The sixth day of the men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2021. Japan faced France, ranked 5th in the world, and was sadly defeated 2-3.
Japan match results
vs France ●2-3 (25-21, 22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 11-15)
Starting lineup for the first set (serving order)
Japan
S3 Fujii
OH 14 Ishikawa
MB 6 Yamauchi
OP 1 Shimizu
OH 21 Takahashi
MB 15 Onodera
L 20 Yamamoto
France
S 11 Blizzard
OH 17 Klebno
MB 1 Chinies
OP 4 Patry
OH 19 Ruwoty
MB 16 Bullet
L 2 Grebennikov
Japan started the day with the same lineup as in the opening match against Iran. Meanwhile, France rested their regular setter Toniutti and star player Nougapet. However, the French court was still packed with players who are active in the world's top leagues, including opposite Patry and setter Brizard, from Italy and Russia. As Japan and France were both teams with a reputation for their floor defense, we knew the match would be long, and that's exactly how it played out.
Just like the previous day's match against Brazil, Ishikawa was targeted by the opponent's serve from the first set. However, this time Ishikawa was different. He carefully returned the receptions and made sure to get side outs. His offensive performance continued from the previous day, and he played relaxed, using not only sharp and powerful hits but also soft hits and rebounds. On the other hand, Japan targeted OH Luloti, who was weak in the opponent's reception, and broke down the opponent, expanding their break chances. Also, the guardian angel Grebennikov was not in good form, and France lacked stability in reception. Thus, Japan maintained the lead throughout the match and took the first set 25-21.
In the second set, Ai Takahashi struggled offensively in the early stages, with a block from Ishikawa. After that, France caught up with a service ace from Ishikawa, but France's defense started to stabilize and they pulled away with a 14-10 lead with a spike from OP Patri after a connection. Japan tried to fight back by replacing Shimizu and Fujii with Otsuka and Sekita, and Yamauchi with Takahashi Kentaro, but they were unable to catch up and lost the second set 22-25.
France's #4 Patrie scored a spike at a key moment. Photo by FIVB
In the third set, Japan started with MB Takahashi. France also replaced OH Ruloti, who had concerns about his reception, with Tille's son Kevin. In the early stages, both teams exchanged side-outs and neither side gave in. At 10-9, Japan replaced Takahashi Ai, who had moved to the front, with Takanashi, who had been in good form the day before. Then, starting with an ace from Ishikawa, a spike from Shimizu after a long rally, and blocks from Takahashi and Onodera, the score was 16-11. Japan persistently blocked France's quick plays, not allowing attacks from the center, and with France's mistakes piling up, they were leading by a large margin of 23-16. However, from here France began their furious comeback. Patry's serve disrupted Ishikawa's reception, and consecutive breaks, including an ace, allowed six consecutive points at once, 23-22. For a moment, a video of the Beijing Olympic qualifying match against Italy 13 years ago flashed through my mind, but substitute Sekita managed to turn the tide with a quick hit from Takahashi, and finally, with a service ace from Shimizu, Japan held on to a 26-24 victory.
In the fourth set, Japan used Takanashi and Sekita as they were. France replaced Cleveno, who seemed to be in good form, with southpaw OH Riner, who is known for his defense. Although Japan struggled with France's serves in the early stages, their sidemen made sure to score high sets, and they took a step ahead at 8-6. However, they struggled with France's serves after that, and Japan's spikes didn't go through, allowing them to take the lead at 9-11. From there, Fujii was replaced as setter, and Japan caught up with Takanashi's sharp pipes, but they struggled with France's aggressive serves. Japan overstepped the line and made some combination mistakes, and even though they replaced Shimizu with Otsuka, they were unable to regain the momentum, and France took the set back at 25-21, taking the game to a full set.
The final set started with OP Otsuka. Ishikawa's spikes led to two consecutive side-outs, making the score 2-2. However, Otsuka's spike from the left side was caught by a single block from the opposing setter, Brizard, and from there, Tille and Brutl scored service aces in succession, giving France a 7-3 lead. However, here again, Ishikawa mixed soft hits and rebounds to score a sure spike, catching up to 9-8. However, France was unable to catch up. After that, they got a side-out, and Ishikawa's Milan teammate, OP Patri, who has been in good form in this tournament, pulled away again with two consecutive service aces. Japan replaced Takanashi with Takahashi Ai to strengthen their defense, but it was too late. France took the set 15-11, winning the fierce battle that lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes.
Japan's reception has improved a lot since the previous day's match against Brazil, but their serve and other skills are still lacking to compete with the top level. Also, over the last three days, it seemed like there were many scenes where they were able to make no-touch aces between the receivers, so if they can communicate well and make more contact, I think they will be able to compete more with the top players. Although they lost, I think the content was the best of these three consecutive matches, so I hope they will not be pessimistic and move on to the third week.
Other match results
Netherlands 0:3 Argentina
Slovenia 1:3 Germany
Brazil 3:1 Serbia
Russia 1:3 Poland
USA 3:0 Australia
Bulgaria 0:3 Iran
Canada 2:3 Italy
Poland beat Russia thanks to the great performance of their ace Leon and rose to first place. However, the situation remains the same with several teams competing closely.
Leon scored 25 points, including seven aces, against Russia. Photo by FIVB
Standings (as of the end of Day 5)
- Poland: 5 wins, 15 points
- Brazil 5 wins 15 points
- France 5 wins 14 points
- Russia 4 wins 13 points
- Slovenia 4 wins 12 points
- Iran 4 wins 12 points
- Serbia 4 wins 11 points
- Germany 3 wins 11 points
- USA 3 wins 9 points
- Japan 3 wins 8 points
- Canada 2 wins 7 points
- Argentina 2 wins 5 points
- Italy 2 wins 5 points
- Bulgaria 1 win 5 points
- Australia 0 wins 0 points
*Rankings are determined by number of wins > points > set rate > point rate.
Day 7 schedule
9th (Wed)
Serbia-Germany 17:00～
Japan-Australia 19:00～
France-Russia 20:00～
Slovenia-Canada 22:00~
Argentina-Italy 23:30～
10(Thu)
Iran-USA 1:00~
Poland-Bulgaria 2:30～
Netherlands-Brazil 4:00～
Other plans for the Japanese national team in Week 3
11th (Fri) 2:30~ vs Italy
Same day 20:00～ vs Argentina
*Times are Japan time
Please refer to the following article for how to watch the live broadcast.
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