Milan, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, played against Zawiercze (Poland) in the second leg of the Confederation of European Volleyball (CEV) Cup playoffs on Thursday, January 18th (local time) and lost 0-3 (22-25, 22-25, 23-25). Ishikawa Yuki started the game and scored the most points on the team with 7 points.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Kaziyski (Bulgaria), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Regels (Belgium)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Catania (Italy)
Xabierce
OH: Kforek (Poland), Klewno (France)
MB: Zniszow (Poland), Bieniek (Poland)
OP: Butorin (Poland)
S: Tavares (Portugal)
L: Perry (Australia)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, Milano broke Porro's serve with a block from OP Regels. However, Milano was unable to respond to Xabierce's serve from OH Kuforek, and with a service ace and a spike from OP Butrin, Milano broke five times in a row, taking a 2-7 lead. With a service ace from OP Butrin, Milano was 4-11, a 7-point difference from the beginning. From there, Milano got a side out with a spike from OH Ishikawa and a block from MB Rosell to make it 11-16, and then with blocks from MB Piano and S Porro, Milano broke four times in a row, making it 15-16, closing in on Milano by one point. Soon after, Xabierce again pulled away with a 15-19 lead with a service ace from OP Butrin, but Xabierce continued to make mistakes and Milano closed in on the lead by one point again, making it 18-19. However, Milano was unable to score another point after that, and in the end, Xabierce won the set with a block from OH Klewno, making it 22-25.
In the second set, OH Kuforek's blocks and spikes, combined with Milan's mistakes, put Xabierce in the lead at 2-6 from the beginning. In the middle of the set, Milan tied the score at 11-11 with MB Rosell's attacks and blocks, but OP Butrin's spike put Xabierce back in the lead at 11-13. After that, OH Kaziyski's serve, OH Ishikawa's spike and MB Piano's block allowed Milano to turn the game around at 16-15, but OH Klewno's service ace and others quickly put Xabierce back in the lead at 16-18. From there, the game was a battle for side outs, and Xabierce had a set point at 22-24, but in the end, OH Ishikawa committed a foul by touching the net while spiking, and Xabierce won the set at 22-25.
Since Xabierce had won the first leg against Milan 3-0, this meant that Xabierce had advanced to the quarterfinals and Milan had been eliminated from the playoffs.
The third set was a quick-win as almost all of the members were replaced on both sides, so I won't report on it here.
MVP: OH Bartosz Kuforek 17 points (2 serves, 1 block) Attack efficiency rate 47.82%
OH Ishikawa Yuki 7 points Attack efficiency rate 25.001 TP3T
CEV Cup Men:https://www.cev.eu/club/volleyball-cup/men/
The next Italian league match will be against Civitanova on Sunday, January 21st at 26:00 Japan time.
Toshiki's comment
I saw this match live.
First of all, ever since it was decided that Milan and Monza would participate in the CEV tournament, I had been determined to go to the match against a Polish club, so I am glad that I was able to make it happen this time.
Milan had lost the first leg in Poland 0-3, so this was a match they could not afford to lose, and the pressure was on them as the match would end if they lost two sets due to points.
Even in the midst of all this, he seemed relaxed and focused as always during the warm-up. However, compared to Xavier Checoat next to him, he still seemed a little less relaxed.
Another thing that caught my eye before the match was the large number of Zabierce supporters wearing yellow and green shirts filling one corner of the stadium. I've seen them at Polish match venues many times, and I was always overwhelmed by the strength of their support, but I never imagined that such a large number of them would come to Milan... The Milan supporters, who are small in number even in the Italian league, were no match for them (laughs).
First of all, the number of spectators was smaller than usual. Maybe it was because it was a weekday. It's games like these that we should be cheering for...
And so the match started. Pollo was on serve. From the first point, Regers' block was successful and it looked like things were going well, but soon after, Zabierce's Kuforek's serve allowed five consecutive breaks, giving them a huge lead of 2-7.
Kuforek was really amazing. What was especially impressive was his serve after breaking Kaziyski's receive on his first serve and getting a virtual service ace. Just like the first serve, he was facing Kaziyski, who was in the cross direction from Kuforek's perspective, and started his serve motion, so it looked like he would just go straight to Kaziyski, but instead, a powerful serve came to Ishikawa, who was in the opposite direction, and it was an ace. I think Ishikawa himself was surprised and reacted late.
The skill of hitting the ball in the opposite direction to the direction you are facing is often seen in spiking, but not so much in serving. This is what makes him a tricky player.
After Kuforek, Butrin, who was unbeatable in the first leg, got a service ace to make it 4-11. Milano was unable to respond to Xabierce's serves, just like in the first leg. When it was possible to rotate, they responded with four players, including the opposite Regels, but it didn't seem to go very well, with the gaps between the players being targeted.
In the middle of the game, Milan's block points, centered around the block leader Piano, overlapped and somehow managed to close the gap to 15-16, but they couldn't get the last point. Ishikawa was also trying really hard.
Again, it was Kforek who stood in the way in the final stages. He scored every spike and didn't allow Milano to break through. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, and his strength is that he can save up until the last moment and then use it later. He's also great at rebounding.
The first set went to Xabierce, 22-25.
Milano had no other choice. They wanted to get the flow from the start, but Xavierche gained momentum instead. Milano managed to connect and score with Ishikawa's one-handed receive, while Xavierche seemed to score easily. Klewno, who didn't perform well in the first set, also came on. Xavierche at 3-7.
In the midst of all this, Ishikawa pulled the block's hand to induce Kuforek to go out, and then a block from Rosell tied the score at 11-11, and then a block from Piano turned the game around to 16-15!!
"This could work!?!" was what the Milan fans in the venue, including myself, were probably thinking.
But the reality was not so sweet.
I thought this was no good in the rally after the score was 16-16. Milan's first reception was messed up, but no one tried to get the second one. If it was setter Porro, he would have run desperately to set it. But Zonta, who was a substitute, didn't do that. Zonta, that was the ball you should have touched.
Milano then lost the chance to attack and allowed Xabierce to break to make it 16-17, and then an ace from Klewno made it 16-18.
After that, we had to rely on our serves, but neither Ishikawa nor Regers could make serves. Rosell made serves but couldn't break through. At 22-23, Kaziyski's serve, our last hope, also didn't go in...
There was a chance to break through in the last rally, but Ishikawa touched the net during his spike and lost the point. Xavierche wins 22-25.
Xabierce advances to the quarterfinals.
Xavier Checoat rejoicing. Milano Court sinking.
Kaziyski sat on the bench and stared into the distance.
But the match continued cruelly. In the third set, which was a dead end, Milan replaced all of their members, leaving only Ishikawa, and Xabierce also replaced all of their members, leaving only Kuforek.
I couldn't help but root for Xabierce after watching what had turned into a practice match, and my wish came true as the match was decided in straight sets. I didn't have to waste any time feeling awkward.
However, seeing the expressions on the faces of the Milan players as they went to the bench after the third set, I felt truly sad.
After the match, Ishikawa took his time stretching, and after chatting with friends and acquaintances who had come to watch the match, we interviewed him (unfortunately we were not able to record it, so we apologize for not being able to post it here). He was more reserved than usual in his comments, but his facial expressions and voice seemed to reveal his frustration.
Afterwards, I had a brief chat with Rosell. When I asked him how he felt, he replied with a laugh, "It's the worst, you know," and "But that's sport."
Although we lost a chance to win a title, we still have the Coppa Italia and the league to come. First of all, I want to see the true value of the team in the upcoming Coppa Italia.
Photo: CEV, author
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