Recap of women’s SV.League third-leg semifinals
Osaka Marvelous players celebrate (source: @Marvelous_JT)
The two teams that topped the final regular season standings in the women’s Daido Life SV.League eventually made it to next week’s championship final. Both Osaka Marvelous and NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki had their setbacks in the semifinal playoffs and were pushed to third-game deciders, but they swept these matches on Sunday and restored the order.
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After the shutout they suffered in Friday’s first match of their best-of-three semifinal playoff at home against Denso Airybees Koriyama, regular season winners Osaka Marvelous leveled the series with a 3-1 win on Saturday and set foot on the spot in the final with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-12) sweep of Sunday’s deciding match at the Panasonic Arena. Osaka’s outside hitter Kotona Hayashi was on fire again and led her team to success with a match-high 20 points, including two aces and two kill blocks. Her cross-court teammate and captain Mizuki Tanaka added another 16 points, while Belgian opposite Lise Van Hecke chipped in with 11.
Colombian outside Amanda Coneo was Denso’s most prolific scorer with 14 points. Their Brazilian opposite Rosamaria Montibeller put away 12.
“As was our goal from the beginning, we have qualified to play in the Daido Life SV.League championship final. Thank you for all the support over the past three days,” Osaka’s head coach Daisuke Sakai stated. “The spirited play of both teams filled the stadium with excitement. Today’s match was a game that neither team could afford losing, and it could have gone either way. We have finally come this far and we look forward to seeing you all at the Ariake Arena.”
https://x.com/SVLEAGUE_JP/status/1916390679825289504
Defending champions NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki started their semifinal playoff against Saga Hisamitsu Springs at home with a four-set win on Friday, but suffered a straight-set blow on Saturday. The hosts recovered with a convincing 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-15) sweep on Sunday and lived up to the expectations to progress to the final. In the crucial match, outside Yoshino Sato produced a match-high 20 points, backed up with another 15 from Brazilian opposite Lorrayna Marys. American opposite Stephanie Samedy scored 13 times for Saga, while outside Sae Nakajima finished with 10.
“As we approached the last semifinal match, we came together as a team and decided to play our own volleyball,” said NEC Red Rockets’ head coach Takayuki Kaneko. “Today we were able to play total volleyball. I think one of the reasons we won was that we were able to surpass our opponents in terms of offensive height and power. Starting next week, we will have a match for the championship. We will do our best to play our own style of volleyball.”
https://x.com/nec_rr_official/status/1916407162374656230
The championship final will be played in a best-of-three format at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Friday, on Saturday and potentially on Sunday of next week.
Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 championship final:
May 02, 18:40 local (09:40 UTC): Osaka Marvelous v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
May 03, 17:40 local (08:40 UTC): Osaka Marvelous v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
May 04, 15:10 local (06:10 UTC): Osaka Marvelous v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki (if necessary)
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