The Civitanova players exploded with joy at the moment of victory. While many of the players celebrated among themselves, OH Bottolo expressed his joy with his whole body in the direction of the team's cheering section. With captain and starting libero Barraso out of action due to injury, the team was in a desperate situation where a loss would mean the end, but they fought on even after Perugia had a match point once, and it was a victory for the team.
The MVP was OP Lagungia, but I wouldn't say he was particularly good. His 11 points (8 attacks, 1 serve, 2 blocks) and attack efficiency rate of 01 TP 3T were rather poor. However, the last 3 points of the 5th set were all his points, and I think that's why he was awarded the MVP.
Civitanova had no players, including OP Lagunzia, who performed consistently throughout the match, but each player complemented the other in each situation. This year's Civitanova is young. Most of the starting line-up was made up of players born around 2000, and now that L. Barrazo is gone, four of the seven starting line-up members were born in the 2000s.
This season, OH Bottro has been the driving force behind the team. After joining the team, he was a reserve for the first two seasons, but in his third season, he was finally selected as a starter and is playing a central role in the team. He continued to inspire the team with his passionate play, proactive communication, and joyful performances during the game.
On the other hand, Perugia's OP Ventara showed a spectacular performance with 18 points (11 attacks, 5 serves, 2 blocks), the most of both teams, and an attack efficiency rate of 501 TP 3 T, which would have been MVP if they had won. However, one of the reasons for the loss was that the attack efficiency rate of the three outside hitters, including OH Ishikawa, could not be stabilized.
OH Semeniuk made consecutive spike errors at the end of the third set, and OH Plotnicki allowed his opponent to make consecutive blocks at the end of the fifth set.
OH Ishikawa also struggled, losing 3 out of 4 attacks. In particular, the spike that went out at the beginning of the 4th set did not hit his hand well, and was a so-called "fuka" spike. Such mistakes are really uncharacteristic of him. He himself was shaking his head as he returned to the bench in the 4th set.
Since OH Ishikawa's playing opportunities have decreased since the playoffs began, it will be difficult for him to produce results as a substitute. However, if he cannot do that, his playing opportunities will only decrease, so I hope he can somehow overcome this. MB Rosell, his teammate from his time at Milan, commented after the game, "He's a great player, so I'm sure he'll get better and do well in the next game."
Come to think of it, there were many scenes in this game where Civitanova's OH Lepki would grab rebounds and create favorable situations for his team to score. When Ishikawa was in Milan, he would often grab rebounds and shout "Mr. Ishikawa!" from the screen, but now at Perugia, we don't see him in that teacher mode very often. His role and what he can do changes depending on the team, so it's hard to say, but personally, I'd like to see him be a technician again like he was back then.
However, the flow of the game really went back and forth in each set, making it impossible to predict what would happen next. It was a very close, nail-biting battle. There were also a ton of super plays that I can't write about here. The smallest of differences made the difference. Personally, I don't think it's fun for one team to end the Italian League playoffs with three consecutive wins, so it was a pleasant surprise that Civitanova showed their determination and won, even though it was a very close call. I think this is what a playoff should be like. I hope that the next game, Game 4, will be a fierce battle like this one. Game 4 will be held on Sunday, April 20th, at 22:10 Japan time.
Photo: legavolley.it, TOSHIKI
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