On Sunday, December 29th local time, Novara, the team Ishikawa Mayu plays for, will face Busto Arsizio in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
In the first set, Busto Arsizio took the lead 7-10 with attacks from OH Kuntzler. However, Novara scored points with attacks from OH Ishikawa and OP Torok, and successfully turned the game around to 18-17. The game continued to be close and went to deuce, but Novara scored consecutive points with attacks from MB Bonifacio and blocks from OP Torok to win the set 28-26.
In the second set, the opposing players scored points in the early stages and the score was 14-14 until the middle stage. However, Novara took the lead at 19-15 after Busto Arsizio made a series of mistakes, and in the final stages, Novara continued to score points with attacks from OP Trok, MB Aleksic, and consecutive blocks from OH Alsmeier, winning the set 25-18.
In the third set, the game was close again in the beginning, but Novara, who gained points with attacks from OH Alsmeyer, took a 12-8 lead in the middle of the set. After that, Novara continued to score points with a variety of attacks that did not allow them to focus on one target, and OH Ishikawa's block was also successful, giving them an 8-point lead of 20-12. From there, MB Howard's two consecutive aces narrowed the gap to 22-17, but MB Bonifacio closed the gap with a quick hit to make it 25-19, and Novara won 3-0.
This means Novara has reached the Coppa Italia final four for the first time in two seasons.
The MVP was Ishikawa Mayu. This was her second consecutive win, following the previous league match. She showed stable performance on both offense and defense with 12 points, the second highest on the team, and she was particularly outstanding at key moments. OP Torok, the top scorer, scored 21 points, so I think it would not have been surprising if she had been the MVP. However, the fact that she was selected as the MVP means that her contributions in areas that are difficult to measure in numbers were highly evaluated.
When I spoke to someone from the team previously, they said, "If Mayu is in good form, the team will win," so it seems that she has become such an important member of the team.

In the Italian league, most setters are over 180cm tall, and even players in the 190cm range are not uncommon, so Ishikawa is particularly short at 175cm. Nevertheless, he performed brilliantly in this match, making us forget the height difference.
Busto Arsizio had beaten Novara 3-0 in the league, and had also won against strong teams such as Scandicci, making them a dark horse this season. However, Novara's serve and defense prevented the opponent from scoring attacks from the second set onwards, and they were able to reduce the success rate of both OHs, which had been a problem in the league, which led to their victory.
The opponent in the Coppa Italia semi-finals will likely be Conegliano, currently in the top spot in the league and undefeated this season. It's the team that Nanami Seki plays for. It will be a tough battle for Novara, but I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of game it will be.
Novara - Busto Arsizio
3-0(28-26, 25-18, 25-19)
Novara
Starting lineup: MB Aleksic (5), S Bosio (2), OH Alsmaier (9), MB Bonifacio (6), OP Toroc (21), OH Ishikawa (12), L Felsino
Substitutes: S. Bartolucci, L. Denardi, O.P. Mims (1)
Busto Arsizio
Starting line-up: OH Piva (7), MB van Avermaet (7), S Boldini (), OH Kunzler (14), MB Sartori (6), OP Obossa (12), L Peroni
Substitutes: MB Howard (3), OP Frosini (1), S Scola
MVP: OH Mayu Ishikawa
12 points (including 1 block), attack efficiency rate 421 TP 3T

Detailed match stats here:
https://www.legavolleyfemminile.it/match-center/747281/statistiche/
Next Round
Italian League
Last 3 Sections
January 5th (Sun) 28:30~ vs Milan
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European CEV Cup
Round of 16 (Away)
January 9th (Thursday) 25:00 ~ vs. Güzey Bolgencilic (Türkiye)
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Coppa Italia
Semi-finals
Saturday, February 8th (match time TBA) vs. Conegliano vs. Vallefoglia
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Photo: legavolleyfemminile.it