In the first week of the Women's Volleyball Nations League 2024 Tournament, in the Turkey round, the Japanese national team played against Germany on Friday, May 17th (local time) and won 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-22).
Starting members
Japan
OH: Koga (20), Ishikawa (18)
MB: Watanabe (1), Yamada (3)
OP: Hayashi (12)
S: Iwasaki (3)
L: Kojima
Substitutes: MB Miyabe (3), OP Kurogo, L Fukudome
Germany
OH: Alsmeyer (6), Stiglott (6)
MB: Schultz (5), Weitzer (13)
OP: Drevniok (12)
S: Kastner (1)
L: Pogany
Substitutes: MB Cheklaev (4), OP Kindermann (1), MB Strube (1), OH Stouts, S Stroebe
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
※ () indicates score
TOSHIKI'S MVP
MB Airi Miyabe
3 points (1 block), attack efficiency rate 50%
The lucky girl who changed the flow of the match with her serve. When she stepped onto the court as a relief server in the first set, when Japan was trailing by one point at 18-19, she disrupted Germany's serve reception one after another, leading Japan to a comeback with a score of 22-19, and set the tone for the rest of the match. From the second set onwards, she was on the court from the start, and made her presence felt not only with her serve but also with her blocks.
(Volleyball World, why are there no photos of her?!)
Match commentary
The match will be against Germany, who are close in the world rankings and, like Japan, are also aiming to secure the remaining ticket to the Paris Olympics.
For Ishikawa, this was also a rivalry with Alsmaier, his teammate opposite him in Italy.
The first set was a close one from the beginning, and Japan continued to score points mainly from OH Ishikawa, leading the match to 14-14. Ishikawa was in top form in this set with an attack effectiveness rate of 701 TP and 3 T.
Germany then broke the serve with a service ace from OH Alsmaier and a spike from OP Drevniok, taking the lead 15-18, but Japan turned the game around with a serve from Miyabe mentioned above to take a 22-19 lead, and finally a German serve error gave Japan the lead 25-21 to take the first set.
In the second set, Japan's serve was strong, with Germany's attack mistakes and OH Koga's serve leading to five consecutive breaks, including two aces, and they had a large lead of 15-6 by the middle of the set. Germany's serves were not effective, and their blocks, which made use of their height, did not work against Japan's fast-paced attacks, leaving them helpless.
Japan then took the set point with spikes from OH Koga and OP Hayashi, and finally a two-attack from S Iwasaki that caught their opponent off guard, and won the set by a large margin of 25-15.
In the third set, OP Hayashi's good serves broke down Germany, and OH Koga continued to score with spikes, giving Japan a big lead of 9-3 from the start.
It seemed like the set would continue in the same way as the second set, but after a dig by L. Pogany, MB Weitzel scored a high quick shot, bringing Germany to within one point at 13-12.
However, OH Ishikawa's serves continued to break down the opponent, and Japan took the lead again at 16-12. Japan then scored side outs mainly through spikes from OH Koga and OH Ishikawa, winning the set 25-22 and defeating Germany 3-0.
As expected, one of the reasons for Japan's victory in this match was the effectiveness of their serve, which is one of their strengths.
As a result, Japan was unable to launch the attacks they wanted, which took advantage of their height, and instead forced Germany into making mistakes, which gave them an advantage in the rallies.
In addition, Japan's response to the opponent's attacks was excellent, and they succeeded in greatly reducing the effectiveness of Germany's attacks from the second set onwards compared to the first set. In particular, when OP Hayashi picked up two consecutive broad passes from MB Schurzel in the early part of the third set, I think he knew that that was the only course he could take.
On the other hand, Germany had some good serves, but their blocks were unable to keep up with Japan's fast-paced attacks. The average height of Germany's starting players is more than 10cm taller than Japan's, but Japan had more blocks and touches.
However, Germany showed good floor defense in this match, and I think they are a good team with a good atmosphere, such as the haws when the service ace was made. I look forward to seeing them in the future.
Japan has been playing really good volleyball in the three games so far in this tournament.
The biggest change from the past is that OP Hayashi's back attack from the right is now incorporated as a tactic. Hayashi, amazing.
Also, personally, I think they could have used the middle more.
However, both Germany and Poland have strong middle blockers, so it may take some courage, but it would be nice to see them try and shine in a match where their middle blockers shine even more.
For detailed match stats,Here
Highlight Video
Next race information
vs Poland
May 19th (Sun) 23:00~ (Japan time)
Television broadcast
BS-TBS (recorded, 20th (Mon) 21:00~)
TBS Nations League special site (you can check the TV broadcast schedule, etc.):https://www.tbs.co.jp/volley-nationsleague/
Online broadcast (LIVE)
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Photo: FIVB
English 
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