In the Paris Olympic qualifying pool B, the Japanese volleyball team played against Poland on Sunday, July 28th (local time) and lost 1-3 (25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 26-28).
Starting members
Positions: OH = Outside Hitter, MB = Middle Blocker, OP = Opposite, S = Setter, L = Libero
The points in brackets are the scores
Japan
OH: Koga (26), Ishikawa (16)
MB: Yamada (6), Araki (4)
OP: Hayashi (4)
S: Iwasaki (1)
L: Kojima, Fukudome
Substitutes: OP Wada (13), MB Miyabe (3), OH Inoue (2), S Seki (1)
Poland
OH: Ukashik (8), Menjik (6)
MB: Korneluk (20), Yurczyk (6)
OP: Stisiak (18)
S: Vowash (1)
L: Szczygłoska
Substitutes: OP Smajek (6), OH Cirnianska (2), L Stenzel, S Wenelska
Match Report
Set 1
In the early stages, both teams made side-outs and the score was tied at 9-9. From there, Poland took the lead at 9-11 with a spike and block from OP Stysiak, but Japan turned the game around with three consecutive spikes from OH Koga to take the lead at 16-15. Japan then scored consecutive points with a block from MB Araki and a service ace from relief server MB Miyabe, giving Japan a 5-point lead at 24-19 and reaching set point. Finally, OH Koga scored a spike to take the set at 25-20.
Set 2
In the early stages, Japan took a 9-7 lead with spikes from OH Ishikawa and OH Koga. Poland then took the lead 10-12 with spikes and blocks from MB Korneluk, but Japan took the lead again 14-13 with blocks from MB Yamada and attacks from OH Koga. However, Poland took the lead 18-21 with a service ace from OH Menczyk and a spike from OP Stysiak, and Poland took the lead 22-25 with a spike from OH Menczyk in the end.
Third set
Japan started with MB Miyabe instead of MB Araki. Poland scored consecutive points from OP Stysiak's spikes and took a 2-6 lead, and then OH Lukaszyk's block and spike extended the lead to 3-9. Japan sent OP Wada to the court, and S-Seki to the court at 7-13. However, Poland further extended the lead to 11-19 with OP Stysiak's spikes and OH Menczyk's blocks. From here, Japan narrowed the gap to 19-22 with OP Wada and OH Koga's spikes after receiving, and then OH Ishikawa's spikes brought them within one point at 23-24. However, OP Stysiak took the set point in the end, and Poland took the set 23-25.
Fourth set
From the beginning, Japan took a 6-3 lead with service aces from OH Ishikawa and MB Miyabe. Poland then turned the game around with consecutive blocks from MB Korneluk to take the lead at 10-11, and Japan made more mistakes to extend their lead to 13-16. Japan made consecutive mistakes in the final stages to make it 18-22, but S. Seki's receiving ace and OH Koga's spike helped them tie the score at 23-23, and OH Koga blocked OP Stysiak to give them a set point at 25-24. However, OH Mendzik scored consecutive spikes to give Poland a match point at 26-27, and finally OH Mendzik scored a service ace to win the set at 26-28.
As a result, Japan lost to Poland 2-3.
TOSHIKI'S MVP
Poland: MB Agnieszka Korneluk
20 points (8 blocks), attack efficiency rate 61.111 TP3T
A middle blocker who held off opposite Stisiak with amazing blocks and a highly successful quick kick, scoring the most points for his team. His lead blocks, taking advantage of his 200cm height, stopped many of Japan's pipe attacks, and his quick kicks, with a high impact point, hit the ball over the block and into a long course near the end line, preventing the Japanese defense from responding.
Japan: OP Yukiko Wada
13 points, attack efficiency rate 52.171 TP 3T
He came on as a substitute and changed the flow of the game, especially in the third set, when he was behind by eight points and was the catalyst for catching up to deuce with just one point left. His decisive right-hand spikes and back attacks, as well as his powerful serve, are still appealing. However, he was unable to lead his team to victory this time, as he did in the Nations League semi-finals.
Commentary
In the first set, OH Koga's spikes were accurate regardless of the direction, and his serves were fast, allowing Japan to take the set.
