Japan also beat the Dominican Republic in straight sets, taking sole first place with four consecutive wins without losing a set! [Women's Volleyball Nations League]

In the Women's Volleyball Nations League 2025 Preliminary Round (Canada), the Japanese National Team played against the Dominican Republic on Sunday, June 8th (local time) and won 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-9).

Starting Lineup

Japan

S Seki (2), OH Ishikawa (20), MB Miyabe (2), OP Wada (10), OH Sato (19), MB Shimamura (9), L Iwasawa

Substitutes: S Nakagawa, OH Nonaka, OH Fukazawa, OH/OP Akimoto (2)

dominican republic

S Rodriguez (2), OH Martinez (6), MB Arias (2), OP Gonzalez (14), OH Matos (2), MB Martinez (7), L Rodriguez

Substitutes: S Marte, OP Tapia, MB Gonzalez, OH Peña, OH Caraballo, L Martinez

Battle Review

In this match, Japan started L. Iwasawa in the starting lineup for the first time.

1st set: Persistent serve and defense win

It was a close match until the middle of the game. Japan scored points with spikes from OH Ishikawa and OH Sato, while OP Gonzalez scored 9 points alone with attacks, blocks, and serves for the Dominican Republic, leading the match to 16-15. However, from here, an ace from OH Sato's serve and a spike from MB Shimamura put the game ahead at 18-15. There were many rallies after that, but Japan's blocks and defense were solid, and they scored points mainly from OH Ishikawa. Finally, OH Ishikawa closed the set with a service ace, and Japan took the set 25-19.

Second set: Winning the longest rally to regain momentum

In the early stages, Japan was ahead 7-5 thanks to a service ace from S Seki and a spike from OH Ishikawa, but then Japan's mistakes and Dominican blocks allowed them to reverse the score to 10-14. However, after that, a spike from OP Akimoto, who came in as a substitute, and a service ace from OH Sato allowed Japan to close the gap to 16-17. Furthermore, OH Sato spiked a tenacious rally with three digs from L Iwasawa to tie the score at 20-20, and then OH Sato and OP Wada continued to spike from serve and defense to take a 22-20 lead. Despite the struggles, Japan managed to hold on to the lead, and at the end, OH Sato scored a powerful spike to win 25-21.

3rd set: Shut out opponent with serve and defense

Japan started the match with three consecutive breaks from OH Ishikawa's serve, including aces, to take a 4-1 lead. MB Miyabe's serve then continued to break down the Dominican Republic's receivers, and with service aces and a variety of attacks, they made seven consecutive breaks at once, widening Japan's lead to 12-3. After that, the Dominican Republic was barely able to respond to Japan's serves, and even when they were able to return passes, they were blocked by Japan's solid defense and could not score easily. Meanwhile, Japan continued to score, mainly through OH Ishikawa and OH Wada. Towards the end, a service ace from OH Ishikawa put Japan at 24-9 with a set point, but an attack mistake from the Dominican Republic made it 25-9 and Japan won.

Match stats:https://vnlw.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227514/?stats_team=away

personal MVP

OH Mayu Ishikawa

20 points (attack 17, serve 3), attack efficiency rate 331 TP 3T

The captain scored the most points. Not only did he score points with his attacks and serves, but he also had a serve reception success rate of 671 TP3T (with no errors), despite being targeted by the opponent and receiving more than half of the total. He also contributed greatly to the victory on the defensive side, picking up the opponent's spikes well with his digs. However, in terms of the second set that he won by reversing the game, I think OH Sato and L Iwasawa performed at an MVP level.

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Qualifying Round Rankings

As of 19:40 on Sunday, June 8

Next race information

June 18th (Wed) 18:00～ vs Thailand

How to watch VNL

Here's how to watch VNL2025:

Related links

• Official tournament website (English)
• TBS tournament page (Japanese)

Photo: FIVB