HIMEJI SNATCH FULL SIX POINTS AT ASTEMO

Recap of women’s SV.League 17th-leg matches

Victorina Himeji’s players celebrate

No surprising results occurred in the four double headers of this weekend’s 17th leg in the women’s Daido Life SV.League, with the teams placed higher in the current standings collecting full six points each to consolidate their positions. The top two teams in the table, Osaka Marvelous and Denso Airybees Koriyama, have now qualified for the quarterfinal playoffs. In the most interesting match-up of the weekend, Victorina Himeji put together two four-set wins on the road at Astemo Rivale Ibaraki.

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After two hard-fought sets on Saturday, Victorina Himeji broke away to register a 3-1 (25-27, 26-24, 25-18, 25-15) victory over their hosts Astemo Rivale Ibaraki. Himeji’s star outside hitter Arisa Inoue led the way with a match-high 20 points, including two aces. Opposite Saki Tanaka added another 16 points, while Serbian middle blocker Minja Osmajic, who came in as a substitution, impressed with five kill blocks to finish with 11 points for the winners. Her American counterpart Brionne Butler was Astemo’s most prolific scorer with 18 points, including three stuffs.

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On Sunday, Himeji cruised through the first two sets and despite Astemo’s fight back, the visitors produced another four-set victory, 3-1 (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 26-24), to improve to a 20-12 win-loss ratio and 57 points in fifth place. Astemo dropped a spot down the table, to eighth place on 17-15 and 48. This time, Thai star outside Chatchu-On Moksri was the best scorer with 25 points for the winners, including two kill blocks. Inoue and Tanaka chipped in with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Another American, outside Mackenzie May, led the home team this time, with 18 points to her name.

“In the first two sets, we were able to play the game in Himeji’s rhythm. From the third set, Astemo adapted and made various changes, and it became a close match, but I’m glad that we were able to persevere and win in the end,” commented Himeji’s Israeli head coach Avital Selinger. “The long road away from home is over and next week is our first home game in a while. We’ll fight with all our might.”

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Table leaders Osaka Marvelous left no doubts over their superiority in the away double header at Queenseis Kariya and shut out their hosts in both matches. In the first one, they mastered a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 28-26) victory with a match-high 16 points from outside hitter Mikoto Shima, and in the second, they were just as convincing with another 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-17) sweep, with opposite Ameze Miyabe putting away a match-high 18 points. Osaka top the standings on 27-5 and 82, and, with 12 games to go to the end of the regular season, they have now mathematically secured their spot in the quarterfinal playoffs. These results have also made second-placed Denso Airybees Koriyama (25-7, 77) a sure quarterfinalist. Kariya take 10th place on 12-20 and 38.

Defending champions NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki also got closer to qualifying for the playoffs with two wins at Okayama Seagulls. In Saturday’s game, outside hitter Yoshino Sato hammered out a match-high 24 points towards an emphatic 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20) shutout. On Sunday, the hosts took a set, but the three points still went NEC’s way, 3-1 (25-13, 20-25, 25-15, 25-18), with Sato on fire again to lead the way with 25 points. NEC Red Rockets are running third on 23-9 and 70, while Okayama Seagulls are second from the bottom, in 12th place on 10-20 and 31.

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Fourth-placed Saitama Ageo Medics also showed no mercy in their home games against winless Gunma Green Wings and delivered two convincing straight-set victories to improve to 21-11 and 63. Gunma continue to trail bottom in 14th place on 0-30 and 2. In Saturday’s 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-17) shutout, Slovenian opposite Nika Markovic topped the match charts with 14 points. In Sunday’s 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-15) sweep, outside hitter and captain Yuka Sato led the way with 16 points, including three aces.

A full set of seven double headers is on the way next weekend, March 1 and 2.

Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 18th leg:
Mar 01, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Mar 01, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Okayama Seagulls
Mar 01, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Osaka Marvelous v Saitama Ageo Medics
Mar 01, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Gunma Green Wings v Toray Arrows Shiga
Mar 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Saga Hisamitsu Springs v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Mar 02, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Mar 02, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Okayama Seagulls
Mar 02, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Osaka Marvelous v Saitama Ageo Medics
Mar 02, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Mar 02, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Mar 02, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Gunma Green Wings v Toray Arrows Shiga
Mar 02, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Saga Hisamitsu Springs v Denso Airybees Koriyama

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