In the first week of the Brazil round of the 2024 Men's Volleyball Nations League, the Japanese national team faced Argentina on Tuesday, May 21st (local time) and won 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 25-19).
Starting members
Japan
OH: Tomita (14), Kai (17)
MB: Onodera (7), Yamauchi (14)
OP: Nishida (24)
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Substitutes: OP Miyaura (5), S Fukatsu, OH Otsuka
Argentina
OH: Visentin (8), Palonski (16)
MB: Rosell (12), Zerba (2)
OP: Lima (16)
S: Dececco (2)
L: Danani
Substitutes: OH Conte (5), OP Kukartsev (5), MB Ramos (1), S Sánchez.
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
※ () indicates score
TOSHIKI'S MVP
OP Nishida Yutaka
24 points (1 on serve), attack efficiency rate 441 TP 3T
Nishida not only scored the most points of both teams with 24, but also converted many difficult balls into points at crucial moments.
Although he struggled with losing points in the first set, he maintained a high attacking effectiveness rate with clever attacks that also made good use of soft hits from the second set onwards. He also skillfully mixed in short serves, and it seemed like his technical gorilla side had been polished.
However, during the post-match interview, an interpreter was there, which wasn't there last year, so it was a shame that I couldn't hear his powerful English (laughs).
Match commentary
Last year in the Nations League, they managed to win in a full set against an opponent, but they won 3-1 without their two key players, Ishikawa and Takahashi. This has a huge impact.
In the first set, Japan struggled with Argentina's blocks and lost the set in a close match.
However, from the second set onwards, the effectiveness of attacks improved overall, led by the aforementioned OP Nishida, and effective blocks and defenses from serves worked well, leading to points.
In addition to OP Nishida's great performance, MB Yamauchi made his presence felt with his serve, block, and spike, scoring 14 points despite being a middle blocker.
Furthermore, in this match, OH Kai and OH Tomita, who took the positions of OH Ishikawa and OH Takahashi, respectively, who were originally starters, performed brilliantly.
OH Kai scored 17 points in this match, the second highest on the team after OP Nishida. He scored points with powerful spikes that were as high as foreign blocks. In the third set, the cutoff point for the attack was lowered and he struggled with the opponent's block, but in the fourth set, he showed off his spikes that hit high and deep into the goal.
In addition, even though he was weak in serve reception, he showed a stable performance in this match, conceding only one point and minimizing mistakes. I think that OH Kai's ability to endure serve reception was one of the major reasons for the victory.
Although he is only 20 years old, he is always smiling even during games and is already a very reliable presence.
On the other hand, OH Tomita immediately hit three service aces in the first set. His attacks, which he struggled with in the early stages of the match, gradually improved as the match progressed, and in the fourth set he even showed a super play, hitting a difficult high ball from the back to score. That kind of attacking attitude is wonderful.
When receiving serves, he supported OH Kai on the opposite side by taking up a wide defensive range, and when there was no setter, he demonstrated his ability as a multiplayer by carefully setting the ball and leading to points.
Previously on YouTube Live I predicted that "the two outside hitters excluding Ishikawa and Takahashi from the Paris Olympics will be Kai and Otsuka, and Tomita will be the 13th reserve," but looking at today's performance I feel it is still unclear whether OH Tomita or OH Otsuka will be selected.
OH Tomita's offensive power as a forward is an issue, so it will depend on that.
Argentina had not yet qualified for the Paris Olympics and fielded a full squad from the first week.
Although they lost to Japan, there were still some good aspects, such as OH Palonski, who played for Ishikawa and Milan for two seasons and is rumored to be transferring to MB Rosell and then Sakai in Japan next season, scoring goals with a high attacking effectiveness rate, so we can expect to see further improvement from here.
In addition, with this victory, Japan gained points in the world rankings, moving up to third place, a new record high. That's amazing. I can't believe it.
For detailed match stats,Here
Highlight Video
Next race information
vs Serbia
Friday, May 24th, 5:30am (Japan time)
Television broadcast
BS-TBS (recorded, 24th (Fri) 21:00~)
TBS Nations League special site (you can check the TV broadcast schedule, etc.):https://www.tbs.co.jp/volley-nationsleague/
Online broadcast (LIVE)
①VBTV (English, paid): https://www.volleyballworld.tv/home
②U-NEXT (Japanese, paid)
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For more information on how to watch the Nations League online, click here:
Photo: FIVB
English 
Japanese