The Coppa Italia semi-finals, a cup competition in the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, were held in Rome on Saturday, February 25th local time, and Ishikawa Yuki's Milan team lost to Trento 2-3 (35-33, 25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 9-15).
After the match, we spoke with Milan's Ishikawa Yuki.
-What have you been focusing on since losing to Trent last week?
Ishikawa: I was particularly conscious of block defense, and as for me, I had a lot of shutouts and mistakes, so I worked with the setter to correct that.
--Did Piacenza's 3-0 victory over Perugia, who had been undefeated this season, in the first match of the semi-finals change your mindset in any way?
Ishikawa: There was no change in motivation there. Piacenza is a team with a full lineup, so I thought there might be a shot. This tournament is really a one-shot deal, so I think that's what happened.
--You were off to a good start in the first set of today's match.
Ishikawa: I was the only one who could score in the second and third sets. But I thought I had to endure that, and in the end I wasn't on the court, so I think that's something I should reflect on and not be a professional. (As for offense) I was shut down on the first shot in the first set, but I think I was able to correct it well from there. I think I did well in terms of getting rebounds, and since my opponent knew I was going to get the rebound, I was able to drop it forward when he didn't jump to block. I don't think my power shots were bad either, but in the end I wasn't on the court, that's the only thing that happened today.
What about the pain in your legs?
Ishikawa: I started to feel pain in my left thigh in the middle of the third set. (I left the court for a moment) I didn't know if I could play until I tried again, and when I started the fourth set, the pain was concentrated in one spot due to the taping, and I also cramped up my right leg as I was protecting my left leg.
--I think you knew you wouldn't be able to play in the final fifth set, but you still called out and spoke to your team.
Ishikawa: Captain Matteo (Piano) wasn't on the court, and I wasn't there either. We made a pretty good team, and I was the one who was pulling the team together, so as soon as I was gone, it all fell apart, so I really regret it, or rather, I think it was my fault. I was there at the end hoping to do something from outside the court, but I think it was difficult, and the players were a little gloomy because things turned out like this. I can't say anything more, I think it's just because I wasn't on the court. I regret that. The flow was good, but things turned out like this in the end. Creating a new history for Milan was one of our goals, so we were just one step away from reaching that. As for the Coppa Italia, there's only next season, so I hope we can do something there.
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