In the 9th round of the Italian Men's Volleyball League, Monza, the team that Takahashi Ai plays for, played against Padova on Sunday, December 17th (local time) and won 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21). Takahashi Ai was active with 12 points, tying for the team high.
First set starting lineup
Monza
OH: Takahashi (Japan), Lepke (Canada)
MB: Galassi (Italy), Di Martino (Italy)
OP: Schwartz (Canada)
S: Klering (Brazil)
L: Gaggini (Italy)
Padua
OH: Gardini (Italy), Cardenas (Cuba)
MB: Prak (Netherlands), Crossart (Italy)
OP: Garcia (Puerto Rico)
S: Falaschi (Italy)
L: Zenger (Germany)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, the game was close at 8-8. After that, Padova took the lead at 8-11 with consecutive spikes from OH Gardini, and then widened the gap to 10-14 with a service ace from OP Garcia. However, Monza turned the game around with an attack from OH Takahashi and a service ace from S Kreling to 16-15, and then further extended the gap to 20-16 with consecutive service aces from OH Takahashi. In the end, Monza won the set 25-21 with a block from MB Beretta (Italy), who entered the match as a substitute.
In the second set, Padova extended their lead to 2-6 from the beginning with consecutive service aces from OP Garcia. Monza took a side-out with spikes from OH Takahashi, but Padova maintained a lead of 10-15 with spikes from OH Gardini. However, Monza narrowed the gap to 14-16 with a service ace from S Kreling, and then OP Schwartz's block from OH Takahashi's serve led to four consecutive breaks and a successful comeback to 19-17. MB DiMartino's blocks and spikes continued to add points, and Monza took the set 25-21.
In the third set, Padova took the lead at 0-3 thanks to spikes and blocks from OH De Smet (Belgium), who entered the match as a substitute, and then OH Gardini followed with spikes to extend the lead to 5-9. However, Monza tied the score at 11-11 with spikes from OP Schwartz, and then Padova made a series of mistakes, leading to a 15-13 victory for Monza. In the final stages, Monza broke the score with spikes from MB Galassi and OP Schwartz, widening the gap to 23-19. Finally, OH Takahashi's pipe attack was successful, and Monza won the set 25-21.
As a result, Monza won against Padua 3-0.
MVP: S Fernando Kreling 5 points (2 serves, 1 block) Team attack efficiency rate 46.91%
OH Ai Takahashi: 12 points (2 on serve), attack effectiveness rate 45.00%
Monza now sits in provisional fourth place with a total record of 7 wins, 3 losses and 20 points.
The next match will be against Cisterna on Wednesday, December 27th at 2:00 am Japan time.
Italian League Website: https://www.legavolley.it/
Distribution (VBTV, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
Toshiki's Tweets
Monza was strong after all.
Padua had a big lead until halfway through each set, but Monza eventually made a comeback and took the set by a large margin, creating a loop-like situation.
Padova had great explosiveness, but made a series of mistakes in key situations from the middle of the race onwards. The biggest difference between them and Monza was their attack mistakes (Monza had one, Padova had eight).
Last season, Padova was somehow able to support the team thanks to Takahashi, who boasted outstanding stability among such average players, but this season Padova does not seem to have such a player, so it will be tough... Good luck, Guardini.
Monza's players, many of whom have a lot of experience, seemed to remain calm even when they were behind in the early stages. MVP Kreling (nicknamed Cachopa) was superb with his serve, blocking, and ball distribution that made it difficult to narrow down the target.
Although Takahashi had a moment where he was hit with two consecutive service aces, he played as usual. In particular, his break rate on serves was amazing. It must have been easy to target him because he knew him well as a former teammate.
After the match, there was a scene of Takahashi chatting with the Padua members, and it's really nice to see something like that.
By the way, Taniguchi did not play in this match, just like the previous Milan vs Padova match. With this, there was no Japanese showdown in the first half of the Italian league. What a shame...
Monza had already qualified for the Coppa Italia, but if they could get just one more point in the next match, they would be guaranteed a place at least in the 4th place in the first half of the season and would be able to play in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals at home! This is a huge advantage, so they can't afford to lose the next match!
Marr is finally making an comeback as a relief pitcher, so hopefully he will be in top form for the match against Cisterna after Christmas.
But before that, there's the Challenge Cup. The first leg was a full set, so we need to be careful in the next one...
Photo: legavolley.it
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