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.
After the match, we spoke with NISA's Miyaura Kento.
-How do you feel looking back on today's game?
Miyaura: The first set started well, with both of us playing side-outs, and we were a little behind in the middle, but after that we managed to get the flow with our serves, so I think we were able to play our own style of volleyball. Also, by changing the members, we were able to receive the ball stably in the first set, and I think the members were very fresh and played with momentum. As for the second, third, and fourth sets, well, the opponents were hitting some pretty good serves, like DeFalco (OH, USA). When we're winning, it's because of our serves, and I think our serves were not good in the second, third, and fourth sets.
-How was your individual performance?
Miyaura: Personally, I didn't make any mistakes with my serve, but I only got one break. It's difficult to say, but there was a moment where I could have gotten one, and DeFalco returned it with a floater, and I wasn't able to return the pass properly, so I think I need to work harder on other areas besides my serve in order to get a point.
-When you played as a spiker in the final fourth set, you scored three points in a short amount of time, and your attack success rate was 100%. I also think you performed very well as a spiker in the second game last week. How do you feel looking back on your play as a spiker in this playoff?
Miyaura: I didn't feel bad, and the feeling wasn't bad either, and I think I can have some confidence in myself because I was able to score against Rzeszow. However, (when I play as a spiker) there are many scenes where the score difference is large, so I would like to prepare more and grow more so that I can step in and score when the going gets tough.
--In the playoff quarterfinals, you ended up losing three games in a row to Rzeszów and only won one set, which was a tough result, but what do you think makes Rzeszów so strong?
Miyaura: Yes, Defalco is very stable and gets points at the key moments, and his serves are solid at the key moments, and on top of that, Muzaj (OP, Poland) and Cheby (OH, Slovenia) are very explosive, so it was a real problem when they got going. But Defalco's stability was amazing.
- Whether you win or lose this season, there are only two more matches left in the ranking match. Please say a few words about the final match.
Miyaura: Yes, we only have two games left, so we need to focus on our performance and bring out our strengths. That's all we need to do. We need to do our best and fight to our strengths.
-Speaking of the Japanese national team, your jersey number has changed.
Miyaura: That's right, what number was it? (laughs)
- What, you don't remember?!
Miyaura: I think it was 4 or 6...
It's -4.
Miyaura: It was 4, maybe 4 or 6. I knew it had changed.
-So you didn't choose it yourself.
Miyaura: Yes, I just did it on my own (laughs).
- Did Director Blanc do it on his own?
Miyaura: Yes.
--I see. I was wondering why you got fourth place...
Miyaura: It wasn't my decision (laughs).
-I understand (laughs).
Photo: Author
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