In the Nations League Final Round, the Japan men's volleyball team faced Poland in the semi-finals and won 3-2 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 15-9).
First set starting lineup
Japan
OH: Ai Takahashi, Ishikawa
MB: Onodera, Yamauchi
OP: Miyaura
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Italy
OH: Micheletto, Ravia
MB: Galassi, Russo
OP: Romano
S: Giannelli
L: Barrazo
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
At the start of the first set, Italy took a 1-3 lead with a service ace from OH Micheletto, but OH Ishikawa scored a spike on a turnaround from a well-aimed serve from S Sekita, giving Japan five consecutive breaks and a 7-3 lead. After that, OP Miyaura scored two consecutive service aces to further widen the gap to 14-7. Italy also narrowed the gap to 17-15 with a spike and serve from OH Micheletto and a block from OP Romano, but MB Yamauchi and OH Otsuka, who came in as a substitute, scored spikes to put Japan ahead of Italy again at 21-16. Finally, OP Miyaura scored consecutive service aces again (four in total for this set) and Japan took the set 25-18.
In the second set, OH Otsuka was used instead of OH Takahashi Ai from the start. However, OH Otsuka was caught by Italy's block consecutively and was replaced by OH Takahashi Ai when the score was 2-5. From there, Japan tied the score at 11-11 with breaks from OH Takahashi Ai's spikes and S Sekita's serves. Towards the end, Italy took the lead at 18-21 after two consecutive attack mistakes by Japan, but at 22-23, OH Takahashi Ai scored a spike from OP Miyaura's good serve to tie the score at 23-23, and then OP Romano's spike mistake gave Japan the set point. Finally, OH Ishikawa scored a back attack from the left and Japan took the set at 25-23.
In the third set, Italy took the lead early on with four consecutive breaks, including two service aces from S. Giannelli, and consecutive breaks on OH Micheletto's serve. Italy continued to show momentum after that, widening the gap to 9-17 with spikes from OH Lavia and a service ace from MB Galassi. Japan narrowed the gap to 16-21 with a spike and a service ace from OP Miyaura, but in the end, S. Giannelli's two attacks were successful and Italy took the set 17-25.
In the fourth set, Japan took the lead at 3-1 with OP Miyaura's sixth service ace of the match, but MB Russo's block and OP Romano's spike quickly put Italy at 5-9. After that, Italy widened the gap to 11-20 with OP Romano's serve and Japan's mistakes. In the final stages, the two teams fought for side outs with OH Takahashi Ai's spike, but in the end, OP Miyaura's serve was an error and Italy took the set 17-25.
In the fifth set, OP Miyaura started off with his seventh service ace of the day, and with OH Ishikawa's spike and MB Yamauchi's block, Japan took the lead 6-3. OH Ishikawa continued to play well with his spikes and serves, widening the gap to 10-4. Italy also broke with MB Galassi's block, but struggled with serve errors and was unable to seize the opportunity. OH Ishikawa then hit a powerful spike from a rally to take the set 15-9, and Japan won 3-2 against Italy, winning the bronze medal.
personal MVP
Japan: OP Kento Miyaura
20 points (7 on serve, 1 on block), attack efficiency rate 171 TP 3T
He had an astounding seven service aces, and if you include the actual service aces, he must have had about 10, smashing in a number of amazing serves to bring victory to Japan. He scored four in the first set alone, which gave Japan the momentum, and his first service ace in the fifth set broke the bad momentum of the third and fourth sets and brought the momentum back to Japan. He had a lot of blocks on his spikes, which made it difficult for him at times, but he made sure to correct that in the fifth set. It was personally thrilling to see him unleash the play he had honed the most in the Polish league at a venue in Poland!!
Runner-up: OH Ishikawa Yuki (21 points, attack effectiveness rate 27%, serve reception success rate 44%)
Italy: OH Alessandro Micheletto
16 points (4 serves, 1 block), attack effectiveness rate 29%
He was the key player who made Japan suffer with his sharp serve and took the match to a full set. He supported the team with his spikes when OH Lavia and OP Romano were not in good form. However, Micheletto himself was not in good form either. (But still, this face (lol))
Thoughts etc.
This was the first time in 46 years that a medal was won at a major world championship.
I was there and watched the event with my hands literally sweating.
I thought it would be a close match from the first set, but Sekita's controlled serve led to consecutive points! And then Miyaken got consecutive service aces! Japan was really on a roll! Even when they didn't score, they made good plays, such as block touches and digs (especially Yamamoto), and I think they dominated the game so much that it could be said they were too strong. Finally, Miyaura's two consecutive service aces gave Japan the lead. It went just as I predicted (lol).
