On the fifth day of the second week of the Nations League, the Japan men's volleyball team played against Argentina and won 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 31-33, 22-25, 15-12).
First set starting lineup
Japan
OH: Ai Takahashi, Ishikawa
MB: Onodera, Yamauchi
OP: Miyaura
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Brazil
OH: Palonsky, Visentin
MB: Rosell, Zerba
OP: Lima
S: Sanchez
L: Danani
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
In the first set, both teams scored points with their middle shots and the game went down to 4-5. From there, OP Miyaura and OH Takahashi Ai showed high decisiveness in both side-outs and breaks, and Japan took the lead 16-12. After that, OP Miyaura's spikes extended the lead to 20-14, and finally MB Zerba's serve was a mistake, and Japan took the set 25-18.
In the second set, Japan took the lead 5-3 with MB Yamauchi's block and OH Takahashi Ai's two attacks. In the middle of the set, MB Rosell's service ace and OH Palonski's spike allowed Argentina to turn the game around at 13-14, but in the final stages, MB Onodera and others scored from OP Miyaura's serve, and Japan won again with three consecutive breaks at 23-20. After that, OP Miyaura scored two consecutive spikes to win the set 25-21.
In the third set, Japan took a 6-3 lead early on with consecutive blocks from OH Takahashi Ai and OP Miyaura. However, with a spike and a service ace from MB Rosell, Argentina took the lead at 10-11, and the score did not widen from there, and the game continued to be close. Japan took side-outs mainly through OP Miyaura and OH Takahashi Ai, and in the final stages, a block point came from MB Takahashi Kentaro, who entered the game as a substitute, and Japan took the lead at 23-21. However, at 24-23, OH Ishikawa's spike made an error, and the game went into deuce, and Argentina, who continued to score mainly through OH Palonski, hung in there, and finally, OP Miyaura's spike made an error, and Argentina took the set 31-33.
In the fourth set, Japan took a 10-6 lead with a service ace from S. Sekita, a block from MB Onodera, and a service ace from OH Takahashi Ai. However, from the third set, Argentina tied the score at 15-15 with a block from MB Ramon, a spike from OH Palonski, and an attack mistake from Japan. In the final stages, they made a comeback with 20-22 thanks to the efforts of MB Ramon and OH Palonski. Then, with a spike from OP Lima and a final serve error from OP Miyaura, Argentina took the set 22-25.
In the fifth set, OH Takahashi Ai scored consecutive spikes from the beginning, giving Japan a 5-2 lead. Argentina took side-outs mainly from OH Palonski, but Japan took the break with spikes from OH Ishikawa and OP Miyaura, widening the gap to 13-9. Finally, OH Takahashi Ai's perfect serve reception led to OH Ishikawa's score, and Japan won the set 15-12, defeating Argentina 3-2.
With this, Japan has maintained its provisional first place position in the VNL qualifying round with a total of 8 wins and 22 points from 8 matches. The top 7 teams, excluding host country Poland, will advance to the final round.
The next match will be against China PR in the Philippines on Tuesday 4 July at 8:00 PM Japan time.
personal MVP
Japan: OH Ai Takahashi
32 points (1 serve, 2 blocks), attack effectiveness rate 65%, serve reception success rate 45%
Undisputed MVP. Most points scored on both teams. From his specialty pipe attacks to difficult high balls, he scored many times in crucial situations. In terms of attacks, he took 40 shots and had a 72% success rate, which is an extremely high success rate, and he boasts an incredible sense of stability with only three points conceded. Of course, he also contributed greatly to his specialty defense, with the most serve receives on the team and nine digs, second only to libero Yamamoto. He also served well with a short serve that varied in speed. Even in the block, which is often considered a weakness, he scored two points in this game and really supported the team with his high performance throughout the game. Ai Takahashi has become more than enough of a "core of the team". However, when I showed him his stats after the game this time, he was surprised at his numbers and said, "Aren't you the most points scored on both teams!?!" (laughs).
Runner-up: OP Miyaura Kento (28 points (1 block), attack efficiency rate 561 TP 3T)
Argentina: OH Luciano Palonsky
22 points (1 on serve), attack effectiveness rate 581 TP 3 T, serve reception success rate 59%
He was the key player in the team's comeback to win the third set. He supported the team with his strong decision-making ability and stable serve reception regardless of the situation. This season, he took over the number 7 from Facundo Conte, who was key to the team's bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and he seems to have taken on the beard and piercings as a sign of his respect for him, but his performance was already reminiscent of his former teammate. He is still young at 23 years old, so there is no doubt that he will continue to lead the team as the successor to Conte and the central outside hitter for Argentina.
