On the first day of the first week of the Nations League, the Japanese men's volleyball team, known as Ryujin Nippon, played against Iran and won 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-19).
First set starting lineup
Japan
OH: Ai Takahashi, Ishikawa
MB: Onodera, Yamauchi
OP: Nishida
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Iran
OH: Esfandiar, Poriya
MB: Seyyed, Mohammad.V
OP: Amin
S: Javad
L: Hazratpur
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
In the first set, Japan took the lead with a spike from OH Ishikawa, and then continued to score with a dig from OH Takahashi to take a 3-0 lead. After that, MB Yamauchi's quick and OH Ishikawa's skillful attacks led to multiple breaks to widen the gap to 10-4. S Sekita's service ace led to consecutive blocks to further extend the lead to 18-7. Iran also scored with a spike from OP Amin and a service ace, but in the end, OP Miyaura, who came in as a substitute, scored a spike to give Japan a 25-16 first set win.
In the second set, Iran took the lead 6-9 with a service ace from S Javad and consecutive blocks, and then MB Sayed's blocks and quicks kept them at 14-10. However, on the first shot, OH Takahashi smashed the ball from the backline into the net, and then MB Onodera's service ace and OH Ishikawa's spike led Japan to 17-15. Japan kept the lead until the end, and finally Japan won the set with a pipe attack from OH Ishikawa at 25-22.
The early part of the third set was a close one, but Japan took the lead at 10-8 due to opponent mistakes, and then with L Yamamoto's dig followed by Ishikawa's spike and OH Takahashi's service ace, Japan extended their lead to 17-11. Iran's substitute OP Hajipour scored consecutive spikes, but Japan maintained their lead with skillful soft hits from OH Ishikawa. Finally, OH Takahashi smashed in a sharp spike from the left and Japan won the set, winning 3-0 against Iran.
personal MVP
Japan: Yuki Ishikawa
20 points (1 serve, 1 block), attack effectiveness rate 43.33%
I'm sure readers would agree.
There were reports that Ishikawa had an elbow infection the day before the match, but rather than completely dispelling those concerns, he performed even better. He scored the most points on the team with 20, and in addition to his powerful spikes at a maximum speed of 125km/h, he also had a wide variety of scoring methods, such as dropping the ball lightly in front of him and using blocks, so I think he was truly in "Dr. Ishikawa" mode (lol). Ishikawa, who makes even the most difficult plays look easy, is truly a top player not only in Japan but also in the world. As he said in his comments after the match, he lost five attacks, which is a bit too many for him, and as a result, his effectiveness dropped significantly compared to his attack success rate of 601 TP3T, but I'm sure he will fix this soon.
Runner-up: Akira Yamauchi (9 points (2 blocks), attack effectiveness 60%)
Iran: Seyyed Mousavi
8 points (4 blocks), attack efficiency rate 33.33%
4 blocks + 4 touches was the most for both teams, as expected from a veteran middle. The quickness was not as good as it was with Maloof, but if the combination with the setter improves and the attack efficiency rate increases, he will be a truly phenomenal player. Also, I personally like this player (lol).
Thoughts etc.
Japan was strong! They were just strong!
Iran was not in good condition in the first match due to mistakes in starting members and miscommunication, but the whole team showed "Strong Japan" in the match. Ishikawa's performance stood out, but each team's performance was also outstanding, including Takahashi and Yamamoto who showed off their defense, Yamauchi who was great with quick shots, Onodera who contributed to the block, and Sekita who provided the set that allowed the team to score with a 55.95% success rate in team attacks. It was a match that showed the strength of the team as a whole.
However, I am still worried about Nishida's condition. He made uncharacteristic mistakes with his serves, such as missing two of them, and his spikes did not seem to have the usual height when jumping, and the width of the course seemed narrow. His attack success rate of 33.33% was not a bad number, but it is clear that he is not in good form. In fact, instead of making two substitutions in the third set, he was directly replaced by Miyaura. Incidentally, although Miyaura's playing time was short, he was still in good form with an attack success rate of 50%, so he may be replaced from the start of the weekend.
However, even though Nishida was not in top form and the serves were not that good overall, Japan was able to play with such ease, which is nothing but proof that they have become a really strong team. It's really moving when I remember that 10 years ago they were almost helpless against the Iranian team... If they can show this much from the first match, it seems like we can "normally" expect a medal this year!
Also, Kai, who made his senior official debut as a relief server, served well! I'd like to see him spike in the weekend's match!
The next match will be against Serbia on Friday, June 9th at 7:40pm.
Like Iran, Serbia is coming to this VNL Nagoya tournament with inexperienced members. Of course, we can't let our guard down, but if we can perform as usual, I think we can beat them.
The opponents for the first week of VNL are summarized in this article ↓
Good luck Ryujin Nippon!!!
How to watch Nations League 2023
All Japan matches in the Nations League 2023 will be broadcast live on BS-TBS,U-NEXTandVolley TVBut it's being broadcast live.
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Photo: FIVB
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