パリ五輪出場決定！若手中心セルビアに3-0で快勝【バレーボールネーションズリーグ女子】

In the Fukuoka round of the third week of the Volleyball Nations League 2024 Women's Tournament, the Japanese national team played against Serbia on Saturday, June 15th (local time) and won 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-15).

Starting members

Japan

OH: Koga (14), Ishikawa (17)
MB: Yamada (8), Araki (1)
OP: Hayashi (10)
S: Iwasaki (3)
L: Kojima, Fukudome

Substitutes: MB Miyabe (4), OP Wada (1), S Seki, OH Tanaka

Serbia

OH: Mijatovic (9), Ivanovic (6)
MB: Malesevic (5), Cikuc (6)
OP: Bukirich (13)
S: Perovic (1)
L: Gochannin

Substitutes: OH Cvetkovic (2), OP Vidacic (1), OH Cica

*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero

※ () indicates score

TOSHIKI'S MVP

OH Mayu Ishikawa

17 points (2 on serve), attack efficiency rate 361 TP 3T

He led the team by scoring the most points with a mix of hard and soft attacks. He captivated the crowd not only with his attacks but also with his sharp serves that hit tricky spots.

There were some tough moments in the first set, but from the second set onwards, they put in a fantastic performance that erased the disappointment of their loss to Canada two days earlier.

Match commentary

They won in straight sets against a Serbian team that was a candidate for the Olympic Games and lacked a coach.

In the first set, Serbia scored many points mainly from OP Brkic, but Japan won the match with a break from OH Koga's spikes in the final stages. From the second set onwards, Japan's serve took over, and Japan dominated the game from start to finish, breaking the opponent with a variety of attacks, including quick and back attacks, from their characteristic defense.

They went on to win the next two sets in a row for a comfortable victory.

In the previous match against Canada, Japan's attacks became focused solely on the left as the game progressed, which made for a difficult game, but perhaps having learned from that experience, in this match in particular it seemed that they were more aggressive in attacking from outside the left area, with quick attacks from the middle, right attacks, pipe attacks, and even back attacks from the right.

And by sowing these seeds from the beginning, the left attack was more effective than usual in the final stages of the game. In fact, while OH Koga's attack efficiency rate in the first set was 361 TP3T and OH Ishikawa's efficiency rate was 17%, in the third set it was 601 TP3T and 50%, respectively, which were very high numbers.

Even if the situation becomes a little tough, I think this game proved that one of the factors that will make it easier for the team to proceed in the game is how well they can impress the opponent with attacks other than those on the left from the early stages of the game, especially quick attacks and pipe attacks from the middle.

I think that quick attacks from a high hitting point and pipe attacks from behind the setter (called "jets" by the women's national team) are very effective, so I would like to use them more and more.

It was a stunning straight-set victory, but since I had already secured a place in the Paris Olympics before the match started, it was a shame that I wasn't able to witness the joyous scene after winning the match (laughs).

However, it is great that they managed to grab a ticket to the Olympics after being eliminated in the Olympic qualifying round last year. With this, both the men's and women's Japanese volleyball teams will go to Paris.

This is the first time since the 2008 Beijing Olympics that both men and women have qualified on their own. It's the first time in 48 years, since Munich in 1972 and Montreal in 1976, that both men and women have qualified for the Olympics in consecutive seasons. Amazing.

They have also qualified for the final round of the VNL. I hope they can gain momentum for the Olympics.

But before that, the final qualifying round match against the United States awaits.

If they win here, they could become number 5 in the world rankings, which would give them an advantage in the Olympic bracket. Also, unlike Serbia, the United States is playing in the Fukuoka round with members who will be competing in the Olympic Games, so this will be a good opportunity to see Japan's strength again.

For detailed match stats,Here

Highlight Video

Standings (as of June 15th)

VNL Rankings

1. Brazil 11 wins 31 points ★
2. Poland 10 wins 30 points ★
3. Italy 9 wins 28 points ★
4. Japan 8 wins 25 points ★
5. Türkiye 8 wins 25 points ★
6. China 8 wins 23 points ★
7. Canada 7 wins 20 points

8. USA 6 wins 19 points
9. Netherlands 6 wins 18 points
10. Dominican Republic 3 wins 10 points
11. Serbia 3 wins 9 points
12. Thailand 3 wins 7 points ★
13. France 2 wins 8 points
14. Germany 2 wins 6 points
15. South Korea 2 wins 6 points
16. Bulgaria 2 wins 5 points

*The top 7 teams and the host country (Thailand) will advance to the final round (June 20-23)

★…Final round advancement confirmed

World Rankings

1. Brazil 389.93 ☆
2. Türkiye 383.93 ☆
3. Poland 373.60 ☆
4. Italy 372.33 ★
5. America 349.10 ☆
6. China 341.85 ★
7. Japan 331.62 ★
8. Netherlands 302.87
9. Serbia 291.04 ☆
10. Canada 284.76
11. Dominican Republic 254.58 ☆
12. Germany 209.04

19 France 166.98 ☆
20 Kenya 162.42 ★ (Top in Africa)

*At the end of the VNL qualifying round, the top three countries, excluding the top Asian team, the top African team, and the team that has already qualified for the Paris Olympics, will qualify for the Paris Olympics.

☆…Host country and countries that have qualified through Olympic qualifiers

★…Qualification for the Paris Olympics confirmed after the VNL qualifying round