In the second week of the men's qualifying round for the Volleyball Nations League 2025 (Bulgaria), the Japanese national team played against Ukraine on Friday, June 27th (local time) and lost 2-3 (24-26, 17-25, 18-25, 25-22, 13-15).
Starting Lineup
Japan
MB Miwa (2), S Oya (1), OH Yamazaki (10), MB Sato (6), OP Miyaura (11), OH Otsuka (14), L Ogawa
Substitutes: OH Tomita (3), OH Kai (6), MB Murayama, OP Nishiyama (7), S Nagatsuyu (1), L Fujinaka, MB Rally (5)
Ukraine
OH Yanchuk (16), MB Semenyuk (12), S Shchytkov, OH Kovalov (21), MB Koval (6), OP Tupchiy (17), L Boyko
Substitutes: S. Evstratov (2), OH Polyan (2), OP Tevkun (1), MB Todua (1).
Battle Review
1st set: OP Miyaura scores 8 points, winning at key moments
After a mistake by Ukraine, Japan took the lead 2-0, and continued to take the lead with side outs from OH Otsuka's spikes and other efforts, leading 12-10. However, Ukraine soon turned the game around with two consecutive aces from OH Kovalov, leading 12-13. From there, a block and spike from OP Miyaura off Oya's serve put Japan in front again at 19-16, but a third ace from OH Kovalov and a block from OP Tupchii put Ukraine back in the lead at 22-23. However, a good serve from MB Miwa led to a counter attack from OP Miyaura, leading Japan to 25-24 and a set point, and OP Miyaura ended a long rally with a spike to take the lead 26-24.
Second set: Ukraine's serve and block thwarts Japan's attacks
Starting with an ace from S. Oya, Japan took a 7-3 lead with multiple breaks from OP Miyaura's powerful serve. However, Ukraine turned the game around with 8-9 thanks to Japan's in-out misjudgments and an ace from MB Semenyuk. Ukraine then scored six consecutive breaks from an ace from S. Evstratov's serve, a block from OH Kovalov, and an attack mistake from Japan, widening the gap to 9-16. After that, Ukraine continued to score with spikes from OP Tupchiy and attack mistakes from Japan, and took the set back with a safe 17-25.
Third set: Ukraine keeps attacking
Japan started with OH Tomita from the start.
Ukraine took a 6-9 lead thanks to an ace from OH Yanchuk and a mistake from Japan's attack. Japan also scored points mainly from OH Otsuka, but Ukraine widened the gap to 10-15 in the middle of the game with an ace from MB Koval. Ukraine continued to score points with spikes from OH Kovalov and MB Semeniuk, and continued to lead 15-21. OH Yanchuk closed out a long rally at the end, and Ukraine won the set 18-25.
4th set: OP Nishiyama's consecutive aces lead to a comeback
With no other options, Japan replaced all of their starters, including the libero, from the third set.
In the early stages, Ukraine was leading 3-7 with a block from MB Semenyuk and a spike from OP Tupchiy. However, Ukraine continued to make mistakes, making it 9-11, and then Japan tied the score at 13-13 with consecutive aces from OP Nishiyama. Ukraine then took the lead again with a spike from OH Kovalov to 15-17, but Japan also took the lead again with a counter spike from OP Nishiyama's serve by OH Yamazaki, tying the score at 20-20. At 22-22, Japan brought in OP Miyaura as a relief server. With a strong serve, Japan scored three consecutive breaks, including consecutive blocks from MB rallies, and took the set 25-22.
5th set: Japan falls just short as Ukraine's serve overwhelms them
From the start, OP Nishiyama hit a high ball, and Ukraine's mistakes and S Nagatsuyu's de facto ace gave Ukraine a 3-0 lead. However, Ukraine caught up with Japan's mistakes and OP Tupchiy's service ace at 5-5, and then MB Semenyuk's serve led to two consecutive breaks and a 9-7 lead. Japan turned the game around again to 10-9 with MB's rally block and OH Kai's spike from relief server OP Miyaura's serve, but Ukraine soon got a break and the score was 10-11. The game continued with a battle for side outs, and Ukraine had the first set point at 13-14. Finally, MB Semenyuk hit a spike from a long rally to take the set at 13-15, and Japan lost to Ukraine 2-3.
Match stats▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227650/?stats_team=away
personal MVP
OP Nishiyama Taito
7 points (5 attacks, 2 serves), attack efficiency rate 61 TP 3T
He was the key player in taking the game to a full set after scoring two consecutive aces in the fourth set, which was a losing battle. After that, his serve did not give Ukraine a single positive pass. There were some difficult high balls to attack, but there are many issues to be addressed. He had limited opportunities to play in the SV League, so I hope he will gain more practical experience against higher blocks and improve.
S Serhiy Evstratov
2 points (1 serve, 1 block), team attack effectiveness rate 431 TP 3T
The veteran setter entered the court midway through the second set and did a great job of rebuilding the team. The left side-centered setup worked well, and OP Tupuchi, the original point getter who hadn't scored a single attack in the first set, was revived, and he also showed off his quick moves at key moments.
*S. Evstratov is on the right and MB Semenyuk is in the center.
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Qualifying Round Rankings
As of 18:00 on Saturday, June 28th
1 Brazil 5 wins, 1 loss, 15 points, 17/5 sets
2 Poland 5 wins, 1 loss, 15 points, 17/7 sets
3 Italy 5 wins, 1 loss, 13 points, 16/9 sets
4 Japan 4 wins, 3 losses, 12 points, 15/11 sets
5 Ukraine 4 wins, 3 losses, 12 points, 16/13 sets
6 Cuba 4 wins, 3 losses, 12 points, 16/14 sets
7 Bulgaria 4 wins, 2 losses, 11 points, 13/9 sets
8 Slovenia 4 wins, 2 losses, 11 points, 13/10 sets
9 USA 4 wins, 2 losses, 10 points, 13/11 sets
10 Iran 3 wins, 3 losses, 10 points, 13/13 sets
11 France 3 wins, 3 losses, 9 points, 13/12 sets
12 Argentina 3 wins, 3 losses, 8 points, 11/12 sets
13 Germany 2 wins, 4 losses, 9 points, 13/14 set
14 Canada 2 wins, 5 losses, 8 points, 12/17 set
15 China 2 wins, 5 losses, 7 points, 8/16 sets
16 Netherlands 1 win 6 losses 3P 7/19 set
17 Türkiye 1 win 5 losses 3P 5/15 sets
18 Serbia 1 win 5 losses 3P 5/16 sets
*The host country China and the top seven teams from the preliminary rounds will advance to the final round.
Next race information
June 29th (Sun) 18:00～ vs Slovenia
How to watch
Here's how to watch VNL2025:
Related links
Photo: FIVB
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