The semi-finals of the European Champions League were held on Friday, May 16th, and Perugia (Italy), where Ishikawa Yuki plays, defeated Halkbank Ankara (Turkey) 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-22) to advance to the finals. Ishikawa was a starter and contributed to the victory by scoring 20 points, the most for both teams. The final will start at 27:05 on Sunday, May 18th, Japan time.
Match Report
Starting lineup (from P1)
Perugia: OP Ventara, OH Ishikawa, MB Rosell, S Gianelli, OH Plotnicki, MB Sole, L Corati
Halkbank: S Maa, OH Kooi, MB Matic, OP Shotla, OH Real, MB Tayaz, L Dune
First set: Ishikawa's pipe attack exploded, and Perugia's blocking was also impressive.
In the early stages, OH Ishikawa struggled to receive serves, and OH Real's spikes gave Hulkbank a 1-5 lead. However, in the middle stages, OH Ishikawa's service ace and a pipe attack were successful, and Perugia turned the game around to 14-13. After that, both teams took breaks and the game progressed to 22-22. OH Ishikawa continued to score with pipe attacks to make it 24-23, and finally OP Ventara's block was successful, and Perugia won the set 25-23.
Second set: Ishikawa continues to be in great form as Perugia wins the points battle
Perugia took the lead 7-4 with a block from MB Rosell, but then Perugia made a series of mistakes and Halkbank tied the score at 10-10. From then on, both teams broke the score and repeatedly caught up. Meanwhile, Perugia scored points mainly from OH Ishikawa and OP Ventara, while Halkbank scored points mainly from OH Coy and OH Leal, and the match progressed to 19-18. Towards the end, it seemed that Perugia had taken the lead at 22-18 with an ace from relief server OP Herrera, but Halkbank held on to a 23-22 lead with a service ace from OH Coy. However, at the end, Halkbank made a serve error and Perugia won the set at 25-23.
Third set: Ishikawa and Ventara's twin guns and their blocks
At the start, Halkbank led 0-4 with a block from S. Maa and a service ace from MB. Vidak. However, Perugia caught up with a block from MB. Sole to 6-6, and then OP. Ventara scored a spike from a rally to turn the game around to 12-10. After that, OH. Real, who was the point getter for Halkbank, saw his success rate drop, while Perugia scored consecutive points with a service ace from OP. Ventara and a spike from OH. Ishikawa to widen the gap to 18-13. Towards the end, Halkbank closed the gap to just one point at 22-21 with a block from OP. Chotra, but Perugia had the first match point at 24-21 with a block from MB. Sole. Immediately after that, OH Ishikawa had an accident when he cramped up after landing on his serve (OH Ishikawa was replaced by L Piccinelli, who was registered as a regular player), but in the end Halkbank made an error on his serve and Perugia took the set 25-22 and won 3-0.
Notable players' performances
OH Ishikawa Yuki (Perugia)
20 points (attack 17, serve 2, block 1), attack efficiency rate 481 TP 3T
He struggled with the opponent's serve from the beginning of the first set, but after that, he more than made up for his mistakes and showed great performance, leading his team to victory. He scored the most points of both teams with 20 points, and had an attack effectiveness rate of 481 TP3T, and his attack was in top form, especially his back attack from the center of the court, which had a high success rate of almost 100%. He was sharp. His performance in the final match of the Italian league, where he won the MVP, was also great, but in today's match he showed an even higher performance. However, perhaps it was the price of that, as he cramped up in the final match of the third set and was forced to be substituted. There is a day until the final, so I hope he will be in perfect condition for the final. If he can keep up this form in the final, winning the championship and the tournament MVP will not be a dream.
Related links
Photo: CEV
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