On the fourth day of the Tokyo Olympics men's volleyball, Japan played against Poland, ranked second in the world. They lost 0-3 in straight sets. With this, Japan's qualifying will depend on the results tomorrow.
Results
Japan vs Poland 0-3 (22-25, 21-25, 24-26)
First set starting lineup (serving order)
Japan: MB6 Yamauchi, OP11 Nishida, OH21 Takahashi, MB2 Onodera, S12 Sekita, OH14 Ishikawa, L20 Yamamoto
Poland: MB15 Kochanowski, OP6 Kurek, OH9 Leon, MB20 Bieniek, S11 Zizga, OH14 Silivka, L17 Zatorski
Japan played with the same members as in the past three matches, and Poland played with the same serious starting lineup as on the first and second days. Poland's captain Kubiak, who had complained of physical discomfort, played the full game in the match against Tunisia two days ago to prove his recovery, but he was back on the bench for this match. His replacement was southpaw Silivka, who was also featured in the Handsome Men special. The commentators kept saying "SipretendI made a mistake and said "ka" (lol).
Right from the start of the match, Japan struggled with Poland's high block, and Nishida shut them out from the first point. However, unlike the match against Italy, Japan responded to the opponent's block early, and from there, Ishikawa and Nishida, mainly, made side-outs and desperately hung on, and the game ended with a one-point difference. However, after Takahashi's spike mistake, the score difference widened, and Poland managed to hold on and take the first set. The second set was similar, and they managed to fight well until the end, but they were broken when they were about to reach 20 points. Japan aimed for Leon with the serve in this match, trying not to let him hit a comfortable spike, but they were unable to stress Leon. Not only Leon, but also Silivka on the opposite side showed a stable performance with a sharp spike. In addition, the opponent's serve was sharp, and the number of attacks by Japan was reduced. In addition, the opponent's middle blockers were very strict in marking Japan's quicks, and setter Sekita had a hard time using the middle well. In the third set, Japan managed to break away from a close match in the middle, but was caught up again after the 20th point. There were chances to take the set, but at 23-23, Ishikawa was blocked, which was unusual, and Poland managed to turn the game around. At the end, Ishikawa's left spike was caught by a high block by Poland, and Poland lost the third set 24-26, winning in straight sets. It would have been nice if they had been able to get the rebound without forcing it at that point, but it was a shame. Nishida's relatively large number of serve errors was also painful.
Still, I think it was great that they were able to fight this far against Poland, who was serious about it, and it was a very exciting match to watch. I think that the defense, serve reception and side outs worked well, but I felt that it would be difficult to beat a team of this level unless you can serve more aggressively than the opponent. Japan's block is already low, so it is really important to reduce the number of attacks by the opponent with the serve and reduce the opportunities to spike in good conditions. Today, neither the jump serve group such as Nishida nor the control serve group such as Onodera were able to function well with their serves. Poland had three service aces, while Japan only had one by Ishikawa. I think it was really amazing that Poland only had three aces, but Japan would have liked to get more aces than that and gain an advantage in the match.
Their final opponent in the qualifiers was their Asian rival Iran. The winner would advance to the final tournament, while the loser would be eliminated, making the outcome of the match very clear. This year's Iranian team has a very high level of team perfection, having defeated Poland in a full set. In this match, the team that can continue to attack with their serves will win. There is no doubt about that. I want the entire team to use their aggressive serves to beat their arch rival Iran! And then they can advance to the final tournament for the first time in 29 years! I believe that!!!
Poland has now qualified for the next round. Congratulations to Poland!
Next match schedule
August 1st (Friday) 19:40 ~ Japan vs Iran
Television broadcast
- NHK-BS1 19:25~
Webcast
Since there will be no live TV broadcast, you can cheer on the team in real time online!!!
Photo: FIVB
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