Debutants Ishikawa and Loser revel in fantastic chance to win title in the #CLVolleyM

For both Agustin Loser and Yuki Ishikawa, this is the first time when they have the chance to fight for the title in the CEV Champions League Volley Men.

Loser and Ishikawa were the two transfer coups pulled out by Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia last summer and both were instrumental in helping the Italian side secure a place in the Final Four in Łódź, with an excellent path towards the trophy.

“I am truly excited to be here. We worked so hard this season for everything, for every win, we trained hard in the last months and now we are ready to challenge for the trophy,” says Loser, one of the top middle blockers in the competition.

Champions last season in the Italian league, arguably one of the best in Europe, Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia were one of the favourites in this season’s CEV Champions League Men.

They are also one of the most consistent teams in the past decade of the competition, reaching the semi-finals six times in the past seven seasons, but playing a single final, in 2017, when they lost against Russian side, Zenit Kazan, 0:3.

But with Ishikawa and Loser reinforcing an already star-studded line-up, they produced great volleyball throughout the season, conceding only five sets and a single match on their way to the semi-final against Halkbank Ankara, which will take place on Friday.

Their only loss came against Halkbank, 2:3, in the last match of the 4th round, when Perugia had already secured the first place, after five consecutive wins in straight sets. In the quarter-finals, they dominated fellow Italian side Mint Vero Volley Monza, taking two 3:1 wins.

“It is my first season in the Champions League, so it has been really special and I am really looking forward to this experience. It will be a hard match, but we have our eyes on the trophy, there are only two matches left, so we will give our all,” says Ishikawa.

But this season, both Loser and Ishikawa, debutants in the European premium competition at this level, have been excellent, providing Perugia the needed firepower to reach the Final Four.

Ishikawa has been the team’s top scorer, with 100 points, despite playing in only seven matches and in 24 sets, having an average of 4.17 points per set, which would place him between the top 10 contributors per a single set.

On the other hand, Loser had the largest number of blocks for Perugia, registering 20 kill blocks in the eight matches and 27 sets played, for an average of 0.74 kill blocks per set, between the top five players who played at least six matches in the competition.

“The feeling is amazing to be part of the best club competition in Europe. It has been a long season, we travelled a lot, faced some tough opposition, but ultimately we are here, between the top four teams, the four remaining teams in the competition. We are close and we feel it,” added Loser.

Between them and the final, there is a single opponent – Halkbank Ankara – which Perugia had already faced this season, winning the away match, 3:0, and conceding a loss in the home match, 2:3, but with an excellent performance in the winning sets.

But as there is no room for error, both Ishikawa and Loser, as well as their teammates, know that this match will make or break their season, after Perugia finished only on the third place in the Italian league, conceding the title to rivals Trentino Itas.

“We need to finish the season on a high and this is our objective, that is clear,” concludes Loser.