In the 10th match of the second half of the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Takahashi Ai's team, Padova (10th place), played against Trento (3rd place) at home on Sunday, March 5th local time, and lost 1-3 (27-25, 22-25, 21-25, 27-29).
After the match, Padova's Takahashi Ai gave us a comment.
--How do you feel looking back on today's game?
Takahashi: I think Padua was in good form from the beginning of the match. I wanted to win the fourth set and go on to the fifth set, but (at set point) Saitta told me he would hand me the ball, and I regret not being able to make the decision when I wanted to. But I think it's by playing these matches that we can prepare for the next one, and become stronger the next time we find ourselves in a similar situation. It's really one game at a time, or rather, one match at a time. But Padua started really well today, so I want to switch my mindset and work towards the next match.
--In the 4th set, at 24-23, Takahashi pulled back his hand to block, and the opponent, OP KAZYSKI's spike went through where he pulled back, tying the score at 24-24. What made you decide to pull back at that time?
Takahashi: Before that, I had blocked one ball, and Kaziyski is a very smart and intelligent player. (In the end) I think I may have thought a little too much. I made that play as a tactic, but I also trusted the libero and blocked it myself, and I realized in this match that it is very important to get the last point with team play, not individual skill.
- In the first set, you were able to win thanks to your opponent's mistakes, but in both the first and fourth sets, you were unable to get a side-out at 24-23 and the match went to deuce. How do you feel about the difficulty of winning that last point?
Takahashi: It's always a challenge for the team to get that one point, or rather, I think we have to always strive for that one point. I'm sure there will be situations like that in the future, so I really feel that I have to do my best to get that one point on a daily basis.
--I think that Padua has changed their serve receiving formation in the S1 rotation (setter serving rotation) a bit in the last few games. Is this because they are placing more importance on OH Gardini and OP Petkovic spiking from their comfortable spots rather than taking the risk of receiving in the middle?
Takahashi: As for the coach's intention, since Petkovic is in the opposite position, I think he wants him to hit in position 2 (right). The S1 rotation is a weak point for every team, so I want to rotate it as quickly as possible. However, it is true that Micheletto's serve hit us in S1 today and we struggled, so I wish we could have returned it to a more normal form and cut one off. The next game is against the strong Piacenza team, and I think we will face similar situations there, so I would like to find a solution to that problem as soon as possible.
--When we spoke previously, you mentioned OH Micheletto from Trento as a player you were interested in. What did you think after playing against him today?
Takahashi: We are the same age, so I think he is very stimulating and I see him as a rival, and I think he is also aware of me because I play in the Italian league. He is a player who is really tall and can receive, so he is very stimulating for me, and playing against him today, I was reminded once again that he is a well-balanced player who can take advantage of his height with spikes and blocks, as well as receive.
--Please say a few words about next week's match against Piacenza, which is the final game of the regular season.
Takahashi: We will work on the issues that came up today over the next week, and in the match against Piacenza, we will definitely find ourselves in a situation like today, and we need to play Padua's volleyball first. Although we are playing away from home, we want to play with the strengths of Padua from the start, so that we don't lose out to the momentum we gained after winning the Coppa Italia.
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