On the first day of the second week of the Nations League, the Japan men's volleyball team played against Canada and won 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 25-14).
After the match, Canadian player Arthur Schwartz and coach Thomas Samuelo made comments.
Arthur Schwartz (Opposite)
-How was the match?
Schwartz: It was a great game. Japan is probably one of the most fun teams to play against. Japan converted every ball into a point and didn't let us function. The game against Japan was a good wake-up call for us. "Yes, we have to play good volleyball, great volleyball. If we don't..." Japan is always improving little by little during the game, which encourages us to improve. The games against Japan are always great games. Unfortunately we lost, but it was a great game.
-In the end, you lost to Japan, but you came on to the court midway through the second set and definitely changed the match.
Schwartz: I knew my role as the opposite. I have to be big and spike and score. I had that mentality when I came in. Unfortunately I came in a little late, but I felt like I was able to bring some energy to the team to come back. And it was great to win the third set, and even though we weren't good enough in the fourth set, I think it was a good start to the second week of the VNL.
-Next season you will be playing in Monza (Italy) with Japan's Ai Takahashi. What do you think about this?
Schwartz: I'm really looking forward to it. Today was the first time I played a proper match against Ai, and he played well in front of me, scoring one after another. I had a great match against him. And I'm really excited to play with him, because he can do it all. He has a good receive, he has a good serve, and he's a really good volleyball player. So I'm really looking forward to next season.
-Have you spoken to Ai yet?
Schwartz: I didn't have a chance to meet him, but we just said hello and said hello. But we have a good impression of each other. I'd like to say hello next time I see him.
Directed by Thomas Samuelo
It was a difficult match. Our attacks were at a very good level in the first two sets, but at a very low level in the other two sets. That's why the match turned out that way. In the two sets where our attacks were bad, our side-outs didn't work, and that's why the game turned out like that. In the other two sets, we made fewer mistakes and did well. Japan didn't let us play well. Japan was very smart, had good technique, and made fewer mistakes.
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Photo: FIVB
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