In the 11th round of the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, 10th-placed Padova, the team Takahashi Ai plays for, played against 5th-placed Piacenza at home on Sunday, December 11th local time, and lost 1-3 (24-26, 17-25, 25-21, 20-25).
Takahashi started in this match and scored 9 points.
First set starting lineup
Padua
OH: Takahashi, De Smet (Belgium)
MB: Volpato (Italy), Crosato (Italy)
OP: Petkovic (Serbia)
S: Saitta (Italy)
L: Zenger (Germany)
Piacenza
OH: Lucarelli (Brazil), Real (Brazil)
MB: Alonso (Cuba), Caneschi (Italy)
OP: Romano (Italy)
S: Brisard (France)
L: Scanfera (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
Piacenza replaced MB Simon (Cuba), who was normally in the starting lineup, with MB Alonso due to injury.
In the first set, Padua got side outs with OH De Smet and OP Petkovic, and added breaks with blocks from MB Crossart and an ace from OH De Smet to take an 11-7 lead.
However, Piacenza gradually gained breaks with spikes from OH Real and serves from OP Romano, and in the final stages, a mistake from OP Petkovic led to a 17-18 lead.
At 22-22, Piacenza OH Real's serve was out, but went in after a challenge, and then later, at 23-23, Padua OH Guardini came in as relief server, but his serve went out at the last moment, so Padua was also out of luck in this set.
The game went to deuce, but in the end OH Takahashi's spike missed, and Piacenza took the set 24-26.
In the second set, Piacenza took the lead 3-6 with consecutive breaks thanks to a block from MB Alonso and an ace from MB Caneschi early on.
Padova got side outs with OH De Smet and MB Crosart and looked for a chance to break, but Piacenza's OH Leal and Lucarelli's spikes denied them, and Padova continued to struggle with Piacenza's serve, allowing Piacenza to extend their lead to 12-18.
Piacenza's momentum continued after that, and in the end, a serve error by MB Canella (Italy), who came on as a substitute, allowed Piacenza to take the set safely 17-25.
In the third set, Padua replaced MB Volpato with MB Canella.
In the early stages, the game was closely matched with both teams trading side-outs, but Padua took the lead with a two-point lead, 11-9, thanks to OH De Smet blocking the opponent's OH Real.
Padua continued to maintain a slight lead with side outs mainly from OH De Smet, and OH Real touched the net to extend the lead to 19-16.
In the final stages, OH Gardini, who came in as a relief server, hit an ace, putting Padua on set point, and finally, OH Takahashi's sharp pipe attack pierced the Piacenza court, and Padua took the set back, 25-21.
In the fourth set, Padua concentrated the ball on their three players on the sides, while Piacenza concentrated the ball on OP Romano, and both teams took side outs, with the score remaining tied at 9-9 as the game reached the middle of the match.
However, OH Real's serve then hit Padua Court, and with four consecutive breaks, Piacenza took the lead at 10-14.
Padua was hoping to somehow turn the game around from here, but OH Lucarelli also hit an ace, widening the gap to 13-19.
In the final stages, Padova showed some good plays, such as OH Takahashi's spike from a long rally and OP Petkovic's service ace, but they were not enough to stop the momentum of Piacenza's powerful attackers. In the end, OP Romano, who had been in good form in this set, spiked to make it 20-25, and Padova lost to Piacenza 1-3.
MVP: OH Yolandi Leal (18 points (1 serve, 1 block), attack success rate 501 TP 3 T)
Takahashi scored 9 points (including 1 block), with an attack success rate of 421 TP3T and a serve receive success rate of 501 TP3T.
Padua now has a record of 4 wins, 7 losses and 9 points, putting them in provisional 10th place.
The team's next match will be against second-placed Modena at home on Sunday, December 18th at 18:00 local time (2:00 the next day Japan time).
Here is the match report for the first half
Thoughts etc.
A frustrating defeat.
Piacenza was missing their monster MB Simon on the day, so we really wanted to take this opportunity to win, but they were still strong even without Simon.
I don't know what would have happened if we had won the first set, but the fact that our opponent's challenge at the end was successful and ours was unsuccessful made it seem like we just weren't lucky.
However, even though it was a loss, it was more exciting than the three straight losses prior to the Siena match, and I think it was a gainful loss.
In particular, the third set, in which they took the set, seemed to be Padua's way of fighting and winning.
He continued to take side outs while enduring the serve receive, and when he got a slight chance he broke and continued to take side outs again with stubborn determination.
As Fukuzawa, the Japanese commentator, said, Padua doesn't have many big servers and their blocking isn't particularly good, so they're clearly a team that wins by scoring points mainly through side outs.
I think the third set of the day proved once again that with this style we can take the set, even against a strong opponent.
That is why Padova needs to first and foremost think about the stability of their serve reception, but according to Fukuzawa, Padova's coach, Cuttini, still wants to place more emphasis on offense than on serve reception, which is why he will substitute Takahashi if their offense starts to stagnate, no matter how much he is contributing defensively.
I agree with Fukuzawa on this point. I think Coach Cuttini is the type of player who places more emphasis on attack and block than serve reception, and also wants to get the break in any rotation.
If you want to concentrate the stability of serve receive and the possibility of a break on a specific rotation, it would be absolutely best to place Takahashi Ai in the second position next to the setter, increasing the number of times he receives serves in the middle, and also having OP Petkovic move to the front when Takahashi has a good serve (I keep saying this (lol)).
However, I think that Coach Cuttini probably considers the increased rotations with Takahashi alone on the forward side, and the fact that he will be lined up with setter Saitta on the block, to be bigger disadvantages than the above.
But things haven't gone so well so far... (laughs).
In any case, Fukuzawa's commentary on this match was met with a storm of sympathy.
If you haven't seen the Japanese commentary on VBTV yet, I highly recommend you check it out.
To be honest, I didn't like Fukuzawa much when he was a player, especially in his later years, because his serve was poor, but I'm really glad that he became a commentator.
Thank you Fukuzawa-san!!!
Piacenza didn't have Simon, and Brizard's serve wasn't very solid, but Real and Lucarelli's Brazilian OH opposite corner was as good as expected.
Even if you take into account their weakness in reception, Real Madrid has more than enough power to get out from the sidelines.
As long as you don't concede any points directly on your serve, the fact that you can hit the ball from above and turn it into a point will be a real threat to your opponent.
The same could happen to Padua if Petkovic makes a big impact, but fundamentally they won't be able to beat strong opponents unless they provide careful serve reception that makes the most of setter Saitta's strengths.
Well, the second half of the league starts next week.
Our next opponent, Modena, won the first half of the match after a full set, but they have since improved their form and are currently in second place, so it's unclear what will happen.
Also, the enthusiasm of the audience at the venue, Pala Panini, is incredible.
But we'll win! Let's win and make a comeback and advance to the playoffs!
Ah, I'll be going there next week for an on-site investigation!!!
Photo: Lega Pallovolo Serie A
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