On Saturday, March 8th (local time), the first match of the Italian Superlegga playoff quarterfinals between Perugia and Modena took place. Perugia, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, defeated Modena 3-1 (23-25, 32-30, 25-22, 25-28) to win their first home game.
After the match, we spoke with Kamil Semeniuk, a Polish player who plays for Perugia.
T： Congratulations on your victory. How do you feel looking back on this match?
Semeniuk: It was a tough match, but I think that's normal. I was a bit stressed in the first set, but that's normal in playoffs. But the most important thing is that we won the match at the end. It doesn't matter how we played, whether it's 3-0 or 3-1, it's just about winning. Now we have a Champions League match against Monza in two days, and then the next weekend we have another match against Modena. So it's a bit of a hard schedule. We don't have many days to rest. But if you want to play in the Champions League and all the Italian League playoffs, you have to adapt to this schedule. I know this rhythm. When I was in Saksa (Poland), we played every Champions League match, so we had a match every three days, and it was really hard. It wasn't easy to keep my body healthy and strong. But whether you're a top player or not, you have to be able to adapt to this schedule.
T: Ishikawa said that his performance has improved since his last match, do you feel that way too?
Semeniuk: Well, I changed my weight training program a little bit with my physical coach. But it's not something that will change in a day, and it's not something that you can immediately feel like "I'm a new me!" It's a process, and it takes time. But I'm definitely feeling better. I don't feel much pain, and I don't have any major problems. I'm having some minor issues, but they're not enough to stop me from playing, and that's the most important thing. I think it's very important to find the best condition at this time of the playoffs.
T: By the way, how many ponchiki did you eat last Fat Thursday?
*In Poland, the Thursday before the last Lent of the Christian carnival is called "Fat Thursday," and on that day it is customary to eat a lot of paczki (Polish sweets, deep-fried doughnuts filled with jam). This year, that day fell on February 27th.
Semeniuk: Well, here's a funny story. On Fat Thursday, I had to go to the dentist and get a tooth pulled, so I couldn't celebrate that day. But the following Thursday, I did have a little celebration. My fiancé made me some donuts, and he made them as healthy as possible - low in fat and calories. I honestly can't remember how many I ate (laughs), but I enjoyed them.
Photo by author, legapallavolo
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