In the Nations League Final Round, the Japan men's volleyball team faced Poland in the semi-finals and lost 1-3 (25-19, 26-28, 17-25, 19-25).
First set starting lineup
Japan
OH: Ai Takahashi, Ishikawa
MB: Onodera, Yamauchi
OP: Miyaura
S: Sekita
L: Yamamoto
Poland
OH: Bednos, Silivka
MB: Kochanowski, Bieniek
OP: Kaczmarek
S: Janusz
L: Zatorski
*Positions: OH = outside hitter, MB = middle blocker, OP = opposite, S = setter, L = libero
The stats for this match areHere
Match Report
The first set was a close one, with Japan scoring mainly through MB Onodera and OP Miyaura, while Poland scored mainly through OP Kaczmarek, leading to a score of 9-9. However, with two service aces from OH Takahashi Ai and a spike from OP Miyaura after a brilliant fake set, Japan managed to break five times in a row, pulling away from Poland to 15-9. Poland then brought in OH Leon to narrow the gap to 17-14. However, Japan did not allow their opponent to make a comeback with consecutive pipe attacks from OH Ishikawa, and in the end, OP Miyaura scored two consecutive spikes to win the set 25-19.
In the second set, Poland scored consecutive points with serves from MB Bieniek and MB Kochanowski to take a 5-9 lead from the beginning. After that, Japan also caught up with 18-18 with a service ace from OH Ishikawa and a block from OH Takahashi Ai, and the game went back and forth and went into deuce. OH Ishikawa's pipe attack put Japan on set at 26-25, but then OH Leon's high spike and block, and MB Bieniek's de facto service ace caused three consecutive points to be lost, and Poland took the set 26-28.
In the third set, Japan struggled with OH Leon's spikes and blocks, MB Bieniek and OP Kaczmarek's serves from the beginning, and Poland took a big lead at 2-8. Poland then widened the gap to 5-13, and Japan brought in MB Takahashi Kentaro, and then OP Nishiyama and S Nagatsuyu as substitutes. OH Ishikawa had consecutive service aces to make it 13-20, but MB Huber scored a quick shot in the end, and Poland took the set 17-25.
In the fourth set, Japan replaced MB Yamauchi with MB Kentaro Takahashi from the start. At the start, OH Takahashi Ai got a service ace to put Japan up 2-0, but OP Kaczmarek's block and OH Leon's spike led to four consecutive breaks, and Poland quickly took the lead at 7-10. After that, OH Ishikawa's service ace brought Japan within one point at 14-15, but OH Silivka's service ace and others quickly widened the gap to 15-19. Poland maintained the lead until the end, and court captain OH Silivka's attack made it 21-25, and Poland won the match 1-3.
personal MVP
Poland: OH Wilfredo Leon
23 points (including 2 blocks), attack effectiveness rate 66%, serve reception success rate 29%
He entered the court midway through the first set and was instrumental in Poland's comeback victory. In particular, in his matchup with Japan's Sekita, Japan was helpless as he spiked the ball from above the block and down to the front of the court. No matter how much he disrupted the serve, it was a situation where all he had to do was give a high ball to Leon to win, so I think it was a very difficult match for Japan. He also contributed greatly not only with his spikes but also with his blocks, and in particular, the opposite Miyaura had a lot of trouble with Leon's blocks. However, I am impressed with the Japanese receivers, who did not concede a single point directly to Leon's serves, who was ranked number one in the Italian league for serving.
Japan: OH Ai Takahashi
16 points (3 on serve, 1 on block), attack effectiveness rate 29%, serve reception success rate 45%
Although he struggled with four blocked attacks, he held his ground against Poland's powerful serves and showed his presence in both serving and blocking. He is better at serving than Ishikawa, so I think he could be swapped with Ishikawa in some cases (Ishikawa's regular position of "position 2" (or "near") is often in the middle when receiving serves). He may also be the best on the team in terms of speed and speed of serving.
Thoughts etc.
First, Nishida was injured during warm-ups. He was wearing the "Equal Jersey", the charity shirt for this tournament, from the moment he entered the court, so Nishida was probably going to start in today's match. But while I was looking away for a moment, Nishida had disappeared. He wasn't even there when we lined up... And before I knew it, Miyaura had been replaced in the starting lineup... Why?!?!?! Everyone in the stadium was confused. We later found out he had hurt his back, but the match began with a question mark still hanging over our heads.
This was the first match to be played completely away from home in the qualifying rounds of this tournament, and it was against Poland, a country well known for its passionate fans.
The arena was filled with over 10,000 Polish fans, but I don't think the local fans were putting much pressure on the Japanese team in the early stages of the first set. Maybe they were underestimating Japan.
However, in the first set, Ran Takahashi's serve started to take over the Japanese pace, and the atmosphere changed completely. The booing during the serve became serious (laughs).
Not limited to Ran Takahashi, Japan in this set was able to attack well with their serves and hold strong with their serve reception, and they were able to play an ideal game of consistently taking breaks while successfully taking side outs. In particular, even though they were unable to score points directly with their serves, they were able to effectively block their opponents' quick mid-range attacks (in fact, Poland had zero points from the middle in the first set). On the other hand, Japan was able to build an ideal set up that involved many attacks from the middle, such as quicks and pipes, from stable serve reception, and Poland's blocks were not able to respond well.
At the end of the first set, Japan was in full control. I thought maybe we could go to the finals, and I got really emotional (laughs).
In the second set, Poland's serves, especially Bieniek's, took the lead in the early stages, but in the final stages, Ishikawa and Nishiyama, who was playing for the first time, scored service aces to tie the score. Even if Japan lost the lead to a strong team like this, they were able to catch up in the final stages with their serves, which shows how strong Japan is now. Then, they got a set point at 26-25, and the booing from the Polish fans reached a climax, but Miyaura's spike was caught by Leon right after Poland got a side out... I really wanted to win here.
After a close match, Poland took the second set, and the match continued at Poland's pace until the end.
As mentioned above, Poland's Leon was able to easily spike the ball over Sekita's block, and while he was marking that spot, Kaczmarek on the right side also improved his form, and furthermore, Ishikawa was mainly thrown off by powerful serves from players such as Bieniek, and was unable to get a side out. Leon and Kaczmarek also had good blocks, giving Miyaura and Ai a hard time, respectively.
Poland was strong after all. However, I think we should be proud of the fact that we were able to make Poland suffer until the Polish fans started to boo them. Compared to the qualifying round, we were clearly fighting better. I don't know what will happen next. It won't be long before we beat Poland, the world's number one ranked team.
Photo: FIVB
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