Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, April 29, 2023 – Former two-time champions Hisamitsu Springs recovered from the first two losses in the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium to brush off Paykan in comfortable straight sets in their last preliminary Pool A encounter on Saturday.
The scintillating 25-20, 25-15, 25-17 win handed Hisamitsu Springs the first taste of victory in this continent’s top-tier club championship. Following the win, the Japanese side completed their pool play in third place, relegated to the classification round for 5th-9th places. Paykan, winners at Iran Women’s Premier League 2022/23 season, lost them all in Pool A to finish 4th place.
Against the taller Iranians, Hisamitsu Springs, which captured the Asian Women’s Club title twice in Thailand in 2002 and 2014, got back outside hitter Megumi Fukazawa, who sustained unexpected injury and could not join the team in their crucial match against Vietnam’s Sport Center 1 on Thursday.
Hisamitsu Springs and Paykan made solid starts in the opening set which saw both sides fight neck and neck to level at 12-12 and again 18-18. As the Iranians used their height advantage to attack powerfully at the net, the Japanese’s exceptional tactics and amazing defence made the difference. Opposite hitter Mika Yoshitake and Fukazawa were on fire to carry out some powerful attacks to help move their team ahead 23-19 and after a few smashes, the Japanese won the set 25-20.
The second set was more comfortable for Hisamitsu Springs, which covered the court marvelously. Asuka Hamamatsu and Yoshitake produced some kill blocks, while Yoshitake and Fukazawa found the gap in the Iranian areas with their sharp blows. The Japanese team took the lead with a 9-point clear at 16-7 and continued their good show to close it off comfortably at 25-15.
The third set was more competitive at the beginning when the Iranians improved on their defence. Pouran Zare and Mona Ashofteh attacked the smaller blockers with their effective spikes to help Paykan even it at 7-7. However, it seemed everything was working for the Japanese in this set as they went ahead 16-13 and kept widening the gap. As Hisamitsu Springs were leading 24-16, Paykan saved one match point from a sharp blow from Fatemeh Amini before the final score ended 25-17 in favor of the Japanese.
Hisamitsu Springs captured the match to finish third place in Pool A with 3 points from one win against two losses, with Paykan in fourth position with one point from three straight losses.
After the match, Hisamitsu Springs head coach Shingo Sakai expressed his satisfaction over his team’s performance.
“It’s a good match with good performance of both teams. I think the Iranian players have high potential with height advantage. However, we attacked and our defence also worked out pretty well today. We next play in classification round for 5th-9th places and I hope we will do our best. Actually, my players are still young and although we play with this form against the Vietnamese side a couple days ago, it’s very difficult to say that we could beat them. Five key players in my team joined the Japan national team, while some other players retired at the end of the season.”
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