Recap of women’s SV.League 11th-leg matches
Kariya’s Furi Kousa in action
Women’s Daido Life SV.League defending champions NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki played a second consecutive 10-set double header this weekend as the 14 matches of the 11th leg unfolded in Japan. Once again, they exchanged five-set victories with their opponent, this time Queenseis Kariya. In other unexpected upsets on Sunday, Okayama Seagulls achieved an away win over Saitama Ageo Medics, Kurobe Aqua Fairies shut out their visitors Victorina Himeji, while Toray Arrows Shiga delivered a five-set home win over Astemo Rivale Ibaraki.
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On Saturday, NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki were two sets down against their visitors Queenseis Kariya, but mounted a solid comeback to celebrate a 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-13, 15-9) victory. Brazilian opposite Lorrayna Marys fired three aces to finish with a match-high 25 points for the home team. Outside hitter Yoshino Sato added another 22 points, while Belgian opposite Kaja Grobelna led Kariya with 24 points, including three aces.
“We were a little stiff at the start today, and were overwhelmed by the opponent’s speedy serve and attack, but our team’s strengths in blocking and offence worked well throughout the match, so we were able to win this close match in five sets,” commented NEC’s head coach Takayuki Kaneko.
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On Sunday, however, the visitors emerged victorious after a nail-biting extended tie-breaker, 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 12-25, 25-20, 18-16). Queenseis’ Grobelna (two aces, one kill block) and Red Rockets’ Sato (two kill blocks, one ace) were the best scorers of the match with 26 points each. NEC’s outside Ai Hirota scored another 22.
“I would like to praise the players of both teams for their hard work,” said Kariya’s head coach Hiro Takahashi. “It was a very difficult game for us, dealing with great offensive power. However, the players, the staff and the bench were able to fight without losing communication, which led to our victory.”
This upset of the defending champions helped Kariya climb up to ninth place in the current standings on an 8-12 win-loss ratio and 25 points, while NEC remained in fourth place, now on 13-7 and 42.
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11th-placed Okayama Seagulls also achieved a surprising win on the road over third-placed Saitama Ageo Medics on Sunday, but on 6-12 and 20, only narrowed the distance to the 10th place. Before that, on Saturday, Ageo managed a 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-17) comeback victory with a 20-point match high from captain Yuka Sato. In the second match, however, the guests from Okayama produced a 3-1 (25-20, 31-29, 22-25, 25-21) upset, which left their hosts on 14-6 and 43. Outside and captain Syuka Kaneda was their most prolific player with 20 points towards the win.
In the first game of their trip to Kurobe Aqua Fairies, Victorina Himeji lived up to the expectations and delivered a 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24) win. Middle blocker Airi Miyabe led the winners with 20 points. On Sunday, the hosts took revenge with a 3-0 (25-23, 32-30, 25-22) shutout, led by Dutch opposite Iris Scholten with 19 points. The two teams kept their spots in the standings. Himeji are fifth on 13-7 and 35, while Kurobe are 12th on 7-15 and 20.
Another upset on Sunday cost Astemo Rivale Ibaraki the sixth place in the table and they drop to seventh on 12-8 and 34. After mastering a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-21) sweep of the first match of their visit to eighth-placed Toray Arrows Shiga with a 17-point contribution from American opposite Mackenzie May, Astemo fell in Sunday’s five-set battle. Toray Arrows claimed a 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13) victory and improved to 12-10 and 32. Italian opposite Sylvia Nwakalor was on fire and contribute a fantastic 43 points towards Toray’s success.
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Saga Hisamitsu Springs were the team that took advantage of Astemo’s setback to move up to sixth place on 14-8 and 44 after two home wins over PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku, who descended to 10th place on 8-14 and 23. Outside Ayane Kitamado led Saga to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) shutout of PFU on Saturday with a match-high 18 points. In Sunday’s 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-22) sweep, she shared the top scorer honours with American opposite Stephanie Samedy. They chipped in with 13 points each.
The two leaders faced few issues in their matches against the two lowest standing teams in the table and consolidated their positions with two straight-set wins each. At home, first-placed Osaka Marvelous hammered out a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-15) victory over winless Gunma Green Wings on Saturday with an 18-point match high from Belgian opposite Lise Van Hecke. On Sunday, captain Mizuki Tanaka spearheaded Osaka with 17 points towards a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-14) sweep. Marvelous improved to 17-3 and 51, while Gunma are stuck in 14th place on 0-18 and 1.
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Outside Haruna Yamashita led Denso Airybees Koriyama with 15 points towards Saturday’s 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-15) away victory over Aranmare Yamagata. In Sunday’s 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19) win, she and Colombian opposite Amanda Coneo shared the best scorer honours with 15 points each. Denso are running second on 18-4 and 54. Aranmare are second from the bottom on 2-20 and 8.
Next weekend will offer another seven double headers on Saturday, January 11, and Sunday, January 12.
Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 12th leg:
Jan 11, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Jan 11, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Kurobe Aqua Fairies v Toray Arrows Shiga
Jan 11, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Jan 11, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Jan 11, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v Aranmare Yamagata
Jan 11, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Gunma Green Wings
Jan 11, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v Osaka Marvelous
Jan 12, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Jan 12, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Kurobe Aqua Fairies v Toray Arrows Shiga
Jan 12, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Jan 12, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Jan 12, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v Aranmare Yamagata
Jan 12, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v Osaka Marvelous
Jan 12, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Gunma Green Wings
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