On the first day of the Paris Olympic Qualifiers/World Cup Volleyball 2023 Men's Tournament, the Japanese national team played against Finland and won 3-2 (25-17, 25-15, 25-27, 19-25, 15-12).
First set starting lineup
Japan
OH: Ai Takahashi, Ishikawa
MB: Onodera, Yamauchi
OP: Nishida
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Finland
OH: Hänninen, Marttila
MB: Haapaniemi, Zivankov
OP: Nikla
S: Terbaporti
L: Bralynn
*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 a 6-4 lead with service aces from OH Ishikawa and MB Yamauchi. Finland also closed the gap to 12-11 with a quick and service ace from MB Haapaniemi, but then OH Ishikawa scored two consecutive service aces to widen the gap to 17-12. OP Nishida then scored a block and a service ace to make it 21-14, and finally substitute OP Miyaura scored a spike to win the set 25-17.
In the second set, OH Takahashi Ai scored points with "back shots" and other shots early on, giving Japan a 5-2 lead. From there, OP Nishida's spikes and OH Ishikawa's quicks helped Japan widen the gap to 15-8. Furthermore, OH Takahashi Ai scored consecutive direct spikes from MB Yamauchi's serve, and OP Nishida's two consecutive service aces made Japan's momentum unstoppable, making it 21-10. Towards the end, Finland took two consecutive breaks with MB Zivankov's service aces, but in the end, the serve was a mistake and Japan took the set by a large margin of 25-15.
In the third set, Japan started with MB Kentaro Takahashi instead of MB Onodera. In the early stages, Japan took a 6-4 lead thanks to a service ace from OP Nishida and a block from MB Kentaro Takahashi. However, Finland managed to turn the game around with two consecutive service aces from OH Suihikonen, who came in as a substitute, and took the lead to 7-9. In the middle stages, MB Haapaniemi's block widened the gap to 14-17. Japan tied the score at 17-17 with a spike from OH Takahashi Ai, but they were still trailing by one point and the game went into deuce. At 24-24, OH Takahashi Ai scored a service ace to put Japan on match point, but at the end, OP Nishida and OH Ishikawa made consecutive spike errors, and Finland took the set 25-27.
In the fourth set, Japan started by bringing MB Onodera back to the court. In the early stages, Japan scored points mainly from OP Nishida and Finland from OP Nikula, and the score was tied at 8-8. However, Finland took the lead at 10-14 due to OH Suihikonen's blocks and Japan's mistakes. After that, Finland maintained a 15-20 lead with OH Marttila's spikes and service aces, and went into the end of the set. Japan also made it 18-21 with OH Takahashi Ai's spikes and blocks, but MB Haapaniemi's blocks and spikes gave Finland a set point at 18-24, and finally, relief server OH Kai's serve was an error, and Finland took the set at 19-25.
At the start of the fifth set, MB Onodera's service ace gave Japan a 3-1 lead. After a long rally, OH Ishikawa's spike and OH Takahashi Ai's service ace widened the gap to 10-6. From there, Finland made a comeback with six consecutive points, including a block from OH Suihikonen and a service ace from S Tervaporti, to take the lead at 10-12. However, OH Takahashi Ai's pipe attack put them in a bad mood at 11-12, and then MB Onodera's good serve was followed by a block from MB Yamauchi and a spike from OP Nishida, giving Japan a match point at 14-12. Finally, OH Takahashi Ai's sharp pipe attack led Japan to take the set at 15-12 and win the match 3-2 against Finland.
personal MVP
Japan: OH Ai Takahashi
23 points (2 serves, 2 blocks), attack effectiveness rate 44.12%, serve reception success rate 29.17%
While OH Ishikawa and OP Nishida struggled from the middle of the match, he showed high performance on both offense and defense until the end, supporting the team. He played a great role with his ironclad serve reception without conceding any points, his super-reactive spike reception (the most digs on the team), his jump serve with varying speed, and his high and sharp spikes. His presence, which has grown significantly after playing a full season in Italy, is a great source of comfort for the team. Setter Sekita also seemed to have absolute confidence in his pipe attack and was tossing the ball. He also excited the packed Yoyogi National Gymnasium with his impressive plays, such as the back shot and fake set that France's Ngape often uses in the early part of the second set.
