In the third week of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 Men's Preliminary Round (Chiba, Japan), the Japanese national team played against the United States on Sunday, July 20th (local time) and won 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-23). With this, Japan's overall record of 8 wins, 4 losses and 23 points has been secured, securing at least 5th place in the preliminary round and advancing to the final round.
Participating members
Japan
Starting line-up: MB Sato (6), OP Miyaura (13), OH Takahashi Ai (18), MB Onodera (6), S Nagatsuyu (1), OH Ishikawa (7), L Ogawa
Substitutes: S Oya (0), OH Tomita (0), OH Kai (0), OP Nishiyama (1)
America
Starting line-up: OP Garcia (10), OH Ewart (13), MB Gentrick (2), S Maher (2), OH Robinson (9), MB McHenry (2), L Briggs.
Substitutes: OP Enshin (0), S Rowan (0), MB Flexen (0), OH Champman (5), MB Knizzi (1).
Match Overview
In the first set, Japan scored points mainly from spikes by OH Takahashi Ai and OP Miyaura thanks to their solid defense, while the United States scored points mainly from OH Robinson, but they were unable to gain momentum due to eight service errors, and Japan took the lead 25-21.
In the second set, OP Miyaura's consecutive service aces gave Japan an early lead, and Japan continued to score points with OH Takahashi Ai and MB Onodera's spikes and blocks. Although the United States' OP Garcia stepped up with a spike, Japan maintained the lead throughout the set and won the set 25-19.
In the third set, the US started with S Rowan and OH Chapman. Japan continued to focus on OH Takahashi Ai, but also scored points with a variety of attacks from MB Sato and OH Ishikawa, while the US scored points from the left side with OH Ewart and OH Chapman, and the game was a close one until the end. However, in the end, OH Takahashi Ai made a spike from a receive from OH Tomita to break, and Japan won the set 25-23 and defeated the US 3-0.
Match stats (English)▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227671/
personal MVP
Ai Takahashi
Outside hitter
18 points (16 attacks, 2 blocks)
Attack Effectiveness Rate 41%
Not only did he display his natural defense, but he also hit sharp spikes from both sides in this match, scoring 18 points, the most of both teams. As one of the starters for the Paris Olympics, he played aggressively to make up for Ishikawa, who was not in top form. I was even more shocked by how much better his English had improved in the post-match interview. Here is the world-famous Ran Takahashi.
Jordan Ewart
Outside hitter
13 points (attack 13)
Attack Effectiveness Rate 53%
A veteran member of the Young America team who showed consistent performance on both offense and defense throughout the match. He cornered Japan with an attack success rate of 801 TP3T. If the first and second sets had been structured to make better use of this player, the results may have been different.
Toshiki's comment
Japan's advancement to the final round was postponed until the final day, and there was a slight possibility that they would be eliminated from the qualifying round, but in the end Japan won two sets in a row without any trouble and advanced to the final round on their own.
Ishikawa Yuki and Onodera Taishi, who were benched in the match against Brazil due to poor condition, were named in the starting lineup, but Ishikawa in particular was not yet performing at his usual level.
Japan made a series of attacking mistakes early in the first set, but they were saved by the fact that the United States made a series of serving errors that prevented them from getting into the flow.
Additionally, Takahashi Ai, mentioned above, worked hard on Ishikawa's behalf, scoring in large numbers, and in the second set Miyaura scored two consecutive aces with a powerful "banana serve," turning the tide in Japan's favor, and before we knew it Japan had won two sets in a row and qualified for the final round.
It was great that Japan was able to advance to the final round on their own in this match, but I was also a little disappointed as I had been hoping for a more exciting match (the third set was close, but since Japan had already secured their place in the final round, there was no sense of tension).
I was reminded that Japan, being able to win in these situations, is already at the top as a team, but I also understood the inexperience of Young America. However, there are many young American players with great abilities, so if they can stabilize their play from now on, they will definitely be a tough opponent.
Now, next up is the final round, and this is where the real action begins.
In the quarter-finals they'll face either Poland or France, both of which are undoubtedly formidable opponents and I don't recall them ever beating either of them in a knockout match.
I'm looking forward to seeing how well they can compete against stronger opponents who have stepped up their game.
Qualifying Round Rankings
As of 23:00 on Sunday, July 20th
1 Brazil 11 wins, 1 loss, 32 points, 35/11 sets ★
2 Italy 9 wins, 2 losses, 25 points, 30/14 sets ★
3 France 8 wins, 3 losses, 23 points, 28/15 sets ★
4 Japan 8 wins, 4 losses, 23 points, 27/17 sets ★
5 Poland 7 wins, 4 losses, 21 points, 27/18 sets ★
6 Cuba 6 wins, 6 losses, 20 points, 28/26 sets
7 Ukraine 6 wins, 6 losses, 18 points, 25/25 sets
8 Bulgaria 6 wins, 5 losses, 17 points, 22/20 sets
9 Slovenia 6 wins, 5 losses, 17 points, 19/20 set
10 USA 6 wins, 6 losses, 17 points, 21/24 sets
11 Argentina 6 wins, 6 losses, 16 points, 24/26 sets
12 Canada 5 wins, 7 losses, 17 points, 23/24 sets
13 Germany 5 wins, 7 losses, 17 points, 25/27 sets
14 Iran 5 wins, 6 losses, 16 points, 22/24 sets
15 Türkiye 3 wins 9 losses 10 points 14/28 set
16 Serbia 3 wins, 8 losses, 9 points, 13/26 sets
17 China 3 wins, 9 losses, 9 points, 12/30 sets ★ (host country)
18 Netherlands 1 win 10 losses 5 points 11/31 set
★ Advancement to the final round decided
Next race information
July 30th (Wed) or 31st (Thu)
Quarterfinals vs Poland or France
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Photo: FIVB
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