, so I think it was the strength to win there. In the second set, Milano gained momentum with Yuki's serve, so that's really Ishikawa's mentality, and the ability to show his strength when it matters. I think he has some experience of playing in the Italian season for eight seasons now, but I was inspired by that and realized that I still need to strive to be able to play with such confidence.
--Next week's opponent, Monza, is also a team with a strong opposite, Gloselle (Germany), just like Verona. Please say a few words about the Monza match.
Takahashi: Of course we will look back on today's game, but we shouldn't dwell too much on it. The season is still young, so we need to switch our mindset to our next match against Monza, and for another week we need to improve our team's overall strength and give Monza even more of what we have, even more than we did in 100%, so of course we want to give it our all and win.
Photo: Author
The report of this match is here:
Here are some comments from other players in the match:
English 
Japanese