In the third round of the Italian Men's Volleyball League, Ishikawa Yuki's Milan team played against Cisterna on Saturday, November 4th (local time) and lost 0-3 (14-25, 15-25, 23-25).
Yuki Ishikawa started the game and scored the team's highest number of points with 13 points.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Kaziyski (Bulgaria), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Regels (Belgium)
S: Zonta (Italy)
L: Catania (Italy)
Cisterna
OH: Ramon (Spain), Bayram (Türkiye)
MB: Mazzone (Italy), Nedeljkovic (Serbia)
OP: Fall (France)
S: Saitta (Italy)
L: Piccinelli (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, Milano took the lead 2-0 with a service ace from OH Ishikawa, but MB Nedeljkovic's spikes and blocks helped Cisterna turn the game around to 3-6. Cisterna continued to score consecutive points with attacks, blocks, and service aces from OH Ramon, widening the gap to 8-18. Cisterna continued to maintain the lead. Finally, MB Mazzone's spike was successful, and Cisterna took the set 14-25.
In the second set, Milano took the lead 6-4 with OH Kaziyski's spikes, but Milano made a series of mistakes and Cisterna turned the game around to 7-10. OH Ramon's spikes and blocks widened the gap to 12-19. Milano also scored points with OH Ishikawa's spikes, but Cisterna's momentum was unstoppable, and in the end MB Nedeljkovic blocked Kaziyski to win the set 15-25.
In the third set, Milano, who had no other choice, challenged with Kaziski as the opposite hitter and Melgarejo as the outside hitter. In the early stages, they took the lead 3-1 with MB Rosell's service ace. From there, Cisterna turned the game around with 7-10 with OP Fall's spike, but Milano took the lead again with 14-13 with MB Piano's block from OH Melgarejo's serve. However, in the final stages, OH Peric (Serbia), who had been on the court since the second set, scored consecutive points with spikes and blocks, and Cisterna turned the game around again with 20-22, but in the end, OH Ishikawa was caught in a block and Cisterna won this set 23-25.
As a result, Milan lost to Cisterna 0-3.
MVP: OP Theo Fall (18 points (2 blocks), attack efficiency rate 38.71%)
Ishikawa Yuki: 13 points (1 serve, 1 block), attack efficiency rate 15.621 TP3T.
Our next match will be against Civitanova on Monday, November 13th at 2:00am Japan time.
League website: https://www.legavolley.it/
Distribution (VBTV, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
Toshiki's Tweets
It's tough for Milan, with three straight losses since the start of the season.
Among them, I would say that the setter Zonta was not able to make the most of Milan's attackers. The sets were generally low (especially for Kaziyski), and the sets to the left did not reach the antenna, so there were many scenes where he could only hit cross balls and they were blocked.
In the third set, Pollo, the regular setter, played only two rotations of backcourt players with two substitutions, but the quality of the set was completely different. It was a set that seemed easy for a light attacker to hit, and he actually set it twice and scored both times. I don't think there was a scene where Zonta's set had two consecutive side-outs with the first spike.
He was able to play in the back court and did jump sets, so I think Porro's return is just around the corner. I think we'll see a completely different Milano when he comes back to the court, so I'd like to see that soon. Porro, come back soon! (laughs)
I think these three games have been very intense and frustrating experiences for Zonta. I hope they can use this valuable experience to grow.
However, even with Zonta's set in mind, Milan's side attackers conceded many points. Ishikawa was blocked 5 times, and his attack effectiveness rate was in the 15% range, while Kaziyski's attack effectiveness rate was negative. Giving Cisterna a total of 12 block points throughout the match meant they could not win even if they had the ability to do so (Milan only had 2). Milan's serve receive success rate was actually better than Cisterna's, so it would have been good if they could have fixed this part.
Cisterna's attackers were able to play freely, including OP Fall, who won the MVP award. The attack success rate throughout the match was very high at 53%, and setter Saitta's excellent distribution shone through. Saitta played for Padova with Takahashi Ai last season, and I was reminded once again that he is a great setter.
Well, our next match is against another strong team, Civitanova, and we can't afford to lose now.
In order to participate in the Coppa Italia, a team must be ranked 8th or higher out of 12 teams after the first 11 games of the season. Therefore, simply calculating, if a team loses 4 or more games, it will be very difficult for them to participate in the Coppa Italia.
Having made it to the top four in the Coppa Italia for the past two seasons, they will naturally be aiming to reach the final or win the title this season. If they are unable to even participate, it will be a big problem.
Of course it will depend on Porro's return, but even if that isn't the case I hope they'll show some spirit!!!
Photo: legavolley.it
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