In the 9th round of the Polish Men's Volleyball League (Przlyga), Nysza, which is in 4th place and includes Miyaura Kento, played against 3rd place Zawiercie at home on Sunday, November 13th (local time) and lost 0-3 (14-25, 22-25, 16-25).
Miyaura came on as a substitute in every set of the match and scored three points.
First set starting lineup
Nisa
OH: Gerzhod (Poland), Kwasowski (Poland)
MB: Zebra (Argentina), Abramovic (Poland)
OP: Bentara (Tunisia/Poland)
S: Zukowski (Croatia)
L: Dembiec (Poland)
Xabierce
OH: Kuforek (Poland), Kovacevic (Serbia)
MB: Zniszczo (Poland), Schallach (Poland)
OP: Konarski (Poland)
S: Tavares (Portugal)
L: Danani (Argentina)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
In the first set, Nysa scored points mainly through OH Gerjot and Zabierce through OP Konarski, and the score remained close at 10-12 until the middle of the set.
From there, Konarski scored a block and a service ace in succession to give Zabierce a lead of 10-15, and then Konarski and OH Kovacevic continued to score points to extend Zabierce's lead to 11-20.
Nisa tried to change the flow of the game by bringing in four bench members, including Miyaura, but Xabierche's serve reception was solid and the gap widened even further. In the end, Miyaura's spike was blocked by the opponent, and Nisa lost the first set by a large margin of 14-25.
In the second set, Nisa got off to a good start with a 9-5 lead thanks to an ace from MB Zerba and a spike from Gerjot.
However, from there, Xabierce's three side players got solid side outs and gradually closed in on Nisa, and Nisa's setter Zukowski slipped the toss, resulting in a mistake, and Xabierce took the lead at 13-14.
After that, Xabierche regained the momentum with a steady serve reception and a string of spikes, hitting multiple aces and blocks to take a large lead of 17-22.
Nisa tried to turn the situation around by bringing in Miyaura as a relief server, but it didn't work out, and in the end Zukowski made an error on his serve, giving Xabierce the set at 22-25.
In the third set, Nisa was desperate to turn the tide, but cruelly, Xabierce was unstoppable from the beginning of this set as well.
Setter Tavares served slowly and steadily for two consecutive aces, and then Kovacevic also got an ace with a short serve, giving Xabierce a big lead of 2-7.
After that, Zabierce's serves lit up the Nysa receivers, leading to aces from Konarski, MB Zniszczo (two in a row), and Kovacevic, and before we knew it, Zabierce had a huge lead of 9-18.
Nisa then brings in Miyaura, but it is already too late.
In the final stages, Kovacevic scored every spike, not allowing Nysa to break, and Miyaura also had some sharp spike points, but in the end, Gerjot's serve went wrong, and Xabierce took the set 16-25 to complete a straight-set victory.
The MVP was Kovacevic, who scored 20 points (2 on serves and 1 on blocks) and recorded an impressive attack success rate of 811 TP3T.
Miyaura scored 3 points, with an attack success rate of 501 TP and 3 T.
With this, Nisa has dropped to provisional 6th place with a total of 5 wins, 4 losses and 16 points.
In their next match, they will face Bielsko-Biala, who are in 16th place (last place), at home on Friday, 18 November at 8:30pm local time (4:30am Japan time).
Thoughts etc.
I went to watch the game live on this day!!
It was a foggy and very cold day outside, but inside the gymnasium the atmosphere was filled with excitement from the 2,000 fans.
During the warm-up, a bouncing ball hit my computer directly and the frame came off slightly, which caused some panic (lol), but I managed to fix it before the match and was ready to go!
Since the match on this day was between two top-ranked players, I was hoping for a good game, but before I knew it, the game had become one-sided in favor of Xabierce, except for the beginning of the second set.
Nisa's attacks, especially Gerjot's attacks, were very good (671% success rate, 3T with 0 conceded points), but she was unable to apply pressure with her serves and was unable to withstand the serve reception.
On the other hand, Xabierce's three outside players and liberos all had solid serve reception, making it difficult to know who to target, and they were able to break down Nisa with serves that varied in speed, and all of their attacks were hitting with ease (team success rate 701 TP 3T).
In particular, Kovacevic's short serves and feints, which seemed to mock his opponent, were extremely annoying (and I mean that as a compliment).
At first, the Nisa fans were cheering hard and showing great enthusiasm at the beginning of the second set, but especially from the middle of the third set onwards, it just seemed hopeless, and even people were yelling things like, "What are you doing, Nisa?"...
However, I think it was a good thing that we were able to once again be reminded that we are a team that is loved enough to be criticized with all their might if we were to play a miserable game like that.
Next time, I'd love to see Nisa win in this venue, with all these fans!!
Also, I think it was quite difficult for Miyaura because the coach was late in sending him onto the court, making the situation almost irreversible, but I still think he did well.
In particular, his spike from the right field at 15-24, when his opponent had a match point, was filled with so much spirit that it was electrifying.
The facial expression was also very good.
Although he is serious, he has a relaxed expression with a slight smile on his face.
Coach Prinski, if you are going to make a substitution next time, make it sooner!!!
I heard later that Miyaura himself was also thinking, "Why aren't you showing me yet?" (laughs)
But the atmosphere in the Nisa team is really good, and if they can improve on these small bench works, Gerjot's receptions, and Zukowski's lack of distribution of the ball to the middle, I think they can become even stronger and have the potential to beat teams that they couldn't beat in the first half in the second half.
And I would love to see Miyaura win the MVP at least once this season!
I hope that everyone in Japan will come and watch the game in person!
By the way, Miyaura seems to be craving Japanese conversation, so I'm sure we'll be able to talk a lot if you go to the venue (laughs).
If you do decide to go, I'll be happy to support you so please feel free to contact me!
Photo: PZPL, author
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