The Japanese outside hitter will play for his club team Milano against Taranto on the day he turns 27
Published 08:30, 07 Dec 2022
It will be a special day for Japanese outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa when he takes to the court with his club team Allianz Milano on his birthday.
Japan national team captain Ishikawa and his teammates will travel to Gioiella Prisma Taranto on Sunday, where they will take on their tenth-placed opponents at 18:00 local time (19:00 GMT), in what will be their eleventh match of the season.
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Celebrating his birthday in Italy has become a bit of a habit for Ishikawa, who has played in the country’s national league since 2014. He actually first arrived in Italy to play for Modena just three days before his 19th birthday.
Ishikawa has been the most prominent representative of his country in international volleyball in part due to his early start at the highest level of the sport. But also because he started playing overseas at such an early age.
His role in generating opportunities for other Japanese players to join the SuperLega Credem Banca has also been key, with players like Yuji Nishida and Ran Takahashi following in his footsteps and moving to Italy to ply their trade.
Ishikawa’s seven seasons in Italy, however, have not just made him one of the most popular names in the country’s top professional league. They have also helped the teams he has played for to a number of successes. With his current club, he won the CEV Challenge Cup in 2020-2021 and also took bronze in the 2021-2022 Italian Cup.
His most successful season in Italy, however, was in 2014-2015, when he won the Italian Cup and finished second in the SuperLega with Modena. He also played for Latina, Siena and Padova in the following seasons.
Ishikawa's impact on the Japanese national team was felt from the start of his international career. In the last nine years, he has captained the Japan team as they hosted the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, and also helped them take gold at the 2017 Asian Championships, silver at the 2014 Asian Games and bronze at the 2016 Asian Cup.
When he enters the court on Sunday, Ishikawa will hope for a win as his birthday gift. The result could help Milano move up from their seventh place in the current standings.
Milano finished ninth in last season's SuperLega season and have lost four of their six most recent matches. This included a loss to defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova in four sets on Monday, even if Ishikawa was one of his team’s individual standouts with 17 points (16 kills, one ace).
Ishikawa in action against Lube on Monday
The Japanese outside hitter is having another solid season in Italy and has produced 105 points (90 kills, 13 aces, two blocks) in nine matches so far, as well as 162 passes and 33 digs.
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