The Japanese women's national volleyball team will compete in the semi-finals of the Volleyball Nations League tonight, July 26th (Saturday) at 27:00 (Sunday July 27th at 3:00).
Their opponent is Brazil, who they were defeated 0-3 in the qualifying round.
In this article, we will introduce the players from both teams and explain the key points for Japan to win in the semi-final against Brazil.
Japan
Bench members
2 Ayaka Araki MB 184cm 2001 SAGA Hisamitsu Springs
3 Haruyo Shimamura MB 182cm 1992 Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers (Korea)
4. Mayu Ishikawa OH 174cm 2000 Novara (Italy)
6 Nanami Seki S 171cm 1999 Busto Arsizio (Italy)
8. Manami Kojima L 158cm 1994 LOVB Salt Lake City (USA)
11 Yamada Nichika MB 184cm 2000 NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
12. Keimi Fukudome L 162cm 1997 Victorina Himeji
13 Yukiko Wada OH/OP 174cm 2002 NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
15 Airi Miyabe MB 181cm 1998 Victorina Himeji
18 Hitomi Shiode S 174cm 1999 Osaka Marvelous
19 Iwazawa Miku L※ 160cm 1999 Saitama Ageo Medics
26 Yoshino Sato OH 177cm 2001 NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
30 Kitamado Ayane OH 182cm 2004 SAGA Hisamitsu Springs
33 Akimoto Misora OH/OP 185cm 2006 Victorina Himeji
*Originally his position is libero, but he is registered as a regular player.
Projected starting lineup
OH: Ishikawa, Sato
MB: Shimamura, Miyabe
OP: Wada
S: Seki
L: Kojima/Fukudome
Brazil
Bench members
2. Diana Duarte (MB) 194cm 1999 Sesi Vôlei Bauru (Brazil)
3. Macris Carneiro (S) 178cm 1989 Dentil/Praia Clube (Brazil)
4. Lorena Viezel MB 190cm 1999 Sesc-RJ/Flamengo (Brazil)
7 Rosamaria Montibeller OP 185cm 1994 Denso Airy Beads
8. Julia Kudiess MB 190cm 2003 Gerdau/Minas (Brazil)
9. Roberta Ratzke (S) 186cm 1990 Türk Hava Yolları SK (Türkiye)
10 Gabriela Guimarães OH 180cm 1994 Prosecco Doc Imoco Volley Conegliano (Italy)
15 Helena Wenk OH 200cm 2005 Sesc-RJ/Flamengo (Brazil)
16 Kisy Nascimento OP 190cm 2000 Lokomotiv Kaliningrad (Russia)
17 Julia Bergmann OH 192cm 2001 Türk Hava Yolları SK (Türkiye)
18 Jheovana Emanuele OP 194cm 2001 Flor de Ypê/Paulistano/Barueri (Brazil)
19 Tainara Santos OP 187cm 2000 Sesc-RJ/Flamengo (Brazil)
22 Lais Vasques L 172cm 1996 Sesc-RJ/Flamengo (Brazil)
30 Marcelle Arruda L 168cm 2002 Fluminense Football Club (Brazil)
Projected starting lineup
OH: Gabi Bergman
MB: Diana, Julia
OP: Rosamaria
S: Roberta
L: Marcelé
Three points for victory
①Aggressive serve
This year, the Japanese women's greatest asset is their serves. Ishikawa, Sato, and Wada's jump serves and hybrid serves were particularly strong, and they were ranked first in the team service ace count rankings in the preliminary round.
However, in the qualifying round match against Brazil, he was unable to get into the rhythm of the match by hitting aces as usual, due to the opponent's solid serve reception.
Even if we can't get aces, it's important to serve effectively and not let them spike in a good position to suppress Brazil's offensive power. For that reason, it's essential to serve more aggressively than usual, especially against Brazil.
In particular, we would like to target Bergman, who is relatively weak at receiving, and put him under pressure.
②Spike in the direction of Zone 1
Zone 1 refers to the right rear guard zone, and we want to focus our attacks there with spikes.
In the preliminary round, Japan struggled to score spikes. Of course, Brazil had high blocks, but I think a big part of that was that they were also picking up a lot of the balls on the receive.
In particular, many of Japan's spikes from the left were picked up by libero Marcel and outside hitter Gabi in zone 5 (left rear court).
Therefore, we want to be courageous and spike the ball down the line from the left, and also use a variety of options such as the middle, the pipes, and Wada's right field attacks.
3) Don’t allow your opponent to score a service ace
In the preliminary round, Japan allowed Brazil to hit a total of five service aces, four of which were jump floater serves by setter Roberta, who targeted the perfect position to catch Japan's serve receiving formation off guard, resulting in a loss of points.
Even if block points are unavoidable to some extent, we want to keep service aces to a minimum. Otherwise, we won't be able to beat taller opponents.
Led by libero Kojima, we want to ensure good communication on the court and not let anything slip away.
Key Players
Nanami Seki (setter)
It's up to the setter to make or break the attacker. Even if her reception is a little off, if she can provide a versatile set that doesn't force the opponent to focus on one target and is easy for the attacker to hit, her chances of winning will go up dramatically.
It is especially important to be able to effectively use the middle and pipe attacks (back attacks from the center). Another point is how well you can respond and be creative during the game.
I'd like to toy with my former teammate Gabi with her set work.
Match Schedule
July 26th (Saturday) 27:00～
Television broadcast: BS-TBS
Distribution: U-NEXT or VBTV
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Related links
Photo: FIVB
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