On Sunday, February 2nd local time, the 7th round of the second half of the Italian Superlegga took place, and Perugia, which Yuki Ishikawa plays for, played against Taranto. They won 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-22).
Perugia had lost their last three matches, but on this day they showed their true strength, scoring consecutive breaks with their signature aggressive serves.
In the first and second sets, Perugia attacked with serves, mainly from OH Semeniuk and OH Ishikawa, and then OP Ventara and others scored one after another with powerful and diverse attacks, taking consecutive breaks and overwhelming Taranto. In particular, OH Semeniuk, who was also selected as the MVP of this match, scored three service aces in the second set alone, bringing momentum to the team. OH Ishikawa also fascinated the team with his sharp serves and spikes, as well as two-back attacks.
At the start of the third set, OH Ishikawa scored an ace. After that, OP Gironi's spikes and other attacks gave Taranto the lead in the early stages, but in the middle stages, OH Ishikawa's spikes tied the score, and after that, with a 100% success rate in this set attack, OH Ishikawa scored spikes one after another, and S Gianelli and others also scored service aces, giving Perugia the lead.
In the final minutes, OH Plotnicki, who had been absent due to injury, returned for the first time in five games, playing not only in the backline but also in the frontline and showing off his spikes (although unfortunately it was blocked). In the end, Taranto touched the net to set the game, and Perugia won in straight sets 3-0.
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https://www.legavolley.it/match/38311
It was their first win in four matches, about two weeks after their European Champions League match against Ceske Budejovice (Czech Republic). There were only three days between their previous matches, following the Halkbank match, but perhaps because there was no travel, all of Perugia's members showed sharp movements. Compared to the previous matches, I think OP Ventara also jumped quite a bit.
Ishikawa Yuki also cramped up in the fourth set against Halkbank and had to go to the bench for a while, but on this day he played with such sharpness that he didn't seem to be worried. As mentioned above, he scored the most points on the team with 14, and in the third set he was 5/5 with a 100% attack success rate, and 80% for the whole game. And what's amazing is that he didn't lose any points on attack! This is Ishikawa Yuki.
He got an ace on the first serve of the third set, but from what I saw on the video, it looked like the toss went a little too far forward, so he thought "Oh no!" and somehow managed to get it rolling and hit it, which turned into an ace (laughs). What a great response (laughs).
Unfortunately, the MVP award went to OH Semeniuk, who had five service aces, but OH Ishikawa was undoubtedly an MVP-level performer. In this match, Ishikawa also achieved his 3,000th point in Italy. This is a record that only Ishikawa, who has played in Italy for a long time and with great intensity, could have achieved. Congratulations!
But OH Semeniuk's serve was really amazing. In the end, Perugia won by attacking with their strong serve, 9 in 3 sets, an average of 3 per set, but I think it was OH Semeniuk who started this. OH Semeniuk's service ace in the first set and the consecutive breaks afterwards gave the team momentum. And OH Ishikawa and others followed suit. This is the true strength of Perugia. Perugia's serve, why not just rename it the Serve Devils (lol).
I'm also happy to see OH Plotnicki back. I'm glad he returned earlier than expected. Now we can play with three outside hitters again.
Perugia was disappointed after being eliminated from the Coppa Italia semi-finals after going from undefeated champions. It will be exciting to see how long they can continue their winning streak from here on out after overcoming their difficulties.
Photo: legavolley.it
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