Thoughts etc.
Ryujin Nippon remains undefeated with eight consecutive wins!!!
We knew the match against Argentina would be tough. We won the first and second sets in good form and just when it seemed like we could win in straight sets, we came from behind in the third set and lost despite having a match point first. For a moment, I thought to myself, "Today is the day to stop their winning streak."
However, the Japanese team, who had experienced that fierce battle with Brazil, took the lead from the start of the fifth set and won in a full set. They finished the France tournament with eight consecutive wins, still undefeated since the start of the match.
Among them, the most notable were OH Takahashi Ai and OP Miyaura Kento.
Unlike the match against Brazil, where Miyaura was a slow starter, he started off at full throttle and scored a lot of spikes. In the first set alone, he scored 8 points, with an attack efficiency rate of 77.781 TP3T, giving the team a lot of momentum. Although he made a painful mistake at the opponent's set point in the third set, his high scoring ability throughout the match contributed greatly to the team's victory. This time, he also took many breaks on serve, but he did not have any service aces, so I would like to see him score aces like crazy next time! In any case, he was a magnificent opposite.
Takahashi Ai's amazing performance is as mentioned above (lol).
I think the fact that we can win against strong opponents even without Captain Ishikawa being a big scorer is proof that we have become a truly strong team.
Japan's two middle blockers also made a big contribution. In the match against Brazil, all of their quick attempts were blocked, and this time their opponent was Rosell, one of the best middle blockers in the world, but Onodera had a high success rate of 801 TP3T with 8 points in attacks, and Yamauchi also had a high success rate with spikes, and also got many touches on blocks, contributing to Japan's transition attack. I think he played just as well as the high-level Argentine middle blockers.
Furthermore, Argentina's setter Sanchez is shorter than Japan's Sekita at 173cm, so as a tactic he swapped his blocking position with the outside hitter, a tactic known as a "switch." This is a tactic that Japan's setter Sekita often uses when he is in the front line, so it was interesting to see the two teams tactics of blocking and switching. When they switched, you could hear voices of "We switched!" not only from the court but also from the bench, and Sekita set in the opposite direction, so the bench fought together as well.
The match had many highlights, including the digging battle between the two liberos, Yamamoto and Dhanani, and the teammate showdowns between Ishikawa and Rosell, and Miyaura and Zerba.
Unlike the Brazil match, which was a full set but made the spectators tense and expended a lot of energy, I got the impression that the Argentina match was much more enjoyable to watch.
We won this time, but Argentina is also a very accomplished team in this tournament, so who knows what will happen if we meet again in the final in Poland. However, it is no coincidence that teams like Japan and Argentina, which have defense and organizational strength rather than so-called height and power, are ranked high in this tournament. I think the results show that these types of teams are the strongest.
Japan has won all eight games, but their place in the finals has not yet been decided. However, according to my own calculations, they need one more win to be guaranteed, so it's safe to say that they're pretty much set.
On the other hand, France, the host team, called up most of the Tokyo Olympic gold medal members and ended up with a tough result of 2 wins and 2 losses in the French tournament, which puts their final appearance in jeopardy. However, if they do make it to the final, they will do so in a low ranking, so there is a high possibility that they will face Japan in the first match again... Moreover, there are rumors that key player Ngape will join them from the final, so it will be a tough battle.
Well, there's no point in thinking about what the rankings of each country will be, because we can't control that. I just want them to take a week to get in shape and give it their all again in the Philippines tournament! However, I feel like they can afford to lower their strength a little for the match against China, so I'd like to see the performance of players who haven't had many opportunities to play so far.
Anyway, I'm really glad I was able to watch and cover the tournament in France and see once again just how strong Japan is right now!!
Our next interview will be at the final in Poland!! We hope to bring you a perfect shot of Ryujin Nippon standing on the podium!!!
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Photo: FIVB
Photo book "CATCH ××× DREAM" featuring Ryujin Nippon's three players Ishikawa, Takahashi, and Nishida will be released on June 5th! ↓
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