However, in the second set, Poland's serve and block improved, and S. Wołosz used a lot of quick shots to get side-outs. On the other hand, Japan's attack efficiency, especially that of OH Koga and OP Hayashi, decreased, leading to a difficult game.
The third set continued to be Poland's pace until the middle, but OP Wada, who came in halfway through, made good spikes, and thanks to that, OH Koga and OH Ishikawa's spike numbers also improved, and Japan caught up in the second half. However, they were unable to stop OP Stysiak until the end.
In the fourth set, OP Stysiak was completely suppressed and the serve was also good. However, Japan's OH Koga was stopped by MB Korneluk several times, and they made a lot of wasteful mistakes and were unable to get the last point.
In particular, the fact that we lost many points due to our own mistakes was one of the major reasons for our defeat. In terms of the statistics, Poland lost 20 points due to mistakes, while Japan gained 26 points. As with the men's team, I think that Japan's low number of points lost due to mistakes is a strength, or should be made into a strength, so we need to improve on this immediately.
As with the men's competition, the weakness of the defense against the attacks of the opposing middle blockers was also highlighted. The two Polish middle blockers combined for 17 points, with an attack efficiency rate of 66.671 TP3T, which is a lot.
On the other hand, Japan's three middle blockers only scored five points, with an attack efficiency rate of 14.291 TP3T, which is a pretty poor figure. MB Araki had a good attack efficiency rate of 66.671 TP3T, but the number of hits was still low.
Japan often used OH Koga's pipe attack (Mach and Jet), but I believe that the true value of the pipe attack can only be seen when there is a presence of quick attacks from the middle, so I would like Japan's middle blockers to also have a strong offensive presence in order to reduce the burden on the outside hitters.
Also, regarding the serve, which is Japan's lifeline, they should have put more pressure on the libero. In fact, the fact that the opponent had a lot of middle shots is also the flip side of Japan's inability to break down the opponent with their serve.
However, it wasn't all bad. OP Wada's spikes were impressive, and I think S Seki also did a good job in changing the flow of the game (which is why it was a shame that he didn't touch the net).
But Poland was really good in this match. Not only their blocks and serves, but also their spikes, which they didn't hit down easily, but basically hit long shots above the Japanese block, and they also skillfully mixed in difficult shots such as feints.
Until a few years ago, the Polish women's team had the impression of being a team with size but playing rough volleyball, but I think they have become a really strong team since coach Lavarini took over.
As is the case with the Japanese men's team, the Polish women's team is a good example of how the coach's skill can make a big difference to a team.
Unfortunately, Japan lost. Just like the men's team, they started off with a loss, but there is a big difference between the men's victory, who won points in full sets, and the women's victory, who didn't.
In the next match against Brazil, they defeated them in a close match in the semi-finals of the Nations League, but they will surely step up their game again in this Olympics. Of course, it would be best to win, but unless they can at least take the match against Brazil to a full set and get the points, their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals will be slim.
I think OP Wada will probably be a key player, just like in the Nations League semi-final, so I'm looking forward to it.
Pool B standings (as of July 28th)
*A total of eight teams, including the six teams ranked second or higher in each pool and the top two third-placed teams, will advance to the final tournament.
1st Brazil 1 win 3 points 3/0
2nd Poland 1 win 3 points 3/1
3rd place Japan 0 wins 0 points 1/3
4th place Kenya 0 wins 0 points 0/3
Next race information
Qualifying Pool B vs Brazil
August 1st (Thursday) 20:00~ (Japan time)
tv set
NHK General TV: 20:00~
Online distribution
NHK Plus
[PR] "ALL for DREAM -Footsteps to Glory- Japan Volleyball National Team Nations League 2024" will be available on U-NEXT from July 27th (Sat.)
A documentary program that closely follows the unknown behind-the-scenes of the "Volleyball Nations League 2024" and traces the fierce battles will be streamed on U-NEXT.
[Distribution date and time]
July 27th (Saturday) 5pm Boys #1 Boys #2
August 3rd (Saturday) 5pm Women's #1
Saturday, August 10th 5pm Women's #2
Saturday, August 24th 5pm Men's #3
Saturday, August 31st 5pm Women's #3
September 7th (Saturday) 5pm Men's #4
Saturday, September 14th 5pm Women's #4
(Quoted from TBS TV release)
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Photo: Volleyball World
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