In the 8th round of the second half of the Italian Men's Volleyball League, Milan, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, faced Monza, where Takahashi Ai plays, on Wednesday, February 14th local time, with Monza winning 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 25-16). Ishikawa Yuki started and scored 14 points, while Takahashi Ai came on as a substitute for the first time in 3 weeks since his injury.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Melgarejo (Cuba), Ishikawa
MB: Vitelli (Italy), Rosell (Argentina)
OP: Dirlic (Croatia)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Catania (Italy)
Monza
OH: Marr (Canada), Lepke (Canada)
MB: Galassi (Italy), Di Martino (Italy)
OP: Schwartz (Canada)
S: Cachopa (Brazil)
L: Gazzini (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, Monza took the lead 1-3 with a block from MB Galassi. Milan made it 4-3 with a spike from MB Rosell, but Monza quickly regained the lead at 6-9 with an ace from OP Schwartz and an attack from OH Lepke. Milan then tied the score at 12-12 with a service ace from S Pollo, but an attack error from OH Ishikawa put Monza ahead at 15-17, and a block from OP Schwartz and a service ace from OH Lepke widened the gap to 18-22. Finally, an attack from MB Galassi was successful, and Monza took the set 21-25.
In the second set, Monza took a break with an attack from OH Marr and took a 4-7 lead. After that, Milan tied the score at 13-13 with an attack from OH Ishikawa, but Monza took the lead at 18-21 with a service ace from MB Di Martino in the final stages. Milan caught up to 24-23 with a block from OH Melgarejo and MB Innozzetti, who came in as a substitute, but in the end, OH Ishikawa's attack was a mistake and Monza took the set 23-25.
In the third set, Milano took the lead 4-1 with spikes from OP Dirlic and OH Ishikawa, and then extended their lead to 9-5 with spikes from OH Ishikawa and OH Melgarejo. From there, Milano maintained a 20-15 lead with spikes from OP Dirlic and a series of serve errors from Monza. From there, Milano made more mistakes and Monza narrowed the gap slightly to 22-19, but in the end, Milano took the set 25-20 with an attack error from OH Lepki.
In the fourth set, Monza took a 3-6 lead with a spike from OP Schwartz and a service ace from OH Marr. Then, with a spike from MB DiMartino and three consecutive service aces from OH Lepke, Monza scored four consecutive breaks and widened the gap to 5-13. Monza continued to score with spikes from OP Schwartz and OH Lepke to further extend their lead to 11-22. Milan also narrowed the gap slightly to 14-22 with a spike from OH Melgarejo, but in the end, MB Galassi's spike was successful and Monza took the set 16-25.
As a result, Monza won against Milan 3-1.
MVP: S Fernando Kreling, no goals scored, team attack efficiency rate 39.621 TP3T
OH Yuki Ishikawa 14 points (including 1 block) Attack efficiency rate 21.871 TP3T
OH Takahashi Ai No points 100% success rate of serve reception
With this result, Milan's overall record is 9 wins, 10 losses, and 30 points, dropping one place to 7th place, while Monza's overall record is 10 wins, 9 losses, and 30 points, moving up one place to 6th place.
Milan's next match will be against Verona on Sunday, February 18th at 27:00 Japan time, and Monza will face Catania on Saturday, February 17th at 25:30 Japan time.
Italian League Website: https://www.legavolley.it/
Distribution (VBTV, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
Toshiki's comment
First of all, congratulations to Ran Takahashi on returning to the court!!!
I was surprised that he made such a quick return, just three weeks after the injury he sustained in the match just before the Coppa Italia semi-final, but it was good to see him looking healthy and healthy.
I omitted it in the match report, but in the first, third, and fourth sets, I took turns with Lepke to support the Monza floor. Of course, I was able to avoid the serve, so I only received one serve, but even that was already a job.
Although he didn't get a single toss, he was able to take the lead for the pipe attack. He was also spiking during the warm-up, so it's only a matter of time before he makes a full comeback, including playing in the forward line. Maybe next week's Challenge Cup match against Warsaw?
Monza was the better team in the match.
When the two teams played at Monza in the first leg, they were so bad that I commented, "There were almost no good points."
In comparison, this was a game that really showed Monza's strengths.
Monza's strength was their serve, with the team scoring a total of eight aces against Milan, including four from Lepke.
Their defense was also strong, and while Milan had 13 successful digs (spike receptions), Monza had 20. In particular, as I wrote in my article about the Coppa Italia semi-finals, Schwartz was the second most successful digger on the team after libero Gazzini, and I think that their strong defense was a factor.
All three Canadian brothers were strong at Monza. This means the Canadian team is definitely strong.
On the other hand, Milan was unable to attack with their serves.
Ishikawa also had no serve points that day. Although he scored 14 points, the most on the team, he lost 6 points on attack and 3 points on serve reception, which was a bit lackluster.
Milan suffered their second consecutive loss in a Japanese match, following their loss in the previous match against Padua. However, Kaziyski, who had been away due to injury, returned to the bench, so I think they will improve again once he makes a full recovery.
Despite being a midfielder, Rosell had some impressive numbers, including 13 points, 3 blocks, and an attacking efficiency rate of 751 TP3T, but his team lost, and his expression of disappointment was clear in his post-match interview with VBTV (although I couldn't understand what he was saying because it was in Italian).
There are three games left in the regular season. Both teams are likely to advance to the playoffs, but they will need to finish in 4th place or higher to secure home game advantage.
Milan have games remaining against Verona, Taranto and Perugia, while Monza have Catania, Padua and Cisterna.
Monza still has a good chance of making it, as only lower-ranked teams remain, but it looks a bit tough for Milan as things stand.
The next match against Verona will be particularly important, so please keep an eye on the games this weekend.
Photo: volleyball.it, vero volley
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