Recap of men’s SV.League 13th-leg matches
Nagano celebrating their win at Nagoya (photo source: volleyballking.jp)
The 13th leg in the men’s Daido Life SV.League in Japan this weekend produced some unexpected results. As many as three teams – Nagano Tridents, Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers and Hiroshima Thunders – delivered upsets of their higher-placed opponents in one of the two matches of their double headers. Defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka capitalized on the situation and climbed to second place in the current standings.
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The team that stood second before the weekend, Wolfdogs Nagoya, were stunned at home by Nagano Tridents on Saturday. The visiting team persevered through an epic tie-breaker to celebrate a 3-2 (25-21, 12-25, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24) victory deep into the overtime of the fifth set. Dutch opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz’s fantastic 38-point match high, including three aces, could not push the home side to success. Led by their European opposite, Denmark’s Ulrik Dahl, with 29 points, including as many as five aces, second-from-the-bottom Nagano claimed their sixth win since the start of the season.
“From the start to the end of the match, everyone was focused and fought hard to win,” commented Nagano’s head coach Shinji Kawamura after the victory. “But even in our success, there are things we need to reflect on, so we will prepare to make some corrections for tomorrow.”
https://x.com/volleyballworld/status/1880761541726716009
On Sunday, however, Nagoya took their revenge, beating the opponent in a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20) four-setter and left them in ninth place on 6-18 and 15, themselves yielding the second place and descending to third on 19-7 and 58. The incredible Nimir was on fire again, shooting five aces and two kill blocks towards a 33-point match high.
Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers recovered from a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20) defeat at the hands of their hosts Tokyo Great Bears on Saturday with an unexpected 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 26-24) shutout of the strong opponent on Sunday. Tokyo’s Polish opposite led the way in the first match with a match-high 26 points, while his Canadian counterpart Sharone Vernon-Evans topped the charts of the second match with 17 points. The two teams kept their positions in the table – Tokyo in fifth place on 16-10 and 49, Sakai – in seventh on 8-16 and 27.
“After yesterday’s disappointing loss, we once again reaffirmed our weapons and went into today’s match,” said Sakai’s head coach Takeshi Kitajima. “I think the reason we won today was because everyone worked hard and fought to get this win. Our attitude of continuing to attack without hesitation even after the 20th point led to the victory. It was our best game of the season. We will use this as a confidence booster and will do our best to move up.”
https://x.com/greatbears_vb/status/1880867625942872124
Sixth-placed Hiroshima Thunders hammered out a tight 3-0 (30-28, 27-25, 25-22) shutout of fourth-placed JTEKT Stings Aichi at home on Saturday with a 21-point match high from Brazilian opposite Felipe Roque.
“I was very happy to be able to play our first home game of 2025 in a packed stadium. The main reason for our victory was that we continued to serve effectively while taking risks. There were tough times during the match, but we believed in ourselves and fought, so I feel that our team is steadily growing,” stated Hiroshima’s Argentinean coach Carlos Weber.
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On Sunday, the two teams put up a five-set battle, in which the visitors from Aichi squeezed out a 3-2 (25-17, 20-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13) victory. Playing as an opposite, their American star Torey DeFalco fired 39 points, including two aces and two kill blocks towards his team’s success. Aichi now stand on 17-9 and 44, while Hiroshima are on 11-15 and 33.
Defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka continued their rise with two straight-set victories at table trailers Voreas Hokkaido – 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-16) on Saturday, with a 17-point match high from Russian opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy and 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21) on Sunday, led by outside Ran Takahashi with 17 points. Suntory are now on a seven-game winning streak that has lifted them to second place on 18-6 and 55, while Voreas are stuck in 10th place on 2-22 and 10.
https://x.com/SVLEAGUE_JP/status/1880853768314781975
American outside Thomas Jaeschke was the best scorer in each of Osaka Bluteon’s two wins at Toray Arrows Shizuoka that extended their winning run to eight consecutive games and improved the team’s record to 21-3 and 62 at the top of the standings, while leaving the opponent on 6-18 and 19 in eighth place. Jaeschke put away 15 points, including five aces, towards Saturday’s 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-21) sweep, and another 25 points, including three aces, towards Sunday’s hard-fought 3-2 (25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 27-29, 15-11) victory.
Next weekend is reserved for the SV.League All-Star Games and the 14th leg will take place on Saturday, February 1, and Sunday, February 2.
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Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 14th leg:
Feb 01, 12:05 local (03:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Feb 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Tokyo Great Bears
Feb 01, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Hiroshima Thunders
Feb 01, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Voreas Hokkaido
Feb 01, 15:35 local (06:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Feb 02, 12:05 local (03:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Feb 02, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Tokyo Great Bears
Feb 02, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Voreas Hokkaido
Feb 02, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Hiroshima Thunders
Feb 02, 14:35 local (05:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
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