On the fifth day of the first match of the Paris Olympic Qualifiers/World Cup Volleyball 2023 Men's Tournament, the Japanese national team faced Serbia and won 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-22)!
First set starting lineup
Japan
OH: Ai Takahashi, Ishikawa
MB: Onodera, Kentaro Takahashi
OP: Nishida
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Serbia
OH: Kovacevic, Ivovic
MB: Krasmanovic, Nedeljkovic
OP: Lubrich
S: Todorovic
L: Couple
*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 5-3 with OH Takahashi Ai's spikes and opponent's mistakes, and then OP Nishida's spikes and service aces maintained the lead at 11-8. In the middle of the set, OH Ishikawa's spikes and blocks led to consecutive breaks, making the score 16-11, and S Sekita's service aces widened the gap to 20-12. From there, Serbia also narrowed the gap slightly with OH Ivovic's spikes and service aces to 22-16, but in the end, OH Takahashi Ai's blocks and a Serbian serve error gave Japan the lead 25-17.
In the second set, Japan's serve and defense continued to work. OH Ishikawa's spike break made it 4-1, and then MB Onodera's service ace and MB Takahashi Kentaro's block led Japan to a big lead of 12-5. From there, Serbia also got consecutive good serve breaks from OH Ivovic, narrowing the gap to 12-9, but OH Ishikawa's service ace and MB Onodera's spike put Japan ahead of Serbia again, 19-11. After that, OP Nishida's spikes and other breaks led Japan to take the set 25-14 after another opponent's serve error.
In the third set, Japan took the lead 6-3 with OP Nishida's service ace and MB Onodera's block, but MB Nedeljkovic's block and spike turned the game around to 7-8. Serbia then widened the gap to 11-15 with a service ace from OH Peric, who entered the game as a substitute. However, Japan scored consecutive breaks from MB Takahashi Kentaro's serve, and then a spike from Miyaura, who was playing as a relief blocker, after OP Nishida's dig, and a service ace from OH Takahashi Ai led Japan to 21-20 in the final stages. From there, OH Takahashi Ai's pipe attack from a rally widened the gap to 23-21, and finally MB Takahashi Kentaro's block led Japan to win the set 25-22, winning 3-0 against Serbia.
TOSHIKI'S MVP
Japan: OP Nishida Yuji
16 points (2 on serve), attack efficiency rate 61.901 TP3T
He was the undisputed MVP with the highest score on the team and an attack success rate of 66.661 TP3T. He was truly unrivaled, with the ability to "score if you hit it". His spikes also seemed to have more punch than usual, and the commentator on Volleyball TV said that his spike speed of 119 km/h was "the fastest in this tournament". He had a service ace that he couldn't score in the match against Turkey, but what really got me excited was his dig at the end of the third set. At 18-19, Miyaura, who was playing as a relief blocker, scored a spike to tie the score, and at 20-19, he also scored a sharp line spike for the opponent, although it didn't lead to a score, and the icing was a receive ace in the rally right after that!!! Today was definitely Yuji Nishida's day. His wife must have been very happy (lol).
Serbia: MB Aleksandar Nedeljkovic
5 points (2 of which were blocks), attack effectiveness rate 75%
He was the player who gave Japan a push in the third set with consecutive blocks. He is expected to be the next middle ace of Serbia, a powerhouse of high-level middle blockers.
Thoughts etc.
Ryujin Nippon is too strong...
Japan played so well today that he tweeted this at the end of the second set.
As in the match against Turkey, Japan's strength of attacking with serves, connecting with receives, and breaking with transition attacks was fully demonstrated from the beginning. Compared to usual, Japan's quicks were thoroughly marked by the opponent's blockers, so attacks by the middle blockers had a hard time getting through, but the three on the sides worked hard to make up for it. In particular, the success rate of the opposite Nishida was incredible, and at the end of the second set, he had an attack success rate of 771 TP3T and no losses, which was a monster-class performance (although he was blocked once in the third set, as mentioned above, his attack effectiveness rate of 621 TP3T was also monster-class lol).
Captain Ishikawa also had many highlights today. In the middle of the first set, right after he made a block, he made a quick move that he doesn't usually do (Sekida was also amazing for matching it on the spot), and in the second set, right after he protested to the umpire about a challenge problem, he made a spike and then a service ace!! (He was definitely filled with anger lol).
Serbia, who changed their lineup from the third set, finally started to improve, and in the middle of the game they were down by four points. However, Ryujin Nippon was able to turn the game around from here! First, Takahashi Ai scored a direct spike from Takahashi Kentaro's serve, resulting in consecutive breaks! (Kentaro has been doing great with his serves lately, has he finally overcome his weakness?!) Then Nishida's super dig was followed by a Miyaura spike! (Good job Miyaken!!) And then Nishida's ace receive!!! This dig festival by Nishida at the end of the game was really hot!!! As if in response to that, Ran Takahashi's pipe attack after his own dig for the 23rd point was also sharp and cool. And finally, Kentaro Takahashi closed it out with a block.
It's not bad to win in straight sets without any problems like the Turkey match, but it's always moving and inspiring to see a match where you're behind against a strong opponent but you turn things around and win in the end. That's the kind of match I wanted to see. You guys are the best.
It's true that Serbia didn't have their best lineup, and the team wasn't in great shape either, but it was the first time I'd seen a Japanese team dominate against a strong Serbia team in an important tournament for both sides, the Olympic qualifiers. The first two matches, especially the match against Egypt, were disappointing, but I think today's match wiped away all of that and showed the Japanese people a strong Japan.
Based on this result, a 3-0 win against Slovenia today will see Japan booked a place in the Paris Olympics as quickly as possible.
However, if they become too conscious of this, their play may become stiff, so I hope that they will not get too worked up and just enjoy playing volleyball as usual.
I'm sure they will do it!!
Good luck Ryujin Nippon!!!
Standings (Day 5, Set 2)
1. USA 5 wins, 0 losses, 15 points
2. Japan: 4 wins, 1 loss, 12 points (set ratio 2.8)
3. Slovenia: 4 wins, 1 loss, 12 points (set ratio 2.6)
4. Serbia 3 wins, 2 losses, 9 points
5. Türkiye: 2 wins, 3 losses, 5 points
6. Egypt 2 wins, 3 losses, 4 points
7. Finland 0 wins, 5 losses, 2 points
8. Tunisia 0 wins, 5 losses, 1 point
The top two teams will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Upcoming match schedule
Saturday, October 7 vs Slovenia
October 8th (Sun) vs USA
*All matches will start at 7:25pm
Photo: FIVB
English 
Japanese