In the 12th round of the French Men's Volleyball League, Paris, where Miyaura Kento plays, played against Montpellier on Friday, December 15th (local time) and won 3-2 (25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 15-8). Miyaura Kento was the most active player on both teams with 27 points, and was selected as MVP for the second consecutive game.
First set starting lineup
Paris
OH: Kovacevic (Serbia), Panu (France)
MB: Marse (Germany), Wetter (USA)
OP: Miyaura (Japan)
S: Mottapaes (France)
L: Kapur (Serbia)
Montpellier
OH: Reichert (Germany), Marttila (Finland)
MB: Sediq (France), Lugoff (France)
OP: Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
S: Tiziou Arou (France)
L: Luis (Spain)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, Paris started off with a 4-0 lead thanks to consecutive points from MB Wetter's spikes. A block from MB Marcet and an ace from OH Panou put them ahead 8-2. Paris maintained a 15-11 lead until the middle of the match, when a block from MB Seddiq, a spike from OH Martilla and an ace from OH Reichert gave Montpellier six consecutive points to take the lead to 17-19. However, a spike from OH Panou put Paris back on top again, leading to 23-22, and a final block from S Mottapaes gave Paris the set 25-23.
In the second set, Montpellier led 2-5 early on with a spike from OH Martilla. However, a spike from OP Miyaura tied the score at 7-7, and then a block from MB Marcet and a mistake from Montpellier extended the lead to 13-10. After that, Paris continued to score with spikes and service aces from OP Miyaura, maintaining a 21-18 lead. From there, a spike from OP Gomez (Argentina), who entered the game as a substitute, brought the score to 21-20, just one point behind, but in the end, OP Miyaura scored two service aces to give Paris the set 25-20.
In the third set, Montpellier extended their lead from the beginning with 6-10 thanks to a spike from OP Gomez and a block from MB Seddiq. Paris scored spikes from OP Miyaura and OH Kovacevic to close the gap to 14-15, but then a spike and block from MB Seddiq allowed them to extend the lead to 16-20. OP Miyaura also had a service ace towards the end, but spikes from OP Gomez and OH Reichert gave Montpellier a 20-25 lead.
In the fourth set, Paris scored points from OP Miyaura and OH Panou, while Montpellier also scored points from OH Martilla and OH Reichert, and the match continued to be close until the middle of the set, with scores of 5-5, 10-10, and 15-15. However, Montpellier took a 17-20 lead with a service ace from MB Seddiq and a block from MB Lugoff. From there, Paris also tied the score at 21-21 with a service ace from MB Marcet, but then a mistake made the score 21-23 again, and at the end, OH Reichert's spike made it 23-25, and Montpellier took the set.
In the fifth set, Montpellier took a break at 0-1 with an ace from OH Martilla, but a block from OH Kovacevic quickly turned the game around to 3-2. Then, an attack from OP Miyaura extended the lead to 6-4, and then consecutive attacks and service aces from OP Miyaura resulted in four consecutive breaks for Paris to extend their lead to 13-7. Finally, OP Miyaura scored a spike to give Paris the set a 15-8 victory.
As a result, Paris Saint-Germain won 3-2 against Montpellier.
MVP: OP Miyaura Kento 27 points (5 serves), attack efficiency rate 44.73%
This puts Paris in provisional 10th place with a record of 5 wins, 7 losses and 13 points.
Their next match will be against Nice on Sunday, December 31st at 4:00am Japan time.
League website: https://www.lnv.fr/lam/statistiques
Distribution site (paid):https://www.lnvtv.com/
Toshiki's Tweets
We beat Montpellier, who came in 3rd place! Miyaken was also named MVP for the second consecutive year!
In this match, Miyaura and Panou, the two Parisian rooks and bishops, had the momentum from the beginning of the first set. I was nervous when they suddenly reversed the score in the final stage, but it was amazing that they didn't give up until the end and were able to make a comeback from there.
Because we experienced a big comeback in the fifth set against Presilobanson in the last match, I think the team as a whole has gained confidence in being able to turn things around even when they are at a disadvantage. A team that can do this is a strong team.
The outcome of the second set was also uncertain until the very end, but Miyaura's service ace at the crucial moment made it seem like the serve slump he had been in for a while was a lie.
It seemed like they would win in straight sets, but it wasn't going to be easy for them against the prestigious Montpellier, the hometown of Ryujin Nippon's coach Blanc. The club is not just famous for having players from strong countries in the starting lineup, such as the cute gap-toothed Lugoff from the French national team and the handsome Reichert from Germany, which is rare in the French league.
However, the one who really stood out in this match was 212cm tall middle blocker Seddiq. His blocks were particularly impressive, with eight kill blocks in just this match. Getting one block per set is considered top class, so you can see how amazing he is. He also had three service aces and six attacks (71% effective rate), making him a huge presence. And what's more, he's apparently only 17 years old (born in 2006)! That's amazing! (By the way, Montpellier's setter was also 17 years old (lol))
Thanks to his performance, Montpellier took the third and fourth sets. And with that momentum, Montpellier got a service ace at the start of the fifth set. Normally, this would be a dangerous situation. But once again, Miyaken awakened, just like last time!
The attack success rate in the fifth set was 71% with no mistakes. Almost every shot was a success. In the fifth set alone, he scored five spikes and even got a service ace! This serve was amazing. During the broadcast, a vertical replay was shown, and the ball was on a trajectory that looked like it would deviate toward the sideline and go out, but then it suddenly curved and went in! It was a brutal serve that reminded me of the "Boomerang Snake" from The Prince of Tennis. You can't catch that.
I made a great match point and won the fierce battle 3-2! It was nice to see my teammates congratulating me before the MVP announcement (laughs).
However, the team and players have really been performing well in the last two games since the manager changed. It's finally become fun to watch! I'm already looking forward to the next on-site coverage!
Photo: LNV
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