On Sunday, February 16th local time, the 9th round of the second half of the Italian Superlegga, Perugia vs Milan, was held, and Perugia, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, defeated Milan, where Otsuka Tatsunori plays, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19).
In this match, Otsuka started in the starting lineup and Ishikawa started on the bench.
In the first set, Perugia took the lead 6-3 early on with OP Ventara's spikes and service aces, then widened the gap to 10-4 with blocks from S Gianelli. Milan narrowed the gap to 15-13 with blocks from MB Caneschi and spikes from OH Gardini, who came in as a substitute. However, Perugia did not allow them to close the gap, and in the end, OH Semeniuk blocked OP Regels to win the set 25-22.
OH Otsuka was active from the beginning of the second set. He scored three consecutive breaks with a back attack and two service aces, giving Milan a 4-0 lead. From there, Perugia caught up with 11-11 with spikes from OH Plotnicki and service aces from S Gianelli, and then reversed the score to 18-15. However, Milan reversed the score again at the end with spikes from OP Regels at 20-21, and finally Milan took the set back with a block from OP Barot, who entered the game as a substitute, and a spike from OH Otsuka.
In the early part of the third set, OP Regels, OH Otsuka, OH Gardini and others scored consecutive points, giving Milan a 4-10 lead. Perugia brought in OH Ishikawa, but Milan continued to widen the gap to 9-16 with blocks from S Zonta and others. However, Perugia made a comeback with five consecutive breaks from S Gianelli's serve, including an ace and a block from OP Ventara, to make it 15-16, and then OH Plotnicki scored three aces to make it 21-18. OH Ishikawa then scored a final service ace to give Perugia a set point at 24-20, but a final serve error from Milan made it 25-22, giving Perugia a major comeback and taking the set.
OH Ishikawa was on the court from the start of the fourth set. In the early stages, Milano took the lead 4-6 with OP Regels' blocks and service aces. However, Perugia caught up at 8-8 with a block from S Gianelli, and then MB Russo scored consecutive aces in the final stages to take a large lead of 20-16. OH Semeniuk returned to the court and scored a spike to win the set 25-19 and win the match 3-1.
Detailed match stats
https://www.legavolley.it/match/38319
First up was Otsuka from Milan, who made his first start in the Italian League. He scored 11 points (8 attacks, 2 serves, 1 block), and especially in the second set, he made the three consecutive breaks mentioned above in the early stages, giving his team momentum. I think the fact that he was able to make two consecutive aces, especially when he hadn't been able to make much of an impact with his serves up until this point, has given him confidence for the future.
However, his overall attack efficiency rate was low at 261 TP and 3 T, and he lost two points in serve reception in the fourth set, which was painful. Nevertheless, he played his role well as a starter in place of OH Luati, who was not feeling well.
Perugia's Ishikawa came off the bench and scored 5 points (3 attacks, 1 serve, 1 block). All of his points came in the third set, and he entered the court from a disadvantageous position and contributed to his team's dramatic comeback. In particular, his 18th block, which shut down former teammate OP Regels, was the turning point of the set. However, he was unable to score in the fourth set, and his overall attack efficiency rate was quite low at 141 TPs and 3 Ts.
The MVP was OH Plotnicki, who returned to the starting lineup after about a month since his injury. He scored 19 points (12 attacks, 6 serves, 1 block), and his serve was just amazing. I've mentioned before that Perugia's strength is their high number of service aces, but Plotnicki's performance in particular reminded us that Perugia's strength is their serve. His serve is really unstoppable when it works.
In fact, Plotnicki is currently in the lead in the number of service aces per set in the Superlegas with 0.79 aces. He is about 0.2 points behind the second-placed OP Bukegel (Modena) with 0.57 aces.
In the third set, Milan was leading by as many as seven points, and in volleyball, this difference is rarely overturned. The Milan players must have thought, "We can do it" at this point. However, in this match, Plotnicki's serve mercilessly destroyed such arrogance. After all, hitting with a serve is justice. The form is also too cool.
However, Milan also fought really well. As mentioned above, Otsuka was good, as was S. Zonta, who filled in for the unwell regular setter Porro. Also, OH Gardini, who came on in the middle of the first set, scored 17 points, second only to OP Regels. Although they lost, I think Gardini did such a good job that this match was his best game of the season.
Anyway, it was good that the Japan national team showdown that didn't happen in the first half was realized, but I'm really glad that Plotnicki was able to play the full game. I want him to continue to use his left arm to the fullest. Of course, he should be careful not to get injured.
Photo: legavolley.it
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