In the second week of the Women's Volleyball Nations League 2025 Preliminary Round (Hong Kong), Japan played against the Czech Republic on Sunday, June 22nd local time and won 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-20).
Starting Lineup
Japan
S Seki (1), OH Ishikawa (17), MB Miyabe (11), OP Wada (16), OH Sato (9), MB Shimamura (7), L Fukudome
Substitutes: S Shiode, OH Fukazawa (1)
Czech Republic
S. Valkova (1), OH Grozer (12), MB Kneiflova (2), OP Branczywka, OH Mlejnkova (11), MB Jefralova (6), L. Dostalova
Substitutes: MB Jedličková, OH Svobodova (2), OH Bukovska, MB Kulšani (3), S Grabovska.
Battle Review
First set: Ishikawa leads with 10 points
At the start, Japan took the lead 2-0 with a service ace from OH Ishikawa, but the Czech Republic broke the lead with a block from MB Jefralova and a spike from OH Grozer, giving them a big lead of 4-8. However, in the middle of the game, Japan turned the game around with consecutive aces from OH Ishikawa to take the lead 16-13. From there, the Czech Republic closed the gap to 18-17, but in the final stages, Japan took the lead 25-22 with a spike and block from OH Ishikawa.
Second set: Japan takes the lead from serve
OP Branczka's spikes gave the Czech Republic a 2-5 lead. However, OP Wada's spikes tied the score at 7-7, and OP Wada's service ace gave Japan a 14-11 lead. In the final stages, MB Miyabe's blocks and service aces gave Japan a 24-16 set point, and MB Shimamura's spikes gave Japan a 25-17 set.
Third set: Breaking quickly after being caught up
From the start, Japan took a 3-0 lead thanks to MB Miyabe's blocks and spikes. OH Grozer's spikes quickly tied the score at 4-4, but OP Wada's spikes put Japan back in front at 7-4. After that, OH Murejkova's spikes tied the score at 12-12, but OH Sato's serve led to three consecutive breaks and Japan took the lead again at 17-14. Japan continued to score points, mainly from side attacks, and finally, a Czech serve error made it 25-20, winning the match 3-0.
Match stats:https://vnlw.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227547/
personal MVP
OH Mayu Ishikawa
17 points (attack 12, serve 4, block 1), attack efficiency rate 481 TP 3T
Not only was he the driving force behind the comeback in the first set with his serve and spike, but he also contributed greatly to the victory by scoring a large number of points with a high attack success rate. MB Miyabe, who scored 11 points despite being a middle-aged player, was also good, but Ishikawa's impact was also a big factor.
OH Mihaela Mulejnkova
11 points (attack 11), attack efficiency rate 31%
The captain supported the team on both offense and defense. In a team with little experience, he made few mistakes and showed stable play.
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Qualifying Round Rankings
As of 0:00 on June 24th (Tuesday)
1 Italy 8 wins 0 losses 22 points 24/5 sets
2 Poland 7 wins, 1 loss, 21 points, 23/8 sets
3 Brazil 7 wins, 1 loss, 20 points, 21/7 sets
4 Türkiye 7 wins, 1 loss, 19 points, 22/8 sets
5 Japan 6 wins, 2 losses, 18 points, 21/8 sets
6 China 5 wins, 3 losses, 15 points, 18/13 sets
7 Germany 4 wins, 4 losses, 14 points, 18/16 sets
8 USA 4 wins, 4 losses, 11 points, 15/16 sets
9 Czech Republic 4 wins 4 losses 10 points 14/16 sets
10 Dominican Republic 4 wins, 4 losses, 9 points, 13/18 sets
11 France 3 wins, 5 losses, 10 points, 15/18 sets
12 Netherlands 3 wins, 5 losses, 10 points, 13/18 sets
13 Bulgaria 3 wins, 5 losses, 9 points, 14/20 set
14 Belgium 3 wins, 5 losses, 8 points, 11/19 set
15 Canada 2 wins, 6 losses, 6 points, 11/22 set
16 Thailand 1 win 7 losses 5P 8/22 set
17 South Korea 1 win 7 losses 4 points 8/23 set
18 Serbia 0 wins, 8 losses, 5 points, 12/24 sets
Next race information
July 9th (Wed) 19:20～ vs France
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Photo: FIVB
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