In the 6th round of the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Takahashi Ai's team, Padova, played against Siena at home on Thursday, December 8th local time, and won in straight sets 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-20).
Takahashi started in this match and contributed to the team's victory with 15 points, the second highest on the team.
First set starting lineup
Padua
OH: Takahashi, De Smet (Belgium)
MB: Volpato (Italy), Crosato (Italy)
OP: Petkovic (Serbia)
S: Saitta (Italy)
L: Zenger (Germany)
Siena
OH: Van Halderen (Netherlands), Petrić (Serbia)
MB: Ricci (Italy), Mazzone (Italy)
OP: Pinali (Italy)
S: Finoli (Argentina)
L: Bonami (Italy)
*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, Padova started off with a strong serve from OH Takahashi, followed by consecutive blocks from MB Crosart and S Saitta, a spike from OP Petkovic, and a service ace from Takahashi, resulting in five consecutive breaks and a 8-2 lead for Padova, who took control of the match.
Shortly afterwards, Padua extended their lead to 12-4 with three consecutive breaks from MB Crosart's serve.
From the middle of the game onwards, Siena also began to score with spikes from OH van Halderen and OP Pinali, narrowing the gap to 18-12.
However, in the final stages, OH Takahashi's serve was blocked by OH De Smet to stop OH van Halderen, and finally Takahashi scored another service ace, and Padua took the set safely, 25-16.
In the second set, Padua scored points with blocks from MB Crosart and aces from OP Petkovic, but Siena also began to hit well with OP Pinali, and the score remained at 7-7 in the early stages.
However, Siena made four consecutive mistakes shortly after, giving Padova a 10-7 lead. Padova continued to score points, mainly through OP Petkovic and OH Takahashi, and maintained a 21-17 lead until the end of the game.
After that, OH Takahashi's spikes led to consecutive side outs, and finally a quick shot from the in-form MB Crossart led to Padua taking the set 25-20.
In the third set, Padua took the lead 11-8 after a close start with a service ace from OP Petkovic, but shortly afterwards S Finoli hit three consecutive aces to give Siena an early lead at 11-12.
However, OH Takahashi broke the bad flow with a spike to make the score 12-12, and immediately afterwards, Padova succeeded in four consecutive breaks with a service ace from OH Takahashi's serve and a block from OH De Smet, and Padova took the lead again with a score of 16-12.
Padua continued to get side outs consistently with spikes from OP Petkovic and OH De Smet, and did not let Siena take the lead until the end, winning the set 25-20 and defeating Siena 3-0 in straight sets.
MVP: OH Mathis De Smet (12 points (1 serve, 4 blocks), 54% attack success rate)
Takahashi had the second highest score on the team with 15 points (3 of which were on serves), an attack success rate of 67%, and a serve receive success rate of 70%, all of which were impressive numbers.
This puts Padova in provisional 10th place with a record of 4 wins, 6 losses and 9 points.
The team's next match will be against Piacenza, who are in 5th place, at home on Sunday, December 11th at 18:00 local time (2:00 the next day Japan time).
Thoughts etc.
We finally won!!!
It's been tough with four straight losses so far, but we managed to get one win, and it was a straight win, with three points, which is very valuable!!
Padua's serves were strong that day (seven aces in three sets), and although their serve reception, which was an issue for them, was a bit of a challenge, they were able to hold their own throughout the match, although they did have a scare when Finoli hit three consecutive aces in the third set.
It is true that Siena made many mistakes, and it may have been more that Siena was poor than that Padua was good.
Still, their first win in five matches and their first straight sets victory was a big gain for Padua.
Takahashi was on top form from the start of the match, and made his presence felt especially with his serve.
In last week's match against Trento, he started the first set but had the frustrating experience of being replaced midway through, so I felt that his performance in this match showed a strong will that was as if to say, "I am the center of the team!!"
I don't care about the serve, but in the sense that the opposite player rather than the setter would be in the front at that time, I still think Takahashi would be better off as number 2 OH (I'm still going to say it (lol)).
I also thought OP Petkovic and MVP OH De Smet put in great performances.
I was reminded once again how easy it is to play a game when all three players on the side are stable.
Well, I personally don't agree with De Smet being the MVP (lol) (I thought it would have been Takahashi, Petkovic, or Saitta).
Middle midfielder Crossart also had a great game, scoring 9 points, making 3 blocks, and scoring 861 TP3T.
Takahashi, Crossart, and his opposite partner Guzzo often hang out together and seem to be very close, so I couldn't help but imagine that Takahashi must have been happy to see Crossart's performance that day (laughs).
Today's match was originally scheduled to take place the week before the match against Milan, which was also a showdown between two Japanese players, but it was postponed after three or more people on the Siena side tested positive for COVID-19.
It's all about what could have been, but I wonder if the outcome would have been different if the event had gone ahead as usual, and we might have even won against Milan...
Anyway, the three points we got this time are very important.
Although they have already been ruled out of Coppa Italia, these three points are crucial towards advancing to the playoffs.
Our final match of the first half is in three days time against a tough opponent, Piacenza, but we would love to win and get a good start in the second half.
Photo: Lega Pallovolo Serie A
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