In the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Milan, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, played the third match of the playoff quarter-finals against Perugia away on Sunday, March 26th local time, and lost 1-3 (25-22, 30-28, 18-25, 20-25).
Ishikawa Yuki was in the starting lineup for this match as well, scoring the most points on the team with 17 points.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Melgarejo (Cuba), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Patry (France)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Pesaresi (Italy)
Perugia
OH: Leon (Poland), Plotnicki (Ukraine)
MB: Russo (Italy), Filavio (Brazil)
OP: Herrera (Cuba)
S: Giannelli (Italy)
L: Coraci (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
In the first set, MB Piano blocked OH Leon right from the start, and then MB Rosell also got a block point, putting Milan ahead 4-1.
From there, Milano further increased their lead to 13-8 thanks to a spike from OH Ishikawa, a piano block by MB, and a mistake by Perugia.
Perugia then closed the gap to just one point at 13-12 with a block from MB Russo and a service ace from OH Semeniuk (Poland), who came on as a substitute, but Milan also managed to prevent the comeback with a block from MB Piano and a service ace from S Pollo, making the score 21-18.
Finally, OH Plotnicki's spike missed and Milan took the set 25-22.
In the second set, Perugia left OP Lichlicki (Luxembourg/Italy) and OH Semeniuk (Poland), who had joined them midway through the first set, on the court.
Early on, Milan took a 6-4 lead with two attacks and a service ace from S. Pollo and a block from OH Melgarejo.
Milano continued to maintain a 16-12 lead with spikes and blocks from OH Ishikawa and a service ace from MB Rosell as the match progressed.
In the final stages, Milan made it 23-19 with a spike from MB Rosell after a good serve from OH Ishikawa, but OH Ishikawa's pipe attack was stopped by OP Lihilicki, and on the next serve Perugia brought in OH Leon as a relief server.
OH Leon then scored a service ace, followed by OP Lihilicki with a block, bringing Perugia to within one point at 23-22.
OP Herrera was then brought in as a relief server, and this time S. Giannelli made a block, putting Perugia at 24-24 and bringing the game to deuce.
Milan, centering around OH Ishikawa, made side outs and looked for opportunities to score consecutive points, but Perugia turned the game around with an ace from OH Semeniuk to take the lead 25-26, and finally OP Lihilicki smashed in a direct return from OH Plotnicki's serve to give Perugia a 28-30 victory.
In the third set, Perugia took a break early on with a spike from OH Plotnicki and a block from MB Russo to take a 6-8 lead.
Milan brought on OH Ebadipour (Iran) to replace OH Melgarejo, who was struggling offensively, but Perugia continued to score consecutive points thanks to Milan's mistakes and a service ace from OH Plotnicki, extending their lead to 10-16.
From here, MB Rosell's quick plays allowed them to get side outs well, but they made many serve errors and were unable to get on a roll, preventing them from closing the gap in the points.
Finally, OP Lihilicki scored a spike to give Perugia the set, 18-25.
In the fourth set, Perugia took the lead early on at 4-8 thanks to a spike from OP Lihilicki and consecutive blocks from MB Flavio.
Milan started scoring points mainly through OH Ishikawa, but in the middle of the game OH Ishikawa was blocked by S Giannelli, and then OH Plotnicki also got a block point, allowing Perugia to widen the gap to 10-17.
After that, OH Ishikawa's good serve led to OH Ebadipoul scoring consecutive points with a block and a spike to make the score 19-15, but they were unable to close the gap any further.
In the end, OH Semeniuk blocked OP Patry's spike to make the score 20-25, and Perugia took the set.
As a result, Milan lost 1-3 to Perugia.
MVP: Olek Plotnicki (18 points (2 serves, 2 blocks), 47% attack success rate, 57% serve reception success rate)
Ishikawa Yuki led the team with 17 points (including 2 blocks), with an attack success rate of 43% and a serve receive success rate of 56%.
This makes the score 2-1 in favor of Perugia, putting them in a strong position to advance to the semi-finals.
The next match, the fourth playoff quarter-final, will be held at home in Milan on Sunday, April 2nd at 18:00 local time (1:00 am Japan time).
Thoughts on the match etc.
First of all, it was funny to see the players helping each other clean up the paper tape that was thrown out before the game started (laughs).
Milan dominated the match until the end of the second set.
Of course, a big factor was that Perugia's side attackers made a lot of mistakes, which reduced their success rate, but what was also good was that Milan did not get carried away and instead stuck to doing what they had to do.
First of all, the blocking was excellent, including by Captain Piano, who scored three block points in the first set alone, and the floor defense was also very organized.
He was also able to withstand Plotnicki's serves, which had been a struggle for him up until that point, and I think it was very important that Melgarejo, who is not particularly good at receiving serves, was able to withstand the other serves without conceding any points.
It really felt like they were carrying the momentum from their win in the second game, and until the end of the second set, it even seemed like they might win in straight sets.
However, Perugia's story doesn't end like this.
Late in the second set, with Milan leading by three points at 23-20, Leon, who was brought in as a relief server, hit an ace, and then Herrera, who was brought in as a relief server, also scored a break to tie the score at 24-24.At deuce, Milan was defeated by serves from Semeniuk and then Plotnicki, and they were defeated in a reversal and took the set.
From there, the game ended in a nearly one-sided affair with Perugia showing their usual form.
Perugia was Perugia after all.
This match made us realize once again the individual power that Perugia's players possess.
It was cheating to be able to use Leon as a relief server in that situation (lol), but Leon is truly a monster to be able to deliver an ace at that crucial moment.
Moreover, even though he was in the starting lineup in the first set, he was substituted due to poor performance.
I can only be impressed that he was able to perform like that after coming on as a relief server after that.
As expected of Leon.
However, while Perugia is able to win even if they eliminate Leon or Herrera with replacement players, Milan does not have any player who can replace Patri.
Milan's backup opposite, Lawrence, seems to be about two levels below in ability, so he cannot be replaced even if they wanted to.
In the third and fourth sets, Melgarejo couldn't score, and Patri couldn't score either, so they had no choice but to pass the ball to Ishikawa, and things started to get tough.
If Patri had been able to function properly in those situations, Milan would have still had a chance to counterattack.
As I have said many times before, the key to Milan is Patri.
The other players are able to demonstrate their true potential.
You're the only one left, Patrie.
In the fourth match in Milan, we are expecting an explosive victory for Patri and for him to be named MVP!
There may be some pressure from Professor Ishikawa (lol), but do your best, Patrie!!!
Photo: Lega Pallavolo SerieA
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