On the third day of the Tokyo Olympics men's volleyball, Japan played against Rio Olympics silver medalist Italy and lost 1-3. While they were shown the difference in strength between them and the top team, Japan also showed their determination by coming back in the third set and winning.
Results
Japan vs Italy 1-3 (20-25, 17-25, 25-23, 21-25)
First set starting lineup (serving order)
Japan: MB6 Yamauchi, OP11 Nishida, OH21 Takahashi, MB2 Onodera, S12 Sekita, OH14 Ishikawa, L20 Yamamoto
Italy: MB14 Galassi, S6 Gianelli, OH5 Juantorena, MB17 Anzani, OP9 Zaitsev, OH18 Micheletto, L13 Coracchi
Japan has won against Italy in both the 2019 World Cup and this year's Nations League, and is on a two-game winning streak. However, the Italian national team at that time was only the B team, and there has been no victory against the A team with Zaitsev and Juan Torena in recent years, as in this tournament. However, Italy was not in top form in this tournament, as they were forced to a full set by Canada in the first match, their regular setter Gianelli was injured, and ace Zaitsev was not in good form. On the other hand, Japan is on a two-game winning streak and is in good form. I thought that this time Japan might have a chance to win.
But Italy was strong when they got serious. Although Gianelli had not fully recovered, he returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two games, and they were clearly on a different level from the Italian B team that they had faced twice in the past. The blocking was particularly impressive. Italy seemed to have studied Japan's setter Sekita's tossing technique quite a bit, and not only when Japan's serve reception was disrupted, but also when they returned the A pass and B pass, Italy was able to shut out Japan's spikes with a high probability, or even make one-touch plays to prevent Japan from scoring easily. In particular, Italy gave up seven block points in the second set, and even Ishikawa, who usually receives very few blocks, struggled against the Italian wall.
Italian ace, Juan Torena
However, thanks to the efforts of reserve players such as Fujii, Li, and Takanashi, who came on in the middle of the second set, Japan gradually started to adapt to Italy. Starting with this good momentum, the third set finally saw Japan take a slight lead over Italy. Setter Fujii impressed the opponents with his high-speed "Bujiri" quick play with Li in the early part of the set, and then focused on the sides and pipes to shake up the opposing blockers, which resulted in Japan's side-out rate improving. There were times during the set when the pairing didn't work out (especially Ishikawa), which made me nervous, but I think Fujii did a good job of changing the flow. However, Italy did not allow them to take the lead. With a service ace from Zaitsev, they turned the game around in the middle of the match. It seemed like the game would end like this, but the opponent's 19-year-old outside player, Micheletto, began to crumble in his serve reception, and Onodera, who aimed for that and served aggressively, got two consecutive service aces! Japan pulled ahead again just before the end, and finally Juan Torena's spike went out, giving Japan a serious lead and taking the set from Italy!
We were hoping for a full set match, but Italy responded quickly and started blocking again from the beginning of the fourth set. They struggled with Juan Torena's serve and were left behind 1-8. But Japan didn't give up. From there, they closed the gap to three points with aggressive serves and persistent digs, but Italy was reluctant to drop the ball. Nishida's serve, which was their last hope, hit the net, and in the end, Juan Torena, the ace who scored 22 points that day, scored a pipe attack and Italy won 3-1. Japan missed out on three consecutive wins to start the game.
We struggled with Italy's organized blocking, but our serve reception, which had previously tended to fall apart, didn't collapse, and that led to a counterattack in the third set. I felt this in the match against Canada, but the level of our serve reception has clearly improved since the Nations League. It's really amazing. Although we ended up losing, Italy was just better than Japan, even though they played well. I was excited to watch until the end, and I think it was a game with a lot of learnings that can be used for the next match.
I never imagined that the Japanese men's volleyball team would become such a worthwhile team to root for, since I was disappointed when Japan was defeated badly by Italy at Yoyogi Stadium in the World Cup 10 years ago. I'm so happy! It's the best!!
The next opponent is Poland, ranked 2nd in the world. Poland lost in full sets to Iran in the first match and also lost one set to Venezuela, so it cannot be said that they are in perfect condition. However, it will be difficult for Japan to win. They have a high blocking ability, so I hope they will learn from their match against Italy and fight! If Japan beats Poland, they will automatically qualify. It will be very tough, but there is still a chance of winning, so I hope they will do their best!!!
Next match schedule
July 30th (Fri) 14:20~ Japan vs Poland
Television broadcast
- NHK Educational TV 14:10～
Webcast
Photo: FIVB
English 
Japanese