The qualifying round for the 2025 Men's Volleyball World Championship (World Volleyball) will be held on Monday, September 15th, with Japan facing off against Canada.
Japan started with the same lineup as in their first match against Turkey, with outside hitters (OH) Ishikawa Yuki and Takahashi Ai, middle blockers (MB) Onodera Futoshi and Evadedan Larry, opposite (OP) Miyaura Kento, setter (S) Oya Maki, and libero (L) Yamamoto Tomohiro.
The first set was a close one at 6-6, but Japan's attack mistakes and Canadian blocks gave Canada a big lead of 7-14. From there, Japan closed the gap to 16-18 with service aces from OP Miyaura and OH Takahashi, but Japan's attacks again fell short, losing rallies and giving Canada a set point at 19-24. Finally, MB Zima scored a quick kick to give Canada the lead at 20-25.
In the second set, Japan took the lead early with blocks and service aces from OH Ishikawa, putting them up 10-7, but Canada's solid defense allowed OH Hoag and MB Zima to score attacks and quickly turn the game around to 10-13. From there, Canada continued to score points and extended their lead to 14-19. Japan replaced OH Ishikawa with OH Otsuka and libero Ogawa. With Canada on set point at 19-24, OH Takahashi's service ace and a Canadian error put Japan within one point at 23-24, but unfortunately, a serve hit the net in the final seconds, giving Canada the set at 23-25.
In the third set, Japan started with OH Otsuka, S Nagatsuyu, MB Sato, and L Ogawa. In the early stages, Japan's OH Otsuka and Canada's OP Vernon traded points, leading to a 14-14 tie. However, an attack by OH Hoag and consecutive missed attacks by Japan gave Canada a 15-20 lead. Japan then closed the gap to 21-22 with a service ace from relief server OH Ishikawa and a score by OH Takahashi off a serve by OP Miyaura, but they couldn't score the final point. Finally, OP Vernon's attack was successful, giving Canada the lead at 22-25.
As a result, Japan lost to Canada 0-3.
Japan - Canada
0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 22-25)
Japan
Starting lineup: MB Onodera (1), S Oya (), OH Ishikawa (5), MB Eva De Dan (3), OP Miyaura (10), OH Takahashi (11), L Yamamoto
On the way: OH Otsuka (7), L Ogawa, OH Kai (), OP Nishiyama (3), S Nagatsuyu (), MB Sato (2)
Canada
Starting lineup: OH Heslinga (8), MB McCarthy (6), OP Vernon (14), OH Hogue (13), MB Zima (9), S Hair (3), L Curry
On the way: OH Elsa ()
With this, Japan's record in the qualifying round is now 0 wins, 2 losses, and 0 points, meaning they have been eliminated from the qualifying round.
Our next match will be against Libya on Wednesday the 17th at 10:30pm.
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Photo: Volleyball World
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