In the third match of the quarterfinals of the Polish Men's Volleyball League (Przlyga), Miyaura Kento's team, NYSA, played against Rzeszow at home on Friday, April 14th local time, and lost 1-3 (26-24, 19-25, 20-25, 18-25), being eliminated from the quarterfinals.
Kento Miyaura came on in the middle of each set and scored three points with his spikes.
First set starting lineup
Nisa
OH: El Graoui (Morocco), Kwasowski (Poland)
MB: Jankowski (Poland), Zerba (Argentina)
OP: Bentara (Tunisia)
S: Szczurek (Poland)
L: Biniek (Poland)
Rzeszow
OH: Chebuj (Slovenia), Defalco (USA)
MB: Kozamelnik (Slovenia), Kochanowski (Poland)
OP: Muzai (Poland)
S: Zizga (Poland)
L: Zatorski (Poland)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
Nisa started this match with a different starting line-up than they used in the two matches in Rzeszów.
The first set was a close one in the beginning, with Nisa scoring mainly through Ventala and Rzeszów through Muzaj, leading the way to 11-11.
Rzeszow then took a 11-15 lead with four consecutive breaks, including an ace, off Kozamelnik's serve, and then a block from Kochanowski extended the lead to 12-17.
Nisa also closed the gap to 18-19 with service aces from El Graoui and Ventala, but an attack from Kochanowski gave Rzeszow the first set point at 22-24.
However, immediately afterwards, Nisa got a side out with a spike from Ventala to make the score 23-24, and Ventala then finished off Muzai with consecutive blocks to put Nisa in the lead at 25-24.
Finally, El Graoui hit her third service ace of the set, giving Nisa the set, 26-24.
In the second set, Zizga, Defalco and Cebuj all hit aces early on, giving Rzeszow a 5-8 lead.
After that, Rzeszow continued to break with a service ace from Kozamelnik and an attack from Defalco, widening the gap to 12-17.
Nisa also managed to narrow the gap to 17-20 with consecutive attacks from Zerba, but a service ace from Muzai in the final minutes helped Rzeszów to close the gap to 18-23.
In the end, Defalco's spike was successful and Rzeszów took the set 19-25.
In the third set, Rzeszów led 2-4 thanks to blocks from Defalco and Cebuj, but Nisa tied the score at 6-6 thanks to a spike from Ventala and an ace from Kwasovski.
However, Rzeszow scored consecutive points with two breaks from Çeby's serve, three breaks from Çizga's serve, and some poor serve reception from Nysa to make it 8-15.
Nisa managed to break from Elgraoui's serve in the final minutes to narrow the gap to 18-22, but Kochanowski scored an ace to give Rzeszow the set at 20-25.
In the fourth set, Defalco hit two aces early on to give Rzeszow a 3-8 lead.
Nisa also narrowed the gap to 9-12 with a block from Kramczynski (MB, Poland) and a service ace from El Graoui midway through the third set, but a block from Kochanowski and a service ace from Defalco allowed them to widen the gap again to 11-18.
Nisa put their final hopes on the team by sending in three riders: Miyaura (OP), Zukowski (S, Croatia) and Buszek (OH, Poland).
Miyaura continued to score spikes with a high success rate, but Rzeszow did not allow her to close the gap with service aces from Muzai and Cheby to make it 15-23.
And in the end, Bucki (OP, Poland), who came on as a substitute, scored a spike to give Rzeszow the set, 18-25.
As a result, Nysa lost 1-3 to Rzeszów, and with a total record of 0 wins and 3 losses, they were eliminated from the quarterfinals.
MVP: OH Torrey Defalco (20 points (4 serves, 3 blocks), 65% attack success rate, 58% serve reception success rate)
Miyaura Kento was a relief server in the first three sets and came on as a spiker in the fourth set, scoring three points and achieving a 100% attack success rate.
The next match will be held at home on Friday, April 21st at 8:30pm local time (3:30am the next day Japan time), for the 7th-8th place ranking matches (opponent to be determined).
Thoughts on the match etc.
I watched this match live.
Although it was unfortunately rainy, the Nysa Arena was filled to capacity with just under 2,500 spectators for the club's first playoff home game in 20 years.
OH Gerzhod, S Zukowski and L Dembiec were left out of the starting lineup from the two away games, which were disastrously defeated, and OH El Graoui, S Szczurek and L Biniec were used instead.
The use of this player proved effective in the first set, as Japan was able to fight on equal terms with Rzeszow until the end without any major breakdowns in serve reception, and in the end, after their opponent had taken a set point, Elgraoui's serve gave them three consecutive breaks to take the lead.
In this match, Japan was able to reverse the comebacks that Rzeszow had made in the first and second matches with consecutive breaks in the final stages, and it felt as if the entire stadium was filled with an atmosphere of "maybe we can do it today."
However, from the second set onwards, they were attacked by serves as usual and were completely destroyed...
Rzeszow maintained the pace throughout the match, easily taking three sets in a row and ending up losing the match.
Well, I guess it's typical of Nisa.
Five of Rzeszow's six starters had service aces, and all of them had at least two.
Zizga, who didn't have an ace, also got a lot of breaks.
As expected, Defalco on the outside was the strongest.
The other outside player, Chebui, and opposite player Muzai do not usually perform well throughout the entire game, but Defalco is extremely stable on both offense and defense.
Even when Rzeszów looked to be on the losing side in the second set and beyond, Defalco continued to score points and prevented the momentum from being handed over to Nysa.
We know that Nisa's serve reception is not good, so she should have tried to break down her opponents with her serves more than anything, but on this day she was unable to serve to any players other than El Graoui.
Both Ventala and Kfasovski had just one ace in the four sets, and Miyaura also had no aces.
However, Miyaura showed great performance as a spiker by scoring three points at the end of the fourth set, with a 100% attack success rate!
I particularly felt the power of his spikes in this match.
Not only is the spikes loud and clear, but they also bounce off the opposing blockers and receivers.
I guess my body didn't get bigger for no reason! (lol)
He's had very limited playing time this season, which I'm sure has caused him frustration at times, but it's great to see him perform so well when he does get the chance.
For whatever reason, I've been to more Nisa games in person this season than any other team, including Italy, and I've had so many opportunities to talk to Miyaura-kun that it feels like I'm supporting him as a friend, beyond just being a fan or a writer (laughs).
I learned firsthand what a charming person he is, not just as a player but also as a person.
I would like to continue supporting you in the future!!
Although Nisa ultimately failed to advance to the semi-finals, to club officials and fans it seemed like a great success just to have made it to the playoffs.
After all, it was their first time in 20 seasons to reach the quarterfinals, and it was a huge leap forward from last season when they were in last place and just barely managed to win the relegation match, so it's understandable that they are satisfied with the result.
Compared to the other clubs in the top eight, we didn't have as many players as we needed (especially defensively (lol)).
But this season isn't over yet.
There are two remaining home and away games to decide 7th to 8th place.
I will be there to watch the final game of the season, so I hope to see spiker Miyaura in action again!!!
Photo: PZPL, author
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