In the third match of the Italian Men's Volleyball League playoff final, Monza, the team Takahashi Ai plays for, faced Perugia on Sunday, April 28th (local time) and lost 1-3 (25-19, 23-25, 25-27, 20-25).
Takahashi Ai started in the game and scored 14 points.
As a result, Monza finished as runners-up in the league.
First set starting lineup
Monza
OH: Ma (Canada), Takahashi
MB: Galassi (Italy), Di Martino (Italy)
OP: Lepki (Canada)
S: Cachopa (Brazil)
L: Gazzini (Italy)
Perugia
OH: Semeniuk (Poland), Plotnicki (Ukraine)
MB: Flavio (Brazil), Russo (Italy)
OP: Bentara (Tunisia)
S: Giannelli (Italy)
L: Coraci (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
OH Ai Takahashi
14 points (serves 3)
Attack effectiveness rate: 34.48%
As a result, Monza ended up with a total of 1 win and 3 losses in the finals, with Perugia winning and Monza coming in runner-up.
Italian League Website: https://www.legavolley.it/
Distribution (VBTV, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
Toshiki's comment
I wasn't able to cover this match, but I was able to watch it live.
Following the second race, the Monza venue was packed to capacity.
The stadium was bathed in blue with supporters wearing the Monza uniforms that had been distributed to their seats.
Up until the third race at Monza, we had one win and two losses, so a loss here would mean missing out on the championship, so this was a race we could not afford to lose.
The first set was completely at Monza pace.
Their attacks were coming in well, with Mar in particular in top form with a 100% success rate of 5/5 in this set.
In his comments after the third race, he wrote that "Monza depends on Marr," so he was excited about the match, thinking that if Marr was in good form, they could win.
Our own Ran Takahashi also scored a service ace with a short serve in the first set.
Monza went on to take the first set, and continued to lead in the second set until the middle of the match.
However, thanks to the efforts of two Cubans from Perugia, Leon, who came on midway through the first set, and Herrera, who entered the court in the second set, Perugia managed to make a comeback in the final stages and took the second set.
Perugia continued in that vein in the third set as well.
Monza's three side attackers, including Marr, also scored good spikes, but they were pushed back by Perugia's serves from Giannelli and others in this set.
And with Perugia at 21-24, server Takahashi Ai put in the set point.
The venue is buzzing here.
First, the first serve bounced off the opponent's return for a service ace, 22-24!
Furthermore, Monza's Di Martino made a block on the second point, making the score 23-24!!
And on the third serve, Lepke made a block from Takahashi to make it 24-24!!!
Monza manages to tie the score at the last minute.
Takahashi Ai continued to serve well despite the immense pressure that any mistake would mean the end.
His competitive spirit and mental strength are immeasurable.
And as if in response, a series of blocks appear.
I was numb.
But that was the end of the counterattack.
After this, Perugia got a side out with two attacks from Giannelli and took the third set 25-27.In the fourth set, Perugia never let Monza take the lead from the beginning, and closed the set 20-25, securing the victory.
If Takahashi had been able to get one more break on his serve in the third set, the game might have been decided, but that's volleyball.
Still, I think we were able to give it our all at Monza that day.
They gave it their all, but Perugia surpassed them. That's all.
First of all, how many people could have predicted Monza's success so far when this season began?
It certainly wasn't that many. To be honest, I didn't expect it to be that bad.
Both the Coppa Italia final and this playoff final were deeply moving experiences, even though we lost in the end.
And Takahashi Ai's performance was also amazing.
He must have been putting everything into this playoff final, including the fact that he missed the Coppa Italia final due to injury.
Not only is he naturally strong defensively, but his fast pipe attacks and serves that mix speed and speed are already at the top level in the Italian league, and there is no doubt about that.
In addition, he has a great sense of stability. He has very little fluctuation in his play and has shown great performances in every match.
It's really scary that he's only 22 years old.
The same player who was in the Spring High School Volleyball final four years ago is now on the stage of the Italian League final.
This is the real Haikyuu, in fact it surpasses Haikyuu.
That's amazing.
It was a shame that I wasn't able to interview him in person at the final game of the season, but I'm sure he will continue to impress everyone with his brilliant performance at whatever club he plays for next.
But first of all, I hope that he will avoid injury and perform well at the Olympics.
Photo: Legavolleyball.it
English 
Japanese