Finland: OH Niko Suihikonen
16 points (2 on serves, 5 on blocks), attack efficiency rate 21.741 TP3T, serve receive efficiency rate 34.62%
An outside hitter who entered the court midway and brought momentum to Finland. His appearance and performance give him the air of a veteran, but he is actually still a young player at 24 years old (he's in the same generation as Nishida in terms of school years). He is scheduled to play for the powerful French team Chaumont from next season.
Thoughts etc.
I didn't expect the first match to be so tense...
In the first and second sets, Japan's serves were hitting the ball easily (9 in the second set), and the success rate of Finland's side attackers did not improve, so the match progressed very easily.
In particular, Ishikawa and Nishida's serves were hitting the mark, and Nishida showed off his high jumps and powerful spikes that made it seem like he hadn't been in good form during the Nations League. Takahashi Ai also captivated the crowd with his super plays, such as back shots and fake sets, as mentioned above. It was a near-perfect match that made me think, "Is this an exhibition match to show off Japan's current strength in front of Japanese fans?!?"
I thought the match would end soon after taking the third set with ease, but it was an Olympic qualifier after all. It wasn't that easy. Finland's OH Suihikonen and L Koikka, who came in midway through the match, played well, and it seemed like the other players were improving in response. On the other hand, Japan's mistakes increased from the middle of the match onwards.
Super-sub Miyaura, who replaced Nishida, also didn't perform very well, and on top of that, our captain Ishikawa was forced into an unusual situation (probably the first time this season) of being substituted in the forward line due to poor form, but we managed to win thanks to some great blocks from substitute Otsuka, serves from Onodera, and spikes from our own Ran Takahashi.
To be honest, up until the beginning of the fifth set, I was watching the game with confidence, thinking "Well, even though we lost two sets, we haven't lost a full set this season, so we should win," but when Finland scored six consecutive points to make it 10-12, I couldn't help but worry... (laughs). But I'm really, really glad that we managed to win!!!
And I once again felt the importance of the middle blocker's serve. After Takahashi Kentaro, who is said to have a weak serve, came in, we lost the third set, and conversely, it was Onodera's serve that decided the match in the fifth set. Kentaro is great except for his serve, but I feel that his lack of serving power is a fatal weakness for the current Japanese national team. In fact, Poland, which won the double this year in the Nations League and the European Championships, has the strongest serve in the middle blocker.
However, Poland, ranked number one in the world, barely managed to win their first Olympic qualifying match against Belgium (ranked 21st in the world) in a full set. It seems that there is a demon lurking in the Olympic qualifying round after all.
However, I believe they will approach the matches with a more focused attitude from now on, so I hope they will win today's match against Egypt and the day after tomorrow's match against Tunisia without any trouble.
From now on, I would like to see Captain Ishikawa with a smile on his face in post-match interviews, rather than a grim expression of disappointment.
Standings (as of the end of Day 1)
1. USA 1 win, 0 losses, 3 points
2. Slovenia 1 win, 0 losses, 3 points
3. Türkiye: 1 win, 0 losses, 3 points
4. Japan: 1 win, 0 losses, 2 points
5. Finland: 0 wins, 1 loss, 1 point
6. Serbia 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 points
7. Tunisia 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 points
8. Egypt 0 wins, 1 loss, 0 points
The top two teams will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Upcoming match schedule
October 1st (Sun) vs Egypt
Tuesday, October 3rd vs Tunisia
Wednesday, October 4 vs Türkiye
Friday, October 6 vs Serbia
Saturday, October 7 vs Slovenia
October 8th (Sun) vs USA
*All matches will start at 7:25pm
Photo: FIVB
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