On Monday, December 30th local time, Perugia, the team Ishikawa Yuki plays for, will face Modena in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
At the start of the first set, Modena took a 1-5 lead after OH Ishikawa was caught by MB Sanguinetti's block. From there, Perugia temporarily took the lead at 9-8 with an attack from OH Ishikawa and a block from MB Rosell, but Modena again extended their lead to 13-16 with a service ace from OH Gutierrez and an attack from OP Buketgel. However, Perugia took the lead again at 18-17 with an attack and a service ace from OH Ishikawa, and then continued to break the game, including an ace, from OH Plotnicki's serve. Finally, Perugia won the set 25-20 with an attack from OH Ishikawa.
At the start of the second set, OH Daviskiba scored two consecutive service aces off OH Ishikawa, putting Modena at 0-2. From there, Perugia's OP Ventara and others scored points, but in the middle of the set, MB Sanguinetti took two consecutive service aces off OH Ishikawa, putting Modena at 9-14. At this point, Perugia replaced OH Ishikawa with OH Semeniuk. From OH Semeniuk's serve, Modena made a series of attack mistakes, and Perugia tied the score at 14-14, and the game became a close one from there. OP Bukegel's service ace put Modena first on set point at 23-24, but Perugia turned the game around with a quick from MB Rosell to take the lead at 25-24. Finally, OP Ventara made a block and Perugia won the set at 27-25.
In the third set, Perugia took a 4-1 lead with three blocks from MB Sole and OH Plotnicki. They then broke the serve from S Gianelli and a quick from MB Rosell to extend their lead to 9-2. They continued to score with a variety of attacks from S Gianelli to maintain a 21-16 lead. From there, Modena scored with attacks from OH Rinaldi and blocks from OP Bukegel to close the gap to 23-22, but in the end, OP Plotnicki and MB Rosell scored consecutive attacks to give Perugia a 25-23 third set and a 3-0 victory.
Yuki Ishikawa struggled with his attacks at the start of the first set, but after that he scored 10 points with high success rates of attacks, blocks, and service aces without losing any points. However, as mentioned above, he struggled with serve reception in the second set, conceding four points in the second set alone and was forced to be replaced.
I think this was probably the first time this season that Ishikawa was substituted in the middle of a match as a starter and did not return to the court. Ishikawa's appearance on the bench was often shown on the broadcast, and it was very impressive to see his very dissatisfied and frustrated expression even when the team was winning. While he has been putting up very good numbers in attack this season, he has been struggling with serve reception. Until last season at Milan, he was given a defensive role due to team circumstances, so he rarely stood out in his serve reception, and I even got the impression that he was doing a better job than the libero.
However, he is the one who knows best and is the one who feels the most regret, so I'm sure he will overcome it somehow. There is no need to worry.
Perugia was trailing Modena except for the third set, but both teams kept their concentration until the end, and they ended up winning both sets by overtaking. Perugia has high individual ability, including on the bench, but they also have many big servers, and their biggest strength is that they can aim for consecutive breaks if they can serve well in any rotation.
For example, the big servers in the starting lineup for the Japanese national team are OH Ishikawa, OH Takahashi, and OP Nishida, but the current Perugia team has five big servers who can hit powerful jump serves, excluding MB Sore. If any of them can hit the ball, they can get consecutive breaks with a high probability, and that's why they can play calmly and maintain their concentration even when the opponent is behind. Because they are confident that they can turn the game around.
Of course, Perugia's strengths are not limited to this alone, but I think this is a big part of it.
Modena also played well, following on from their previous league match. It would not have been surprising if they had won the second set, or it could even be said that they had to win. However, especially in the second set, they made too many mistakes. They gave up a total of 14 points to Perugia, 5 points on attack and 9 points on serve. This means they can't win even when they have the potential. This is probably why they have not been able to win much despite their potential.
The Coppa Italia Final Four will be held in Bologna on the weekend of January 25th and 26th. Since league matches are played in their own arenas even if they advance to the final, the Coppa Italia is a rare opportunity to watch the matches in a large venue with a capacity of 10,000 people. I have watched the Coppa Italia Final Four live a total of three times, and the excitement, excitement, and festive atmosphere of the venue are completely different from league matches, so I strongly recommend that you go in person if you have the chance.
PERUGIA - MODENA
3-0(25-20, 27-25, 25-23)
Perugia
Starting lineup: S Gianelli (2), OH Plotnicki (11), MB Rosell (10), OP Ventara (11), OH Ishikawa (10), MB Sole (6), L Corati
Substitutes: OH Chanciota, OP Herrera, OH Semeniuk (2)
Modena
Starting line-up: OH Gutierrez (4), MB Matti (2), S Dececco (), OH Daviskiba (10), MB Sanguinetti (8), OP Buketgel (13), L Federici
Substitutes: OH Massari (2), MB Anzani (4), OP Ikbaili, OH Rinaldi (3).
MVP: OP Wasim Bentala
11 points (including 3 blocks), attack efficiency rate 58%
OH Ishikawa Yuki
10 points (1 serve, 1 block), attack effectiveness rate 46%
Detailed match stats here:
https://www.legavolley.it/match/38947
Next Round
Italian League
The last 4 sections
January 5th (Sun) 26:30~ vs Cisterna
Distribution: VBTV (https://subscribe.volleyballworld.com/volleyball-tv1), FOD
European Champions League
Group Match 5
January 16th (Thursday) 26:00 ~ vs. Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic)
Distribution: EurovolleyTV (https://www.eurovolley.tv/)
Coppa Italia
Semi-finals
January 25th (Sat) 28:15~ vs Verona
Distribution: VBTV (https://subscribe.volleyballworld.com/volleyball-tv1), FOD
# Ishikawa Yuki Number of Perugia players' uniforms (red for the Coppa Italia) in stock
— TOSHIKI (@toshikit71) December 25, 2024
S: 3
M: Sold out
L: 5
XL: 1
This will likely be the last time the red uniform will be available, so if you want one, hurry up.https://t.co/HK829ZnuA3 pic.twitter.com/NYzh79x6oX
Photo: legavolley.it
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