In the second week of the Women's Volleyball Nations League 2025 Preliminary Round (Hong Kong), the Japanese national team faced Thailand on Wednesday, June 18th (local time) and won 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-15, 15-11).
Starting Lineup
Japan
S Seki (1), OH Ishikawa (16), MB Miyabe (3), OP Wada (29), OH Sato (21), MB Shimamura (3), L Nishizaki
Substitutes: OH Fukazawa (1), OH Akimoto (2), MB Yamada (6)
Thailand
MB Wimonrat (5), S Pornpun (1), OH Chatchuon (7), MB Thatdao (21), OP Phimpichaya (9), OH Warisara (14), L Piyanat/Karyarat
Substitutes: OH Donpon (4), OH Sasiphaporn (1), MB Hattaya (2), S Nattanicha, OH Atcharaporn (6), OP Tanacha (3)
Battle Review
First set: Thai defense and Japanese mistakes
From the start, Thailand took a 0-2 lead due to MB Tat Dao's spikes and Japan's attack mistakes, and then Japan would tie the score for a while, but Thailand would pull away. However, OP Wada's attack mistakes and Thailand's service aces allowed Thailand to widen the gap to 13-18. Japan wanted to counterattack with their serves, but Thailand's solid defense prevented them from finding their rhythm. On the other hand, OH Ishikawa made consecutive attack mistakes in the final stages, and finally MB Tat Dao's spikes gave Thailand the lead at 18-25, taking the lead in the set.
Set 2: Ty wins close match with blocks
Japan replaced OH Sato with OH Akimoto from the start.
In the early stages, Thailand was ahead 5-7 with OH Warisara's spikes, but OH Ishikawa scored consecutive points with spikes and blocks to turn the game around to 12-11. From there, Thailand took the lead again with MB Tatdao's blocks at 14-16, but in the final stages, Japan took the lead again with OP Wada and OH Sato, who had returned to the court, taking the lead 21-20. However, during a rally, OH Ishikawa was caught by a Thai block, and he made a series of attack errors, giving Thailand the set point at 22-24. Finally, OH Chatchuon's spike was successful, giving Thailand the set at 25-23.
Third set: Japan comes back with serve and defense
Japan will bring OH Sato back to the starters and replace MB Miyabe with MB Yamada.
Right from the start, OP Wada scored consecutive points with spikes and blocks to make it 2-0. Furthermore, OH Sato scored a spike from OP Wada's service ace and L Nishizaki's defense, and Thailand quickly widened the lead to 12-4. From there, Thailand scored consecutive points from the serve of OP Tanacha, who came in as a substitute, to close the gap to 14-10, but after that Japan defended the gap with a variety of side outs. Finally, MB Shimamura's spike was successful and Japan took the set back 25-20.
Fourth set: Japan takes control with aggressive serves and five blocks
At the start, Thailand took a long rally and was ahead 0-2. However, Japan succeeded in three consecutive breaks from a good serve by OH Sato and a spike by MB Yamada, and quickly turned the game around to 5-2. From there, Japan made it 10-6 with a block by OH Sato, and then OP Wada added points with a spike and block from a serve by S Seki to widen the gap to 16-8. After that, Japan continued to score points with spikes from OP Wada and OH Sato, and finally, with a spike from OH Ishikawa, Japan made it 25-15 and took the full set.
5th set: Japan holds on with serve and defense to win
In the early stages, Thailand was ahead 2-4 with a block from OH Dong Pong, but Japan quickly turned the game around with three consecutive breaks from OP Wada's serve to make it 6-4. Japan continued to score points in long rallies with spikes from MB Shimamura and OH Sato to extend their lead to 10-6. From there, OH Sato made consecutive attack mistakes, narrowing the gap to 10-8, but OP Wada's spikes made it 14-10 and Japan had match point. Finally, OH Ishikawa scored to take the set 15-11, and Japan came from behind to win the game.
Match stats:https://vnlw.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227520/?stats_team=away
personal MVP
Yukiko Wada
29 points (attack 24, serve 2, block 3), attack efficiency rate 311 TP 3T
In the early stages of the match, while Japan was unable to score on the left side of the attack, he continued to spike from the right, and from the third set onwards, he maintained his spike form and pulled the flow towards Japan with his own serve. A small ace who makes you forget that he is only 174cm tall. However, he hits too many shots and I am worried about his condition. I am glad that he did not play consecutive games.
Thatdao Nukjan
21 points (17 attacks, 1 serve, 3 blocks), attack efficiency rate 57%
A Thai middle blocker who tormented Japan with her high success rate spikes and persistent blocks. She was especially tormented by her until the second set, so Japan's comeback victory was due in part to her being able to suppress her well from the third set onwards. Still, 20 points for a middle blocker is amazing.
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Qualifying Round Rankings
As of 7:00am on June 19th (Thursday)
1 Japan 5 wins 0 losses 14 points 15/2 sets
2 Italy 5 wins 0 losses 14 points 15/3 sets
3 Türkiye 5 wins 0 losses 13 points 15/5 sets
4 Poland 4 wins, 1 loss, 12 points, 14/6 sets
5 Brazil 4 wins, 1 loss, 11 points, 12/6 sets
6 China 3 wins, 2 losses, 10 points, 12/7 sets
7 Germany 3 wins, 2 losses, 10 points, 13/9 sets
8 Netherlands 2 wins, 3 losses, 8 points, 10/10 sets
9 Bulgaria 2 wins, 3 losses, 6 points, 9/12 sets
10 USA 2 wins, 3 losses, 6 points, 8/11 sets
11 Canada 2 wins, 3 losses, 5 points, 9/13 sets
12 Czech Republic 2 wins, 3 losses, 4 points, 8/13 sets
13 Dominican Republic 2 wins, 3 losses, 4 points, 7/13 sets
14 France 1 win 4 losses 4 points 7/13 sets
15 Thailand 1 win 4 losses 4 points 6/13 sets
16 Belgium 1 win 4 losses 3P 5/13 sets
17 South Korea 1 win 4 losses 3P 5/14 sets
18 Serbia 0 wins, 5 losses, 4 points, 8/15 sets
Next race information
June 20th (Friday) 21:30～ vs Italy
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Photo: FIVB
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