In the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Milan, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, played the fifth match of the playoff quarter-finals against Perugia at home on Monday, April 10th local time, and won 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 29-27, 25-23).
After the match, we spoke with Milan's Ishikawa Yuki.
- Congratulations on advancing to the semi-finals. You've made new history for Milan once again.
Ishikawa: Every year with Milan, in the first year we won the Challenge Cup, in the second year we played in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, and in the third year all that was left was to make it to the semi-finals in this playoff, so first of all I'm happy that I was able to achieve that.
- From the first set to the beginning of the second set, Perugia was pushing Milan hard and it was a tough situation for them, but then Porro's serve helped them turn the game around and they seemed to take control. What was the situation like for the team at that point?
Ishikawa: In the first set, we were overwhelmed by the opponent's atmosphere, and the atmosphere at this venue was a bit special, so I think that was one of the reasons we weren't used to it, but from the second set onwards, we were able to switch gears quickly. We relied on our serve and defense, and we played by getting rebounds, getting rebounds, getting rebounds, so I think that worked really well.
-I think Ishikawa was getting a lot of tosses at key moments towards the end of the set, including match point. Did the setter, Pollo, call out to him to bring the ball to him today as well?
Ishikawa: No, I didn't say anything this time. This is the kind of team we are. Well, it's a bit frustrating that we couldn't finish off some of the sets at the end, but I'd like to be able to win those in the semi-finals.
-You were replaced by Ebadipour midway through the fourth set. What happened then?
Ishikawa: After I landed on a block, I landed on Agustin (Rosell)'s foot, and when we squeezed together, my leg got stuck, so I lost it halfway through, but then got back on at the end.
-When you returned to the court, Perugia was closing in and it must have been a very stressful moment for you. How were you feeling when you returned to the court?
Ishikawa: Always bring victory. Everyone was playing well whether I was on the court or not, so I was watching from the outside of the court, hoping that I could step in and take it to the next level, and I had that mindset when I entered the court.
Our next opponent in the semi-finals is Ruba Civitanova. Although we beat them once in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia last year, I think that, like Milan, they are a team that has become even stronger in this playoff.
Ishikawa: That's right. They also turned things around from 0-2 against Verona, so I think they're a team that's really been through a hell of a lot. They'll definitely give us more than we did when we fought and won in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia, and if we go in with the same mindset as we did back then, I don't think we'll be able to win. What we need to do now is to play our own game, and from now on we'll have two games a week in a row, so we just need to think about how to recover quickly, and we'll do our best as a team.
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