The first match of the playoff quarterfinals in the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A was held, with the first team to win three games advancing to the semifinals. On Saturday, March 18th (local time), Ishikawa Yuki's Milan team played against Perugia away and lost 0-3 (22-25, 15-25, 18-25).
Ishikawa Yuki started in this match and scored the most points on the team with 12 points.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Melgarejo (Cuba), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Patry (France)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Pesaresi (Italy)
Perugia
OH: Leon (Poland), Plotnicki (Ukraine)
MB: Russo (Italy), Filavio (Brazil)
OP: Herrera (Cuba)
S: Giannelli (Italy)
L: Coraci (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, Perugia took a 0-4 lead early on with a block from OP Herrera and a service ace from OH Plotnicki.
Milan continued to break the lead with a service ace from MB Rosell and a spike from OH Ishikawa, tying the score at 11-11. OH Ishikawa then scored a transition attack from an OH Melgarejo serve to put Milan ahead at 14-13.
However, towards the end of the game, Perugia took the lead again, 18-19, after a mistake by OH Melgarejo, and then OH Ishikawa also made a spike error at a crucial moment, narrowing the lead to 21-23, just two points behind.
In the end, MB Flavio smashed in the ball that was returned directly from S. Giannelli's serve, giving Perugia the set, 22-25.
In the second set, Perugia started off with solid defense, with OH Plotnicki's spike and MB Flavio's block giving them a 4-7 lead.
Further service aces from OH Plotnicki, MB Flavio and OP Herrera made the score 8-13, and then with a block from S Giannelli and a spike from OP Herrera from MB Russo's serve, Perugia continued to widen the lead to 10-19.
Milan tried to find a solution by making substitutions, but they continued to allow MB Flavio to make consecutive blocks, putting them behind Perugia by more than 10 points, at 11-22.
Towards the end of the match, OH Ishikawa hit a sharp, super-inner spike, but in the end, Perugia showed their strength as champions by making it 15-25 with a quick shot from MB Russo, and easily took the set.
The third set also started well with a service ace and block from OH Plotnicki, a spike from MB Russo, and a service ace from S Giannelli, putting Perugia in a big lead at 2-8.
Milan caught up to 11-14 with a spike from MB Rosell and a block from S. Porro, but from the middle of the game Perugia scored consecutive points with blocks from MB Flavio and other players to pull away to 14-22.
Milan then fought back with a pipe attack from OH Ishikawa and a service ace from OP Patri, but in the end, OP Herrera's powerful spike took the set 18-25, and Milan lost 0-3 to Perugia.
MVP: MB Flavio Gualberto (10 points (1 serve, 6 blocks), attack success rate 601 TP 3T)
Ishikawa Yuki had the most points on the team with 12, an attack success rate of 711 TP3T, and a serve receive success rate of 46%, but he was unable to lead his team to victory.
The second leg of the playoff quarter-finals will be held in Milan on Wednesday, March 22nd at 8:30pm local time (4:30am Japan time).
Thoughts on the match etc.
It was a complete defeat for Milan.
We were able to fight reasonably well in the first set, but from the second set onwards, we were shown the difference in strength from the beginning to the end.
Ishikawa individually had the most points on the team, and was in great form in attack with an attack success rate of 711 TP and 3 T, but he made 5 serve errors out of 8, and was unable to earn consecutive points on Ishikawa's serve, which would have been a big break chance for Milano.
As for serving, I think Milan as a whole was not effective enough.
They were successful in avoiding libero Coraci and concentrating serves on the two players on the outside, with Leon as the main target, but their serves were weak and they were not able to put any pressure on the two.
Considering that Piacenza, who handed Perugia their only loss this season, beat them down with their serves, there is no doubt that this is an absolute requirement.
They also suffered 11 blocks in the three sets of the match, doing the same thing to Milan that Taranto did last week.
Of those 11 shots, four were from Melgarejo and three from Ebadipoour who came on in his place, which shows that Ishikawa's outside attacks across from him were not effective.
Opposite Patrix is also still in poor form, with an attack success rate of 381 TP and 3T, which are by no means good numbers.
In other words, just like in the Coppa Italia semi-final against Trento, Ishikawa was fighting alone on the offensive side of the ball in this match as well.
Milan's setter Polo was aggressive in giving sets to the middle, especially to Rosell, and often used quick shots, but the serve reception was disrupted by libero Pesaresi, giving Polo few opportunities to hit in good situations, and Rosell's success rate did not improve, so I don't think it ultimately led to a reduction in the burden on the side attackers.
On the other hand, Perugia can do whatever they want (laughs).
The team's attack success rate was an astonishing 681 TP3T, and individual player performances were also very high, including Flavio with 5 block points, Plotnicki with 3 service aces, and Herrera with the most points of both teams with 17 points and an attack success rate of 791 TP3T.
Not only was their offense solid, but their defense was also solid, including their serve receive and floor defense, and they only made four errors other than serve errors, so it seemed like there were no openings for them to exploit.
Personally, I thought Protnitsky on the side looked really cool (lol).
Perugia truly demonstrated their champion volleyball skills.
Overall, this match was full of challenges for Milan.
Given that they lost both games in straight sets during the regular season, it is not difficult to imagine that they will also lose the remaining two playoff games in straight sets.
However, if you can make the most of your serve and serve receive, you will surely be able to take the set and even victory.
I hope it will defy expectations in a good way.
Photo: Powervolleymilano
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