In the third match of the second half of the Italian men's volleyball league Serie A, Milan, where Ishikawa Yuki plays and is in 8th place in the league, played against Siena, who are in 12th place, away on Sunday, January 8th local time, and won 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-15).
Ishikawa Yuki started in this match and contributed greatly to his team's victory by scoring 18 points, the most of both teams.
First set starting lineup
Milan
OH: Melgarejo (Cuba), Ishikawa
MB: Rosell (Argentina), piano (Italy)
OP: Patry (France)
S: Porro (Italy)
L: Pesaresi (Italy)
Siena
OH: Petrić (Serbia), Raffaelli (Italy)
MB: Ricci (Italy), Mazzone (Italy)
OP: Pinali (Italy)
S: Finoli (Argentina)
L: Bonami (Italy)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
Milan started the match with the same lineup as they did from the second set onwards in their Coppa Italia quarter-final victory.
In the first set, Milano started off by allowing Siena the first point due to an attack mistake by OH Melgarejo, but then OH Melgarejo's attack and MB Piano's block scored four consecutive points to take a 4-1 lead.
After that, Milano continued to get side outs with quick plays from MB Rosell thanks to stable serve reception, and OP Patri and OH Ishikawa consistently broke the ball with block points thanks to effective serves, and by the middle of the game Milano had extended their lead to 6 points, 17-11.
While Siena struggled with side outs, Milan managed to get breaks with spikes from OH Ishikawa and Melgarejo, and finally a service ace from Rosell gave Milan a comfortable 25-15 win in the set.
In the second set, Siena's OP Pinali scored one spike after another early on to take a three-point lead over Milan, 5-8.
However, Milano managed to break from OH Ishikawa's serve and close the gap to 8-9, within one point. Then OH Melgarejo blocked OP Pinali, and then OH Ishikawa successfully hit a fake set into the opponent's court, giving Milano a successful comeback to take the lead at 11-10.
The match continued to be close from here, but Siena made a series of mistakes, allowing Milano to take the lead at 17-15. OH Ishikawa then scored an attack and a service ace in succession to further increase the lead to 19-16.
In the final stages, Milano secured a side out with a spike from OH Ishikawa, and finally took the set 25-22 after an attack error by their opponent OP Pinali.
In the third set, Siena started the match with OH van Halderen (Netherlands) instead of OH Raffaelli.
Milan's momentum was unstoppable from the beginning of this set as well, with spikes and blocks from OH Ishikawa and blocks from S Pollo taking the lead 7-4.
However, Siena's OP Pinali scored many spikes on his own, gradually gaining breaks and somehow catching up at 12-12 in the middle of the game.
However, Milano achieved four consecutive breaks in one go, with an ace from OH Melgarejo's serve and then a block from OH Ishikawa to stop OP Pinali, widening the gap to 20-14.
Towards the end of the match, Siena lost concentration with successive attack errors, and in the end, Milan won the set 25-15 with an ace serve from MB Piano, defeating Siena 3-0.
MVP: OH Osniel Melgarejo (15 points (1 serve, 2 blocks), attack success rate 481 TP 3 T)
Ishikawa Yuki had the most points of both teams with 18 points (1 serve and 3 blocks), and an attack success rate of 641 TP3T.
Milan now sits in 7th place with 20 points and 7 wins and 7 losses.
Their next match will be against second-placed Modena at home on Sunday, January 15th at 18:00 local time (2:00 the next day Japan time).
Here's the match report for the first half:
Yuki Ishikawa's post-match comments (translated from legavolley.it)
This game was very important for us. I'm especially happy that we got the three points. I'm happy with my performance. We did very well both in attack and in blocking. After losing to Cisterna and Monza, we won at Civitanova in the Coppa Italia, and we won again today, so we can keep going. Our next game, against Modena next week, will be very difficult. But we won the first half, so I'm confident that we can win again.
Thoughts etc.
There were some close moments during the game, but overall it was a safe finish.
Ishikawa in particular gave an amazing performance that felt like a continuation of the Civitanova match at the end of the year, and it was great to see him do a fake set in the middle!!!
In this match, Ishikawa not only had an incredible success rate in spiking but also in serving receptions, with a staggering 71% success rate, and what's even more impressive is that he did not concede a single point in either spiking or serving reception.
He also made good use of his blocks to stop the opposing team's point getter, Pinali, at key moments.
I hope things continue to go well in the future!!!
To be honest, I thought he would be the MVP this time too, but for some reason it was Melgarejo.
Ishikawa was better in all the numbers, and I don't really understand why Melgarejo was named MVP even though he didn't play particularly impressively...
The MVP is often decided by votes from reporters and others at the event, so I'm curious as to what criteria they used to vote for Melgarejo.
Melgarejo was of course good, but for me what was good about this match was Rosell's outstanding performance.
They made their presence felt in every play, be it quick, block, or serve, and Porro was more proactive in using quick shots than ever before. Furthermore, there were no instances where it looked like he had a hard time hitting the ball, as there had been in the past, so I think we finally got to see some good combination between these two players.
I'd love to see it continue like this and one day see Rosell become the best scorer in a match (lol)!!
However, the only player who was not in top form in this match was opposite Patry.
Although he did not concede any points, his attack success rate was poor with 321 TP and 3 T, and he was replaced by substitute Lawrence in the third set.
It was good that we were playing against Siena this time, but I think his performance will be crucial in next week's match against Modena, so I hope he can somehow improve his form again this week!!
On the other hand, I felt sorry for Siena as Pinali seemed to be fighting alone.
The team is made up of talented members with experience playing for various national teams, but their performance is not very consistent.
Padua, who are also competing at the bottom of the table, would prefer that Siena remain in poor form, but as a volleyball fan, I would like to see the team become a little more energetic.
But I think it would be better for him to suffer until the next match against Padua is over (laughs).
Anyway, I think the next match against Modena will be important for Milan, so I hope they can deliver a big win in front of the Allianz crowd!!
Forza!!!
Photo: Lega Pallavolo Series A
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