In the 10th match of the second half of the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Ishikawa Yuki's Milan (8th place) played away against Roubaix Civitanova (4th place, hereafter Roubaix) on Saturday, March 4th (local time) and lost 0-3 (22-25, 15-25, 12-25).
After the race, we spoke to OH Mattia Bottolo of Roubaix, who was also selected as the MVP of the race.
--Today's match seemed difficult in some ways. What do you think?
Bottro: Yes. They only had eight players, including the bench, and we didn't have the same positions, so it felt weird to play against a team like that. Today's game wasn't even a practice game, it was just a practice. We didn't have either of our setters, and we didn't have Yuuki. It was really just training for us. We were lucky.
--But before you took to the court for the first set, your team was struggling against such an opponent.
Bottolo: Yes, it was tough. It's very strange when you play against an opponent like this. It should be easy to go on the offensive, but it was difficult mentally. They were missing five players and it was a hopeless situation, but they didn't care about that and played like a normal team. I think we were down by two points, and it was a tough and strange situation. So I was picked off the bench to go on the court to change the atmosphere, and it was very strange and tough.
-You led your team in a good direction there. What were you thinking when you entered the court?
Bottro: I just tried to do what I always do, bring what I've learned in practice and matches, and I'm very happy with my performance today. I was able to help the team, and that's what I try to do every day.
--The only regular season match remaining is against Perugia.
Bottolo: Yes, we have a game against Perugia, the leader, remaining as the final game of the regular season. For us, it feels like today's Milan game. Perugia is at their best and stronger than us, so in a sense we can play at ease. I think the mental preparation part is very easy. But we will do our best to get the three points.
-You played together with Ishikawa at Padua.
Vottolo: Yes, we played together for a year. So I know him well. We had a good relationship and talked a lot on the court. Not so much off the court because we were both busy. In that respect, it was more with Lance. He was my teammate last season and he said he would like to play with me again. That might actually happen in the future.
-What kind of person is Ishikawa to you?
Bottolo: I played with Yuuki in my first year as a professional player. He helped me a lot with the mentality and attitude of a professional. He is like a master to me. On the other hand, Ran is like a younger brother. He came here without knowing anything about the Italian league or professional volleyball, so I did for Ran what Yuuki did for me. That's how it was.
Photo: Author, Lega Pallavolo Serie A
*Unauthorized reproduction or copying of articles and photos is prohibited.
English 
Japanese