In the Philippine round of the third week of the Volleyball Nations League 2024 Men's Tournament, the Japanese national team played against Canada on Tuesday, June 18th (local time) and lost 2-3 (21-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-20, 10-15).
Starting members
Japan
OH: Ai (13), Ishikawa (19)
MB: Onodera (3), Yamauchi (7)
OP: Nishida (19)
S: Sekita (2)
L: Yamamoto
Substitutes: MB Kentaro (4), OP Miyaura (1), S Fukatsu, OH Kai
Canada
OH: Marr (24), Lepke (15)
MB: Eschenko (8), Demyanenko (8)
OP: Schwartz (15)
S: Hair (3)
L: Louis
Substitutes: OH Hogue (3), MB McCarthy (2), OH Hofer (1)
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
※ () indicates score
TOSHIKI'S MVP
OH Stephen Marr
24 points (2 on serve), attack efficiency rate 491 TP 3T
Heavy Tank Commander. The man who was so reliable at Monza was also a formidable enemy.
He scored the most points of both teams with 24. He scored points regardless of whether it was from the left, the pipe, or the high ball. In addition, contrary to his strong appearance like a rugby player, he had many attacking tricks, and he toyed with the Japanese defense by sucking them into the block with block-outs and pushes.
Although they were hit hard by Japan's barrage of serve reception and conceded five points, their performance more than made up for the losses.
Match commentary
It was a disappointing loss against an opponent who was nine places lower in the world rankings before the match (Japan was third and Canada was 12th).
However, Canada is a team that has steadily grown in strength over the past few years since the appointment of legendary coach Samuel Vo (who has experience playing for the former Toyoda Gosei), including the three brothers (OH Marr, OP Schwartz, and OH Lepke) who were teammates with OH Ai at Monza, so personally I did not find this result particularly unexpected.
Looking at the match as a whole, Canada's blocks worked well, reducing the effectiveness of Japan's attacks, and they continued to put pressure on Japan with their serves. OH Marr and OH Repke were also consistently stable on the offensive side of the ball, which led to their victory.
On the other hand, Japan struggled with Canada's blocks, with OH Ishikawa being the victim in the first half of the match and OH Ai in the second half. OH Ishikawa, who was the target of serve reception, struggled a lot, and although he was able to take the set in the second and fourth sets, he was unable to maintain a certain level of pressure throughout the match.
Individually, OP Nishida had a great performance with 19 points, 2 aces, and an attack efficiency rate of 451 TP3T, but his strength alone was not enough to lead the team to victory.
Still, Nishida's performance this year is truly amazing. He has been able to consistently perform at a high level regardless of the game situation, and is a source of reassurance for this year's Japanese national team. It's like last year's slump was a lie. He's so reliable.
Personally, I thought it would have been better to replace OH Ishikawa or OH Ai with OH Otsuka, but in the end, OH Otsuka never took to the court in this match. However, this may have been intended to allow him to gain experience on the court and make corrections with an eye on the Paris Olympics.
The fifth set was also close until the middle, and Japan had a chance to win, but in the end they were defeated by Canada's blocks. MB Demyanenko was especially amazing. He jumped in late with a tenacious lead block and shut out the opponent. As expected, the lead block is the block that has the last laugh.
Although this was a disappointing loss, I hope that the players will use this as motivation to become stronger individuals and a stronger team.
However, this puts Japan's chances of advancing to the VNL final round in some doubt.
They will probably win their next match against the Netherlands, in fact they absolutely must win, but the matches against France and the USA after that will be tough.
Personally, I plan to travel to Poland for the final round, so I hope he does his best to advance.
For detailed match stats,Here
Highlight Video
Standings (as of June 18th)
VNL Rankings
1. Slovenia 8 wins 21 points ★
2. Italy 7 wins 21 points
3. Brazil 6 wins 19 points
4. Poland 6 wins 18 points
5. France 6 wins 17 points
6. Japan 6 wins 17 points
7. Canada 5 wins 15 points
8. Cuba 4 wins 12 points
9. Argentina 4 wins 12 points
10. Serbia 3 wins 10 points
11. Germany 3 wins 9 points
12. USA 3 wins 9 points
13. Netherlands 3 wins 9 points
14. Bulgaria 3 wins 8 points
15. Türkiye 1 win 5 points
16. Iran 0 wins 2 points
*The top 7 teams and the host country (Poland) will advance to the final round (June 27-30)
★…Final round advancement confirmed
World Rankings
1. Poland 410.36 ☆
2. Italy 369.30 ★
3. Brazil 344.13 ☆
4. Slovenia 343.23 ★
5. America 338.77 ☆
6. Japan 338.08 ☆
7. France 322.56 ☆
8. Argentina 294.17
9. Canada 254.54 ☆
10. Serbia 251.55
11. Cuba 250.64
12. Germany 244.45 ☆
13. Netherlands 216.07
20 Egypt 164.05 ★ (Top in Africa)
*At the end of the VNL qualifying round, the top four African countries, excluding the top African team and the team that has already qualified for the Paris Olympics, will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
☆…Host country and countries that have qualified through Olympic qualifiers
★…Qualification for the Paris Olympics confirmed after the VNL qualifying round
Next race information
vs Netherlands
June 21 (Friday) 20:00~ (Japan time)
Television broadcast
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Photo: FIVB
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