Recap of this week’s men’s SV.League matches
Toray Arrows’ Takahiro Shin sets the ball for Keigo Nishimoto against Tokyo
Two double headers in the men’s Daido Life SV.League in Japan were played this week to complete the 16th leg of the regular season. Toray Arrows Shizuoka and Voreas Hokkaido managed to surprise their opponents, placed higher the current standings, by winning the first matches, but then Tokyo Great Bears and Nagano Tridents struck back by sweeping the second.
- Watch Japan’s SV.League on VBTV.
On Wednesday, Tokyo Great Bears and Toray Arrows Shizuoka put together a rollercoaster five-set battle, in which the visitors celebrated a 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-13) upset in front of nearly three thousand on the stands at the Yoyogi hall in the Japanese capital. Brazilian opposite Alan Souza led the winners with 20 points, including three kill blocks and an ace. Outside hitters Gaku Kusumoto and captain Tobias Takeshi Shigeto added 12 points apiece, while middle blocker Keigo Nishimoto also reached the double digits with 11. Tokyo’s Polish opposite Maciej Muzaj was the best scorer of the match with 23 points, including two blocks and an ace. Portuguese outside Alexandre Ferreira put away another 17. His cross-court teammate Rikuto Goto tallied 11 points.
“Today, not only did each player do their job, but we also fought as a team with one mind, which was the reason we won,” commented Toray Arrows’ head coach Yuta Abe after Wednesday’s game. “Tomorrow’s game will be tough, but we will do our best without forgetting our fighting spirit as a team.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGQiBVfv5c2/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Thursday’s game was tough for his team indeed. Hosts Tokyo beat them in straight sets, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-22), with Goto leading the way with 14 points, including three aces and two blocks. Muzaj contributed another 13. This time Alan topped the match charts with 19 points for Toray Arrows. At the end of the competition week, Toray Arrows kept their ninth place in the table, standing second from the bottom, now on a 7-23 win-loss ratio and 22 points, while Tokyo remained fourth on 19-13 and 59.
“We were able to produce good numbers, especially in block-defense. We also saw improvement in the quality of our blocks, which was an issue yesterday, and while Toray Shizuoka attacked with the tactics we expected, I think that the result of making small adjustments led to today’s victory,” said Tokyo’s Finnish head coach Kasper Vuorinen after the second game.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGVQryRJwF5/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
On Saturday, bottom-placed Voreas Hokkaido produced a 3-1 (31-29, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20) upset of Nagano Tridents to claim their fourth win since the start of the season. Their opposite Yu-Sheng Chang from Chinese Taipei was on fire and hammered out a match-high 30 points, including three blocks, towards the victory. On Sunday, Nagano got back at their hosts with an emphatic 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-18) shutout. With 17 points to his name, the winners’ Danish opposite Ulrik Dahl emerged as the best scorer of the match. These two teams also kept their places in the current standings – Nagano in eighth on 8-22 and 20, and Voreas in 10th on 4-26 and 17.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGXnMrHyzP5/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Next week will offer a full set of five double headers on Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2.
Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 17th leg:
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Voreas Hokkaido
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Mar 01, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Osaka Bluteon
Mar 01, 15:35 local (06:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Hiroshima Thunders
Mar 02, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Mar 02, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Voreas Hokkaido
Mar 02, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Mar 02, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Osaka Bluteon
Mar 02, 14:35 local (05:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Hiroshima Thunders
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.