On the fifth day of the third week of the Nations League, the Japan men's volleyball team played against Italy and lost 1-3 (27-29, 26-28, 25-23, 20-25).
First set starting lineup
Japan
OH: Otsuka, Ishikawa
MB: Onodera, Yamauchi
OP: Nishida
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Italy
OH: Micheletto, Ravia
MB: Galassi, Russo
OP: Romano
S: Giannelli
L: Scanferra/Piccinelli
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
OH Otsuka started for Japan for the first time in the tournament.
In the first set, Japan attacked with OH Ishikawa at the center from the beginning, while Italy's S Giannelli scored points by distributing the ball to all five attackers in a balanced manner. The match continued until the end with neither side giving an inch, and Italy reached set point at 23-24 with consecutive spikes from OH Micheletto. After that, the game went to deuce, and OP Miyaura, who was serving, scored an ace, giving Japan a set point at 25-24, but in the end, Italy scored consecutive points with a service ace from OP Romano and a spike from OH Lavia to take the set 27-29.
In the second set, Japan took a 4-1 lead with a service ace from OP Nishida. With spikes and service aces from OH Ishikawa and OP Nishida, Japan went into the final stages with a 19-15 lead. After that, Japan reached set point first with a service ace from OP Nishida, the third of the set, at 24-21. However, S Giannelli made it 24-22 with two attacks, and then OH Rinaldi, who came in as a substitute, spiked in succession from a good serve from OH Lavia, making it 24-25 with three consecutive breaks, giving Italy a big comeback and a set point. Finally, OH Rinaldi spiked again to take the set 26-28.
In the third set, Italy was leading 7-11 in the early stages due to a series of spikes from OH Lavia and OH Ishikawa. However, Japan managed to turn the game around with a spike from OH Otsuka and a service ace from MB Onodera to make it 15-14, and then further spikes from OH Otsuka and OP Nishida widened the gap to 22-19. Italy also narrowed the gap with a block from MB Galassi and a spike from OP Romano, but in the end, a spike from OH Ishikawa was successful and Japan took the set 25-23.
In the fourth set, OH Ishikawa's spikes and blocks put Japan ahead at 8-5, and MB Yamauchi's service ace widened the gap to 12-8. However, OH Ishikawa's consecutive mistakes brought the score to within one point at 16-15, and Italy scored six consecutive points with MB Galassi's consecutive blocks and OP Romano's service ace to turn the game around at 19-22 in the final stages. After that, MB Galassi shut out OP Nishida in succession, and Italy took the set at 20-25, losing 1-3 to Italy.
With this, Japan's overall record in the VNL qualifying round now stands at 10 wins, 1 loss and 27 points, and they continue to hold first place in the provisional qualifying round.
The next match will be against Poland on Sunday, July 9th at 8:00 p.m. Japan time.
personal MVP
Italy: OH Daniele Lavia
18 points (1 serve, 2 blocks), attack effectiveness rate 451 TP 3 T, serve reception success rate 63%
She contributed to the team's victory with her consistent performance throughout the match. She was particularly outstanding at key moments, such as the block that grabbed the set point in the first set and the serve that led to the consecutive breaks that led to the comeback in the second set. OH Micheletto and OP Romano stand out more for their flashy plays, but it is undoubtedly Lavia who is supporting the team. Incidentally, Lavia is also the most popular player among the local Italian girls.
Japan: OH Otsuka Tatsuyoshi
15 points, attack efficiency rate 41%, serve reception success rate 47%
Actually, it would have been fine to choose "No Applicant", but we have high hopes for him in the future. This was his first time in the starting lineup in this tournament, and while OP Nishida and OH Ishikawa were not in good form, he contributed to taking the third set with a high attack success rate, especially from the third set onwards. In the fourth set, he continued to spike well until the middle of the game, which is why it was unfortunate that he was blocked at the end. Also, on defense, he made 11 digs, the most on the team, more than libero Yamamoto, and although the opponent targeted his serve reception and he conceded three points, he held on. Now he wants to contribute more with his serves and blocks.
Thoughts etc.
This was the team's first loss of the tournament in their 11th game.
Although we didn't achieve our 11th consecutive win, as I wrote yesterday, it was a game we could have afforded to lose, so I guess the result is fine.
But the content wasn't very good.
Especially in the second set, when he was leading by three points at 24-21 and facing set point, he lost the set after losing consecutive points. It's true that the opponent, Lavia, was serving well, but if Ishikawa had been able to get a side-out at that point, it's hard to say what would have happened in the match. It seems that the "ability to get that last point," which Ishikawa himself had been talking about throughout the club season, is a constant issue.
Also, losing six consecutive points after leading 19-16 in the fourth set was painful. There were mistakes from the opponent's blocks and Japan. This match tested our ability to get side-outs at really important moments. In that sense, I think this match also showed the great presence of Takahashi Ai, who has a stable serve receive and high spike decision power. I think he was absent from this match because of a finger injury (?) he sustained in the match against the Netherlands, but I hope his condition is not too bad.
Italy's blocking was also superb. They had 13 block points and 13 block touches each (Japan had 4 for the former and 8 for the latter), and MB Galassi's furious blocking fest at the end of the 4th set in particular pushed Japan to the brink of despair. Because Italy's blocking was working, Japan's attack success rate went down and they also lost more attacks than usual. This was no exception for Ishikawa, who usually doesn't lose many points. It's no exaggeration to say that this difference in blocking was the biggest factor that determined the outcome of the match.
Nishida was in the starting lineup for this match, scoring three service aces in the second set, jumping around a lot and doing his muscular gorilla pose (lol), but he also lost a lot of points on attack. I feel like it will take some time for him to get back to his best. I think it would be better to go with Miyaura for the Poland match and the final round.
Although Ishikawa also had the most points on the team, he lost points on attack at a crucial moment, and his attack effectiveness rate was low at 22%. Well, he's been playing since the first game, so I think he's pretty tired. It's okay if he loses tonight's game, but I hope he'll make sure he's in top condition for the final round. Speaking of which, he got injured right before last year's VNL final and couldn't take the court for the final round, so I hope he doesn't take that into account this year!
And tonight is the final day of the qualifying round, the match against Poland. Moreover, the members have changed completely since the friendly match, so the match against Poland is very tense. Of course, I want to see a heated match, but the most important thing is to give our best performance in the final round, so I hope they will play their best game for that purpose.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the wolfdog showdown between Krek vs. Nagatsuyu + Ogawa (lol).
I'm looking forward to seeing how Japan will play against the ultimate "bald gangster"!!!
How to watch Nations League 2023
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Photo: FIVB
Photo book "CATCH ××× DREAM" featuring Ryujin Nippon's three players Ishikawa, Takahashi, and Nishida will be released on June 5th! ↓
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