On Saturday, May 3rd (local time), the second match of the Italian Superlegga Playoffs third place deciding match between Perugia (Ishikawa Yuki) and Piacenza was held, with Perugia winning 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 20-18).
Perugia struggled against Piacenza's powerful serves and spikes, losing the first two sets, but thanks to the efforts of OH Ishikawa, who scored a total of 17 block points and 18 points as a substitute, the team's highest score, and was selected as MVP, Perugia won the close match. As a result, Perugia secured third place and qualified for next season's European Champions League.
Yuki Ishikawa started on the bench, just like in the previous match.
In the first set, MB Simon's blocks and spikes gave Piacenza a 0-4 lead. From there, Perugia scored points with OH Semeniuk's spikes and blocks to catch up at 12-12, and then OH Plotnicki's spikes and blocks put Perugia in front at 18-15. However, MB Galassi, OH Marr, and MB Simon's blocks put Piacenza in front again at 19-21, and finally OH Marr's spike was successful to take the set 21-25.
The second set was a close match from the beginning. At 9-9, Perugia replaced OH Putronicki, who had come forward, with OH Ishikawa. After that, Perugia scored with spikes and blocks from MB Rosell, while Piacenza scored with spikes from OH Andringa, leading to a score of 14-14. However, Perugia took the lead with a block from MB Sole, and continued to score with OH Ishikawa and OP Ventara to maintain their lead. Finally, an attack error by Piacenza made it 25-21, and Perugia took the set.
In the third set, OH Ishikawa played from the start. First, Piacenza took the lead 0-2 with a block from MB Simon, but Perugia caught up with 7-7 with a service ace from OH Semeniuk. The match continued at 14-14, but then MB (originally OP) Bovolenta and S Brizard's service aces gave Piacenza a 15-19 lead. After that, Perugia scored points mainly from OH Ishikawa, but Piacenza continued to score points mainly from OH Marr to maintain their lead, and finally MB Bovolenta scored another service ace to give Piacenza a 21-25 win.
In the fourth set, Perugia took an 8-5 lead early on with service aces from OP Ventara, OH Semeniuk, and S Gianelli. OH Semeniuk, MB Rosell, MB Sole, and S Gianelli then scored blocks one after another, widening the gap to 18-10. Piacenza scored points from OP Romano and others, but Perugia maintained their lead by taking side outs mainly from OH Ishikawa and OP Ventara, and finally Perugia took a full set with a spike from OP Ventara making it 25-17.
In the fifth set, OH Ishikawa scored one after another with blocks and spikes, giving Perugia a 6-3 lead. From there, Piacenza caught up with MB Guey's spike at 9-9, and then OH Marr's service ace turned the game around at 12-14 and gave them a match point. However, OP Romano's attack error sent the game into deuce at 14-14. After that, Piacenza had four match points, but they couldn't get the one point they needed, and instead S Gianelli blocked OH Marr to give them a match point at 19-18. Finally, OH Semeniuk scored a service ace to win the set 20-18 and Perugia won 3-2.
Here are the stats from the match.
https://www.legavolley.it/match/38992
The MVP was OH Ishikawa Yuki. He entered the game in the second set and led his team to victory with a fantastic performance in the last game of the Italian League, scoring the most points on the team with 18 points (17 attacks, 1 block), an attacking efficiency rate of 481 TP3T, and a strong spike that scored one after another while the other side attackers struggled to attack. In particular, he scored 6 points by himself in the 5th set, making a major contribution to the victory.
He had been going through a tough time in the playoffs, with little playing time and no results even when he played long periods, but his strong and aggressive play seemed to wipe away all that pain. I'm really glad we got to see such a great performance at the very end of the league. In an interview after the match, he commented, "My role this season was to come on as a substitute and change the flow of the game, and I'm glad I was able to play so well in such an important game," and he fulfilled his role.
Incidentally, last season he also won MVP in the final match for third place at Milan.
Perugia was not in good form after the first match. There were a lot of ups and downs in the match, and they made some mistakes that you don't normally see. They didn't seem to have recovered 100% from their defeat in the semi-finals. However, they fought to the end, despite the opponent having many match points, starting with a total of 17 block points that symbolize their nickname "Block Devils" and their serve, which was the team's best weapon this season. With this, I think they can finally face the European Champions League Final 4 in two weeks as the usual Perugia.
Piacenza, who lost, really cried because of the injuries. As in the first game, in the match, Bovolenta, who is normally the opposite, played as a middle blocker, MB Galassi returned but was unable to play after the fourth set, OH Mandilaci also went to the bench due to physical discomfort in the middle of the first set, and MB Simon injured his leg at deuce in the fifth set. Even in such a bad state, I was very impressed with the mentality of OH Marr, who pushed Perugia to the brink.
Although Piacenza lost, they qualified to play in the CEV Cup next season, returning to the European stage for the first time in two seasons. S. Brizard, who served as captain for the past four seasons, has publicly declared that he will be going to Japan, and there are rumors about other players, so the team will change significantly next season. Meanwhile, there is a possibility that Yuki Ishikawa, who signed a two-year contract with Perugia, and Piacenza's Ma will be traded next season. We will have to wait for further news on this.
In any case, Perugia now only has the Champions League remaining this season, where they will need to improve further in the next two weeks and aim to become European champions, the only title in the club's history that they have yet to win.
We are now accepting pre-orders for new Perugia goods! Shipment is scheduled for mid-May onwards!# Toshiki's Valley Shop # Ishikawa Yuki # Perugia # Volleyball # Toshiki's Valelog
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Photo: legavolley.it, Sir safety Perugia
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