The SV. League leaders secured a pair of road wins over Tokyo this weekend
Japanese star Yuji Nishida was very productive for Osaka in their first match against Tokyo
Japan’s men’s Daido Life SV.League leaders Osaka Bluteon survived one of their biggest challenges in 2024-2025 so far this weekend, during the 17th leg of the season, to extend their winning streak in the tournament to 16 matches.
Osaka were on the road against fourth-placed Tokyo Great Bears and dropped sets on Saturday and Sunday, but managed to prevail on both encounters against the last team that got to defeat them in the season, back on December 8.
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On Saturday, in front of almost 10,000 fans, Osaka started behind but counted on 21 points (20 kills, one ace) from Cuban outside hitter Miguel Ángel López and another 21 (15 kills, three kills, three aces) from Japanese star opposite Yuji Nishida to triumph 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-18).
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On Sunday, the teams met again and the match went to five sets, with Osaka coming out on top 3-2 (27-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-25, 15-11). López had again great production, scoring 26 points (22 kills, three aces, one block), and was this time helped by American outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke, who delivered 19, with 16 kills, two blocks and one ace.
“It was a heated battle and a great volleyball display,” said Osaka’s acting head coach Ito Takeshi. “Tokyo were also determined to please their fans with great volleyball and it was an amazing match. We needed everyone to win today and I felt a great sense of unity in the team.”
With the victories, Osaka continue clear at the top of the standings, now with 29 wins and three losses. Tokyo remain in fourth place, with 19 victories and 15 losses.
Suntory make it to the playoffs
The 17th leg of the season also confirmed the presence of defending champions Suntory Sunbirds in the postseason. They are the third team to qualify, alongside Osaka and second-placed Wolfdogs Nagoya, leaving three spots still available.
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Suntory, who are third with 24 wins and eight losses, secured their spot with a pair of road victories over ninth-placed VC Nagano Tridents – they triumphed 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) on Saturday and 3-1 (26-28, 25-18, 25-22, 27-25) on Sunday.
“I’m very happy with the team’s performance,” head coach Oliver Lecat reacted. “We came to Nagano to get all six points and that’s what we did. I felt that on Saturday we had more control of the match, while on Sunday we needed our experience to react to some difficult moments. It’s important to have this mindset to win.”
The second-placed Nagoya also went undefeated over the weekend, beating seventh-placed Hiroshima Thunders twice at home – they won 3-1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-13) on Saturday and 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13) on Sunday.
Ranked fifth and sixth respectively, JTEKT Stings Aichi and Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers split victories. Playing at home, Aichi triumphed 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-14) on Saturday, but Sakai came back strong on Sunday to win 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 17-25, 26-24).
The final duel of the weekend saw the Toray Arrows Shizuoka move up a spot, going from ninth to eighth, after back-to-back victories over tenth-placed Voreas Hokkaido in front of their home fans – they got a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-23) sweep on Saturday and were pushed to the tie-breaker on Sunday, winning 3-2 (25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 24-26, 15-11).
The Japanese League regular season continues next week, when another five doubleheaders will take place.
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