On Tuesday, December 3rd (local time), Milan, where Otsuka Tatsunori plays, will face Zawiercie (Poland) in the third group match of the European Champions League.
In the first set, Milan took the lead 25-17 with OP Regels scoring points against Xabierche's noticeable mistakes. However, from the second set, Xabierche brought in Butorin, who is the original starting OP. Xabierche scored points mainly through attacks from Butorin and OH Russell, winning the next two sets 20-25 and 24-26 to put them in a position to reverse the lead.
Milan then won the fourth set with a total of five service aces from OP Regels and OH Ruati, leading to a score of 25-19, and took the fourth set to a full set. The fifth set started with a back-and-forth battle, but Milan gave up a two-point lead to Xabierce at 7-9 after a touch net error, and Xabierce was unable to regain the break and won the set 12-15.
Otsuka came on as a substitute in the first, second and fourth sets. He was active in the first and second sets, attacking and serving, and also showed some performance on the defensive side. As starter OH Kaziyski was not performing well on both offense and defense, it seemed like he would be able to start from the third set onwards, but it was Gardini who was brought in instead of Otsuka.
In this match, the outside hitters were struggling to score, so I think the tall Gardini was brought in with the expectation that he would contribute offensively. However, in the end, he also had an attack effectiveness rate of 21.421 TP3T and an attack score of 5 points in the 3 sets, which was by no means good.
Otsuka is often used as a substitute in the back line, so he is likely to be evaluated on the defensive side, so the next issue is how he can appeal on the offensive side. It seems that his abdominal muscle has not yet fully recovered, but this team's situation is a great opportunity for him, so I hope he can somehow seize it and win a place in the starting lineup.
Milano currently relies on its opposite player, Regels, for a large portion of its points. In this match, of the 68 points Milano scored on its own, excluding the opponent's mistakes, Regels scored about half, or 33 points. Regels also batted 40% of the tosses. He has certainly been amazing this year, and in this match he had a high attack effectiveness rate of 48.781 TP3T. However, having to rely on one player for points like this is not healthy for the team. Especially in the long Italian club season, where players travel long distances and play two games a week, the risk of injury is even higher. In that sense, I hope that Otsuka will become another poster boy for Milano.
Although he still seems to have some difficulties with language, he communicates well with his teammates using facial expressions and gestures. Watching him, I really feel his high level of communication skills. He really speaks to his teammates, both on and off the court. After the game that day, he went around calling out to each of his teammates as they stretched. This kind of player is the kind of player you really want to cheer for.
On the other hand, Xavierche should have won 3-0, 3-1 if they had played at their full potential. They underestimated the team by not starting Butorin and instead putting Ensin, who is normally a reserve, in the starting lineup. Ensin is still not up to the task as an opposite at this level. Also, regardless of the players they used, Xavierche made many mistakes that day and seemed to lack vitality. A disappointing point.
Milan-Xabierce
2-3(25-17, 20-25, 24-26, 25-19, 12-15)
Milan
Starting lineup: MB Kaneschi (7), S Pollo (3), OH Ruati (13), MB Schnitzer (3), OP Regels (33), OH Kaziyski (-), L Staforini
Substitutes: MB Laritza, S Zonta, OP Ballot (1), OH Gardini (7), OH Otsuka (1)
Xabierce
Starting lineup: OH Kforek (13), MB Biekek (10), OP Ensin (2), OH Russell (19), MB Gradir (6), S Tavares (1), L Perry
Substitutes: S Nowosielski, MB Markiewicz (2), OP Butrin (11), OH Laba (1).
MVP: OH Aaron Russell
19 points (1 serve, 2 blocks), attack efficiency rate 35.481 TP 3T
OH Tatsunobu Otsuka
Substitute appearance: 1 goal, attacking effectiveness rate: 0%
Detailed match stats here:
https://www-old.cev.eu/Competition-Area/MatchStatistics.aspx?ID=76379
Next Round
Italian Superlegga First Half Round 11
December 8th (Sun) 27:00~ vs Modena
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