In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the Coppa Italia quarter-finals of the Italian men's volleyball tournament, held on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, between Milan, where Japanese national team player Ishikawa Yuki plays, and Piacenza.
I actually went to watch this match in person. Milan won 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 22-25, 22-20). I was on the edge of my seat watching the heated match unfold.
This made me want to re-watch the game in detail. Also, if I was going to analyze it anyway, I thought I might as well share it with my readers and give them some new insights, so I decided to write this article.
Starting Lineup
Milan
OH: Kaziyski (Bulgaria), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Regels (Belgium)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Catania (Italy)
Piacenza
OH: Retina (Italy), Lucarelli (Brazil)
MB: Simon (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
Milan played with a full roster. OH Ishikawa, who had been absent from the starting line-up in previous matches due to back pain, also returned to the starting line-up for this match. Meanwhile, Piacenza was missing one of their point getters, OH Real (Brazil), due to injury. Instead, Italian national team player OH Retine, who is quite small at 183cm but has good jumping ability and punching power, was selected as a starter.
Set 1
Starting lineup and rotation (starting from position 1)
Milan: OH Ishikawa, MB Rosell, OP Regels, OH Kaziyski, MB Piano, S Porro
Piacenza: MB Caneschi, OP Romano, OH Retina, MB Simon, S Brizard, OH Lucarelli
Commentary
The game started with Piacenza in the lead.
Piacenza placed the OH block position quite close to the center (about the position of the opposing setter) and was very cautious of Milan's OH and MB attacks. Therefore, Milan's S Porro concentrated the ball on OP Regels, where the opponent's block was thin, but not only was OP Regels unable to score, but he also lost many attacks (4 shots by 7-10, 0 points and 3 points lost).
Milano's serve target was Piacenza's OH Retina, but he was able to return the serve well, so they were unable to get a break except for Porro's no-touch ace on the sixth point. In addition, five of the seven points Milano won in the early stages were mistakes by Piacenza. The fact that they scored few points on their own was also likely a factor in their difficulty getting on a roll in the early stages.
However, the flow of the game changed dramatically from the 7-10 mark.
The catalyst for this was the serve from Milan's OH Ishikawa. In a previous interview about his serve, Ishikawa said that when he goes all out, he doesn't really care about the serve target, but it was probably a serve he hit in this way that broke OH Lucarelli and shut out OP Romano with three blocks.
In the second, OH Lucarelli was also broken down and OP Romano was able to get the spike out before the three-man block. In contrast to Piacenza, Milan's OH was firmly on the block against the opponent's OP, and the effect of this was finally beginning to show. And in the third, it was a no-touch ace just before the end line. In the fourth, OH Retina was broken down and brought about a rally, and OP Romano was shut out again with three men. Here, OP Romano was successfully driven off the court.
For the fifth serve, he served just on the sideline in zone 1 (back right), which was a service ace, taking advantage of L Scanfera's defensive position, who had been hitting in zone 5 (back left) up until that point, and thus Milano turned the game around with five consecutive breaks to make it 12-10. Unfortunately, the sixth serve was a mistake, but the ball was again going in the direction of zone 5, so it was clear that OH Ishikawa was trying to shake things up until the end.
After this, OH Kaziyski scored a shot from OH Ishikawa's serve reception, making the score 14-12.
At this time, the opponent's serve came to a position where OH Kaziyski could receive it by stretching his arms without moving his feet, but OH Ishikawa, who was in the back row next to him, deliberately fell down to return the ball. It may seem that OH Ishikawa really needed to go to such lengths to get it, but this allowed OH Kaziyski, who was in the front row, to make a good run-up, which ultimately led to a point.
And then, OH Ishikawa raised MB Simon's quick ball, and OH Kaziyski connected the ball underhand, and MB Piano hit it (15-12), and OH Ishikawa's B-quick from a cutback during a rally (18-13) and other big plays led to more breaks and a wider lead. The latter was an electrifying play that showed a glimpse of the sense and trust between OH Ishikawa, who made an instant decision to go for a B-quick, and S Porro, who raised it.
Even in the final stages, Milano broke serve in succession from S. Pollo, winning three consecutive breaks to make it 24-15.
The first serve was a short serve that landed in front of the forward OH Retine, which led to a C pass and also succeeded in shortening OH Retine's run-up distance, moving the rally in Milan's favor. This type of serve is particularly effective for small players like OH Retine, who need to secure a run-up distance in order to jump high.
Finally, OH Ishikawa scored a side out with a spike from the right, and Milan took the set 25-16.
Milano came out on top in the first set by attacking with their serves and containing their opponents' open plays mainly through blocking.
Set 2
Starting lineup and rotation (starting from position 1)
Milan: MB Piano, S Porro, OH Ishikawa, MB Rosell, OP Regels, OH Kaziyski
Piacenza: OH Lucarelli, MB Simon, OP Romano, OH Retina, MB Kaneschi, S Brizard
Commentary
In the early stages, Milan's serve and block worked perfectly, and he took a quick lead of 9-3.
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