In the 11th round of the second half of the Italian Women's Volleyball League, Firenze, represented by Ishikawa Mayu, played against Chieri, represented by coach Hayashi Kento, on Saturday, March 9th (local time), and won 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19).
After the match, we spoke with Ishikawa and Coach Hayashi (Coach Kent).
-How do you feel looking back on today's game?
Ishikawa: Today's match was against a different team than we had expected, but I wanted to make sure we played our volleyball well. Our team had been losing games, so I think it was a big thing for us to win today.
Kent: The members of the Kieri team were different (from usual), but we were pushed back by the serve from the beginning, which was a big problem for us. I also think that one of the big reasons for our loss was that we had a hard time scoring from the outside. I think the difference in our reception and serve was especially evident.
- Mr. Ishikawa, what are your thoughts looking back on your own play?
Ishikawa: In the first set, I was blocked a lot, so I haven't been able to hit my good spikes in the game recently, but I think one of my issues is how to score points in such situations, so I'll continue to work on that. Also, the team's serving was good today, and I was able to hit some good serves myself, so I think that was good.
-Coach Kent, what did you think of Ishikawa's play?
Kent: As I said before, we were really beaten by Ishikawa's serve from the first set, especially in the serves in zone 6 and zone 1. We had to decide who would catch the curved serve, and the relationships between the players were broken, which was what made it difficult for us. Ishikawa was the one who gave us the most trouble. After that, we had a hard time controlling our attacks from the second set onwards, so Ishikawa was troubled by the fact that he was broken by his serve and then continued to attack.
- Mr. Ishikawa, what is your impression of Chieri?
Ishikawa: There are many players who are very good at attacking, including those who were not playing today, and I think one of Chieri's strengths is that he is good at winning rallies, so I personally would like to work on how to score points against teams with good defense like that.
-Although you are in different positions as a player and a coach, how do you inspire each other as both Japanese players active in the Italian Serie A?
Ishikawa: I started talking to Kent after coming to Italy, and although my team is still at the bottom, Chieri is a top team, so I feel that I have to work harder to be a part of that team. I'm also very happy that there are so few Japanese players here, so I feel very relieved and very happy to be able to meet him at games, even though we are very few in number.
Kent: I was also happy to be able to do this with so few Japanese players, and she was scoring a lot from the beginning and staying in the top ranks of the scorer rankings, so I could tell she was doing a great job. My role on the team is not that big yet, but I was really inspired by watching her do her best as the main player, and I was also very happy to meet Japanese players, so it's really stimulating for me to be able to fight together this season in this way.
-Please tell us your enthusiasm for the rest of the season.
Ishikawa: First of all, there are only two games left in the regular season, and one of my goals is to play as well as possible and win, but I also want to do my best in the Italian league until the very end so that I can share the experiences I had in my first Italian league match when I return to Japan.
Kent: I'm currently in 5th place in the regular season, and if I can finish in 5th place, I'll qualify for the European Cup next year, so that's what I want to aim for in the regular season. Then I want to fight hard for the playoffs. Also, the finals of the CEV Cup and the European Cup are coming up, so I want to learn from today's loss and fight hard so that I can win the title there. I'll take this experience and bring it to Japan. My biggest goal is to make Japanese volleyball stronger, and also to make the teams I'm involved with stronger, so I'll use this as a lesson for myself and do my best to be a good coach for everyone.
- Please cheer each other on for the rest of the season.
Kent: I think you'll be playing for the national team, so first of all you'll have to do your best in the league, but I think that's also a way for me to connect that to activities in Japan, and I think your biggest goal this year is to qualify for the Olympics, so I'm really looking forward to it. Do your best!
Ishikawa: Yes! Well... Good luck in the playoffs!
Kent: I'll do my best!
Photo: Courtesy of Coach Kent
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