On the other hand, Ran Takahashi was not doing well and was replaced by Otsuka. However, Otsuka was also stopped in succession in the early part of the second set, and Ran Takahashi returned to the court. However, Otsuka's connection for the 21st point in the first set was also amazing, and the venue was abuzz with excitement.
Sekita's serve was good in the second set. He was able to break down Russo's opponent's middle serve. There were concerns about his matchup with 211cm tall Micheletto, but he didn't seem to be hitting hard from above like Leon from Poland the day before. Leon was in a class of his own.
And then there's Yuki Ishikawa. His attack is as versatile as ever, his rebounding skills are number one in the world, and his serve is aggressive. He's also good at blocking, and there was a play where he pulled back and knocked Micheletto's spike out.
However, in the final stages, Ishikawa was caught in a block and Italy took the lead, but then Miyaura's serve led Italy to break three times in a row and turn the game around! And the last play was a big one, a back attack from Ishikawa's left!
I was surrounded by Polish people and I was so excited (laughs). It seemed like we were going to keep going, but in an interview after the second set, coach Blanc said, "The match will be long," and having watched the matches against Brazil and Argentina, I couldn't help but feel that way.
As expected, from the third set onwards, Italy's serves, which had not been coming in much until then, started to come back to life. Micheletto and Giannelli's serves in particular were effective, and Ishikawa's reception was largely disrupted.
This reminded me of last year's World Championship final, also held in Poland, where Giannelli seized the momentum from his own serve and came from behind to win the match...
As the serve went well, Italy's strong blocks also came on, and the number of blocks received by Japan increased. In particular, Miyanoura and Ai's spikes were blocked by the Italian blocks.
In the fourth set, we took the lead with Ai's blocks and Miyaura's ace, but we were quickly countered and couldn't get a side-out, which made for a tough game. Still, we were able to get a side-out at the end, and it looked like we were able to play some good volleyball that would lead to the end.
The fateful final set. We lost the third and fourth sets by a large margin of 17 points each, but strangely, I wasn't worried. That's because Ryujin Nippon was undefeated in full sets in this tournament, and I had seen them win the first and second sets, lose the third and fourth sets, but win the final matches against Brazil and Argentina, so I was confident of victory. After all, our Miyanoura was there in those two matches (laughs).
And sure enough, this guy did it!!! Right from the start, he got his seventh service ace of the match!!! Miyaura was roaring!!! I was roaring too!!! (laughs)
Rotating from the opposite serve meant that Sekita's blocking rotation would be longer, which was a bit risky, but this move turned out to be a complete success!!!
I mean, isn't seven goals in one game just incredible?!?!?! But Miyaken is capable of doing that now. I believed in him. After all, it's Poland!!!
After that, Ishikawa got a side out, while Miyaura and Yamauchi got block points, making the score 6-3!!! (I was about to cry at this point (lol))
Most of the Polish fans at the venue were also cheering for Japan. They clapped when the Japanese served, but booed when the Italians served. Maybe it was because the Polish team was beaten by Italy at last year's World Championships (laughs). But the venue really felt like Japan's home ground.
And Ishikawa's pipe, Yamauchi's block (2nd), Ai's direct from Ishikawa's serve!!! Even from a distance, you could see that Ishikawa had stepped up a gear in the 5th set. The ability to step up a gear at a crucial moment in a crucial match is proof of being a top-class player. The super Ishikawa we saw in the club season was there.
Once Ai was stopped by Galassi and Italy broke through, but Miyaura immediately blocked it out. The fact that she was able to blow away the block was also the result of her physical transformation in Poland.
Italy's serves just weren't coming in. Galassi, Romano, and Giannelli all made serve errors. Giannelli's serve error on the 14th point, which went wide over the sideline, seemed to symbolize the game.
Then it was match point and the whole stadium chanted "Ostatni (last)"! Onodera broke Micheletto with a serve, Romano couldn't hit it, Miyaura carefully lifted the ball back high, Sekita set it to the left and captain Ishikawa scored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was the first medal in 46 years.
I had all sorts of emotions welling up inside me.
I hope to write again later about winning a medal for the first time in 46 years.
Anyway, I'm really proud of them.
I am so glad that I was able to see this spectacle, the Japanese men's team on the podium, in person while I am still alive.
I'm glad I'm alive.
Photo: FIVB
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