In the Men's Qualifying Round of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 (China), the Japanese national team played against Serbia on Friday, June 13th (local time) and won 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 26-24).
Starting Lineup
Japan
OH Otsuka (8), MB Murayama (6), S Oya, OH Kai (9), MB Rally (9), OP Miyaura (19), L Ogawa
Substitutes: OH Tomita (3), S Nagatsuyu, MB Nishimoto
Serbia
OH Mashulovic (10), MB Nedeljkovic (10), S Jovovic, OH Ivovic (6), MB Mashulovic (5), OP Luburic (7), L Ristic
Substitutes: OP Nikolic (6), OH Perić, S Todorović (2), OH Brboć (5), MB Kokeza (1).
Battle Review
First set: Japan dominates with four aces
From the beginning, Japan took the lead with 6-2, scoring consecutive aces from OH Kai and blocks from MB Rally. From there, Serbia scored points with blocks from MB Nedeljkovic and tied the score at 14-14, but Japan again took the lead at 18-15 with a service from MB Murayama and a block from MB Rally. Japan continued to score points with spikes from OH Otsuka and MB Rally, and a service ace from relief server OH Tomita, and took the lead in this set with 25-20.
Set 2: Miyaura scores 10 points with spikes, serves and blocks
OP Miyaura's service ace put Japan ahead at 5-3, and in the middle of the match OP Miyaura blocked OH Ivovic's spikes in succession, widening Japan's lead to 13-9. Japan continued to score points, mainly thanks to OP Miyaura's spikes, and the match progressed to 20-16. In the final stages, OH Otsuka was caught by Serbia's blocks in succession, and the score was reduced to 21-20, just one point behind. However, Japan could not get any closer, and OP Miyaura's spikes at the end closed the set, and Japan won the set 25-23.
Third set: Serbia struggles with blocks, but gets back at them with blocks in the end
In the early stages, Japan took a 10-7 lead with OP Miyaura's spikes and MB Murayama's blocks. However, in the middle stages, Serbia tied the score at 14-14 with a service ace from S Todorovic and a block from OP Nikolic, and then broke with a spike from OH Vrbolić to turn the game around to 18-20. However, a spike from OH Tomita and a service ace from OP Miyaura put Japan back in front at 22-21. From there, a spike from OH Mashulovic brought the game to deuce, but in the end MB Larry blocked OP Nikolic and Japan won the set 26-24.
Match stats▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227614/
personal MVP
OP Kento Miyaura
19 points (attack 15, serve 2, block 2), attack efficiency rate 421 TP 3T
He scored the most points of both teams with 19, and especially when it was crucial, he scored points in every dangerous situation where it would have been dangerous if the opponent had gained the points. In the second set, he scored 10 points by himself, and had an attack efficiency rate of 871 TP3T, which was unrivaled. In the third set, he was caught by the opponent's block and had a difficult time, but he scored a service ace with all his might at the end, which contributed greatly to the straight victory. I hope he will step up his game from here.
Next up was the performance of MB Larry (6 points in attack, 3 points in blocks).
MB Aleksandar Nedeljkovic
10 points (5 attacks, 5 blocks), attack efficiency rate 831 TP 3T
The Serbian wall took five block points by itself and tormented Japan until the end. It was no joke that he was ranked first in the number of blocks in the Italian league last season. He also had a high level of quick decision-making ability, and if many tosses had gone to him, it would have been impossible to know what the outcome of the game would have been.
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Qualifying Round Rankings
As of 19:30 on Friday, June 13th
1 Poland 2 wins 0 losses 6 points 6/2 sets
2 Japan 2 wins, 1 loss, 6 points, 7/3 sets
3 Italy 2 wins 0 losses 5 points 6/3 sets
4 Argentina 2 wins 0 losses 5 points 6/3 sets
5 Brazil 1 win, 1 loss, 4 points, 5/3 sets
6 Ukraine 1 win 0 loss 3 points 3/0 sets
7 Slovenia 1 win 0 loss 3 points 3/1 set
8 Canada 1 win, 1 loss, 3 points, 5/5 sets
9 China 1 win, 1 loss, 3 points, 3/3 sets
10 Serbia 1 win, 2 losses, 3 points, 3/7 sets
11 Cuba 1 win, 1 loss, 2 points, 4/5 sets
12 USA 1 win, 1 loss, 2 points, 3/5 sets
13 Germany 0 wins, 2 losses, 2 points, 4/6 sets
14 Iran 0 wins, 2 losses, 1 point, 2/6 sets
15 Türkiye 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 points, 1/3 sets
16 France 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 points, 1/3 sets
17 Netherlands 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 points, 1/3 sets
18 Bulgaria 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 points, 1/3 sets
Next race information
June 15th (Sun) 12:30～ vs Netherlands
How to watch
Here's how to watch VNL2025:
Related links
Photo: FIVB
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