In the 6th round of the Italian Men's Volleyball League, Milan, which Ishikawa Yuki plays for, played against Catania on Sunday, November 19th (local time) and won 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21). Ishikawa Yuki, who started the game, scored 17 points, tying for the team's highest number of points, and was also selected as MVP.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Kaziyski (Bulgaria), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Regels (Belgium)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Catania (Italy)
Catania
OH: Basic (France), Randazzo (Italy)
MB: Tondo (Italy), Masurovic (Serbia)
OP: Bucchegger (Germany)
S: Orduna (Argentina)
L: Cavaccini (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, Catania took the lead 4-7 with OP Bucchegger's blocks and service aces. Catania continued to score with MB Tondo's service aces and OP Bucchegger's spikes, widening their lead to 9-15. Milano scored with MB Piano's blocks and OP Regels' attacks, but OP Bucchegger's spikes at the end gave Catania the set 20-25.
In the second set, Milan started with OH Melgarejo (Cuba) instead of OH Kaziyski. Milan took the lead 7-4 from the beginning with spikes from OH Ishikawa and OH Melgarejo. After that, Catania tied the score at 11-11 with a service ace from MB Tondo and a spike from OP Bucegger, but Milan again extended their lead to 19-15 with a block from OH Ishikawa and a spike from OH Melgarejo. Catania scored consecutive points in the final stages, closing the gap to 2 points at 24-22, but in the end, OH Ishikawa scored a spike to give Milan the set 25-22.
In the third set, Milano took the lead 8-5 with OP Regels' spikes and other points. Catania caught up with 11-11 with OH Randazzo's spikes, but Milano's mistake led to a break and the score was 13-11, and from there, both teams traded side-outs. This trend continued until the end, and Milano reached the first set point with MB Rosell's spike, and finally Milano took the set with a block point from MB Rosell at 25-22.
In the fourth set, Milano took a 5-3 lead with spikes from OH Melgarejo and OP Regels. From there, the match continued with a battle for side-outs, with the score remaining unchanged at 14-13. However, Milano scored consecutive points with spikes from OH Ishikawa and others, widening their lead to 18-13. Catania then closed the gap to 20-18 with a spike from OP Bucegger, but in the end, MB Rosell scored a spike to give Milano a 25-21 victory in this set as well.
Milan won the match against Catania 3-1.
MVP: OH Ishikawa Yuki 17 points (including 1 block), attack efficiency rate 38.241 TP3T
Milan now sits in provisional 10th place with a record of 2 wins, 4 losses and 7 points.
Their next match will be against Padova, ranked 7th, on Monday, November 27th at 2:00am Japan time.
Italian League Website: https://www.legavolley.it/
Distribution (VBTV, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
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Toshiki's Tweets
Although he is late to Takahashi and Miyanoura, Ishikawa has finally won the MVP award!
However, Ishikawa did not have a particularly flashy performance in this match, but he supported his team with his dedicated play. I was amazed by his roll shot that landed in the back of the court where there was no receiver. I was also moved by his perfect fake set to Melgarejo in the third set and his desperate pass to Melgarejo at the beginning of the fourth set.
Personally, I thought the best play was the pipe attack that scored the 14th point of the second set. What was amazing was that he received the opponent's spike right behind the attack line during a rally, then dropped back to score the point. Just receiving the ball and spiking during a rally is a difficult play, but a back attack requires an even greater run-up, so it's not uncommon for average players to give up on a back attack once they receive the ball. However, Ishikawa-sensei was able to calmly pull off this kind of play and score. He's amazing. And the trust he has with Porro, who was able to win the set even in this situation, is impressive.
Milan made the bold decision to replace Kaziyski with Melgarejo early in the second set, and it worked perfectly. While Kaziyski struggled to make attacks, Melgarejo spiked the ball like crazy, bringing the momentum to Milan. He had explosive power, as expected. When he gets on a roll, the team gains momentum. He struggled more than Kaziyski in serve reception, but made up for it with other plays. Compared to Kaziyski, Melgarejo seems to fit in better with the team and create a better rhythm, as they played together last season.
Libero Catania's play was also fantastic. He especially saved the team from troubles with his digs. He had the most digs of both teams, 11. Catania is from Catania, so maybe there was some local bias (lol), but he supported Milan's style of connecting from the defense and scoring on the counter.
By the way, the two players opposite them on Catania's OH team, Basic and Randazzo, were former teammates of Ishikawa (Basic played together at Milan and Randazzo at Padova), so I watched the game thinking that in this ninth season in the Italian league, things like this happen.
Next week they will face their former club Padova. Of course they have to win to qualify for the Coppa Italia. But before that they also have a CEV Cup match! From here on out they will play two games a week, so let's cheer them on despite the time difference!
Photo: Powervolleymilano
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