In the fourth round of the French Men's Volleyball League, Paris, where Miyaura Kento plays, played against Saint-Nazaire on Tuesday, November 7th local time, and lost 1-3 (25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 14-25).
Miyaura Kento started as an opposite and scored 12 points.
First set starting lineup
Paris
OH: Kovacevic (Serbia), Panu (France)
MB: Marse (Germany), Jurkovich (Austria)
OP: Miyaura (Japan)
S: Ossar (France)
L: Kapur (Serbia)
Saint-Nazaire
OH: Ewart (USA), Martins (Portugal)
MB: Spencer (Cape Verde), Schnitzer (Canada)
OP: Enshin (America)
S: Valier (France)
L: Douet (France)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
Match Report
In the first set, Paris took the lead 4-2 with a spike from OH Kovacevic and a service ace, but a block from MB Spencer put Saint-Nazaire back on track at 4-4. After that, a spike from OP Miyaura and a block from OH Panu made it look like Paris had taken the lead at 14-11, but a mistake and a block from MB Schnitzer allowed Saint-Nazaire to take the lead at 16-17. However, a serve from S Ossar put Paris back on top at 19-18, and from there they continued to score with OH Panu at the center, taking the set 25-21.
The second set started with a seesaw battle, with both teams trading side-outs and the score at 9-9. From there, Paris got a break with a block from OH Panou and Saint-Nazaire got a block from OH Ewart, but the score remained the same and the game ended with the score at 21-21. However, OP Ensin's spike put Saint-Nazaire at 21-23, and OP Ensin scored again at the end to win the set 23-25.
In the third set, Saint-Nazaire took a 2-5 lead early on with a service ace from MB Spencer. Paris closed the gap to 10-11 with spikes and aces from OH Kovacevic, but in the middle of the set, OP Ensin's serve led to five consecutive points lost due to spike errors and blocks, giving Saint-Nazaire a 13-19 lead. From there, Paris closed the gap to just two points at 19-21 with a spike from substitute OH Cowell (USA). But in the end, substitute OH Zeljkovic (Croatia) made an attack and Saint-Nazaire took the set 21-25.
In the 4th set, OH Panou's spikes and blocks and S Ossar's service ace put Paris ahead 8-6. However, 6 consecutive breaks, including 2 service aces, from MB Schnitzer's serve gave Saint-Nazaire a big lead at 8-13. Then, in the middle of the set, MB Spencer's service aces and MB Schnitzer's blocks gave Saint-Nazaire 5 consecutive breaks to 11-22, and finally, a Parisian serve error gave Saint-Nazaire the set at 14-25.
As a result, Paris lost 1-3 to Saint-Nazaire.
MVP: OP Kyle Ensin (14 points (including 1 block), attack efficiency rate 41.67%)
Kento Miyaura: 12 points, attack efficiency rate 23.07%
Our next match will be against Seto on Sunday, November 12th at 3:30am Japan time.
League website: https://www.lnv.fr/lam/statistiques
Distribution site (paid):https://www.lnvtv.com/
Toshiki's Tweets
Just like last time, Paris suffered a comeback defeat after taking the first set.
In this match, the regular setter Mottapaes did not play and Ossar was in the starting lineup, but the sets were not stable throughout the match and it seemed difficult for the attackers to hit. The absence of a regular setter also had a big impact on the outcome of Milan, where Ishikawa Yuki plays, but this shows how the higher the level, the more the setter can affect the outcome of the match.
Also, setters are in a so-called "non-scoring position" because they don't go out of their way to score points (compared to attackers). Therefore, when they're playing well, they don't stand out that much, but when they play poorly, they stand out. So when a good setter is gone, it makes you think "he was a good setter" even more.
Despite all that, Paris Saint-Germain's 40-year-old veteran OH Kovacevic was doing his best. He is a former Serbian national team player and the older brother of current national team left-footer OH Uroš.
After winning one set and then losing two or three, the beginning of the fourth set made me think, "Oh, we can do it!", but after that, we were in a terrible state. We lost our concentration after those seven consecutive points. The substitutions didn't make sense, and we were always playing catch-up.
Miyaura is not doing well, just like he did last time. I understand that it's difficult to hit spikes with the new setter, but he's not getting a break on his serve either. He couldn't get a strong serve in this match and focused on control serves, but he couldn't get a break either. It's a shame because there were times in the second and third sets when one of his serves could have changed the flow of the match.
Personally, I want him to hit strong serves as much as possible. His strong serves are worth more than points in the sense that they give the team momentum. I think one of the major roles of the opposite position is to encourage the team with dynamic play and bring momentum to the team. I want Miyaura to always be that kind of presence on the court.
OP Ensin was the MVP for Saint-Nazaire, but personally I would like to give it to MB Schnitzer. Although he is a middle blocker, he scored the same 14 points as OP Ensin, 4 points for serves, 3 points for blocks, 7 points for attacks, and an efficiency rate of 701 TP 3 T, making him a great player. I think his serves in particular put a lot of pressure on Paris from the beginning of the game. He was also a starter for the Canadian national team that qualified for the Paris Olympics.
Well, Paris has another game this weekend. I don't know if Mottapaes will be able to return, but even if he doesn't, they have strong games against Tourcoing and Nantes next week, so they have to win against Sète this weekend at all costs. I hope Miyaken explodes!!!
Photo: Paris Volley
English 
Japanese