In the 7th round of the Italian Men's Volleyball League, Milan, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, played against Padova on Sunday, November 26th (local time) and won 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-19). Ishikawa Yuki started the game and scored two points.
Also, Wataru Taniguchi, Ishikawa's junior at Chuo University, was on the bench for their opponent, Padua, but the two players never took the court at the same time.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Kaziyski (Bulgaria), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Regels (Belgium)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Catania (Italy)
Padua
OH: Gardini (Italy), Cardenas (Cuba)
MB: Torocchio (Italy), Crosato (Italy)
OP: Garcia (Puerto Rico)
S: Falaschi (Italy)
L: Zenger (Germany)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
Milano took the lead 4-2 from the start of the first set with blocks and service aces from S. Porro. After that, Milano extended their lead to 12-6 with spikes and service aces from OH Kaziyski. Padova also made blocks from OH Gardini to make it 20-15, but Milano also made it 24-16 with service aces from MB Vitelli, who entered the match as a substitute, and reached set point at the end. In the end, Milano won the set 25-17 with a service error from Padova.
In the second set, Milan started with OH Melgarejo instead of OH Ishikawa. In the early stages, Padua took a 2-3 lead with spikes and service aces from OP Garcia, but Milan scored consecutive points with four blocks from MB Rosell to turn the game around to 13-8. From there, Padua again caught up with OP Garcia's spikes and blocks to 15-15, and OP Garcia then scored consecutive service aces to reach set point at 23-24. However, OH Melgarejo scored a spike to make it 24-24, and then OP Garcia made consecutive attacks and missed, and Milan took the set 26-24.
In the third set, Milano took the lead 5-2 from the beginning with a block from MB Piano and a service ace from S. Porro. Milano then extended their lead to 11-6 with consecutive service aces from OP Regelus. Milano continued to score points with spikes from OH Melgarejo and OP Regelus, and went into the final stages with a large lead of 21-13. Padova then scored four consecutive points with a spike and a service ace from OH Porro (younger brother of Milano's S. Porro), who entered the match as a substitute, to close the gap to 21-17. However, in the end, Milano won this set with a service ace from his older brother S. Porro, 25-19.
As a result, Milan won against Padua 3-0.
MVP: MB Agustin Rosell - 8 points (4 blocks), attack efficiency 66.671 TP3T
OH Ishikawa only played in the first and second sets, scoring two points with an attack effectiveness rate of 0%.
Milan now sits in provisional 7th place with a record of 3 wins, 4 losses and 10 points.
The next match will be against Monza, where Ai Takahashi plays, at 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 5th, Japan time.
Italian League Website: https://www.legavolley.it/
Distribution (VBTV, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
Toshiki's Tweets
Milan wins 3-0! It's their second consecutive win in the league, and their third consecutive win if you include the CEV Cup.
Although the second set was brought to deuce by Padua's OP Garcia, Milano was able to lead the match from start to finish with a relaxed game in the first and third sets. Milano was able to maintain a high attack success rate overall, and in addition, they were able to serve well except for the second set, so they did not give the initiative to Padua.
Although Ishikawa started, he was not included in the starting lineup from the second set onwards and played less in this match. It is true that his performance in the first set was not as good as his usual self, and he was probably tired from the consecutive matches, so I think this decision was reasonable. He is human after all.
However, I was a little excited to see a match between Chuo University's senior and junior player Wataru Taniguchi and Padua, so I was disappointed that my hopes for that were quickly dashed. Taniguchi had very few opportunities to play, and he didn't even take to the court once in this match, so it didn't really matter that Ishikawa was benched. I'd love to see that happen in the second half of the match at Padua's home, and if possible, I'd like to see it with Ishikawa serving.
Although the match between the senior and junior players from Chuo University did not materialize, the Porro brothers did face off in the third set. Milan's setter Paolo is the older brother, and Padua's outside hitter Luca is the younger brother. The older brother has a baby face and is shorter, so it looks like the two are the opposite (lol). Luca is still a young player at 19 years old and has just made his Superleg debut this season, but he is a talented player who won the MVP award at the 2020 U18 European Championship.
He showed his talent in this match as well, scoring consecutive points with powerful service aces and spikes even though the score was quite far behind. However, the set was closed by his older brother Paolo's service ace. He showed his big brother spirit (lol).
Paolo was aggressive in this match, including the final scene. He scored a total of five points, three on serve and two on attack, and one of those attacks was a powerful shot. He also had a good team attack success rate, so I thought Porro would be the MVP, but it was Rosell. Well, his blocking in the second set was brutal. And Melgarejo also won the MVP chosen by the fans... How sad...
Padua's defense seems to be in a bit of a mess without Takahashi. Libero Zenger looks like he's having a really hard time (lol). Personally, I think that Porro the younger, who is probably the best defensive player among Padua's outside hitters, should be used more, or even put in the starting lineup, but the coach, who quickly replaced Takahashi, probably doesn't like to use that type of player very much.
Well, next week will be the first Ishikawa-Takahashi showdown of the season. Last season, Ishikawa Milan won twice, but this season, Takahashi's Monza team is very strong, so we can expect an even better game than last season. However, for Milan, this is a game they want to win at all costs in order to continue to aim for the Coppa Italia. So what will happen?!
Photo: Powervolleymilano
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