SPECTACULAR WEEKEND IN JAPAN BRINGS IN NEW LEADER

Recap of men’s SV.League ninth-leg matches

High-flying Kento Miyaura on the serve

The men’s Daido Life SV.League weekend in Japan delivered plenty of thrilling action, interesting results and, most importantly, a new table leader, JTEKT Stings Aichi, after previous chart toppers Osaka Bluteon were shut out at home by Tokyo Great Bears on Sunday. The weekend also offered some spectacular individual duels, like those between outstanding opposites Nimir Abdel-Aziz and Dmitriy Muserskiy or between Brazilian compatriots Alan Souza and Felipe Roque.

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After an epic fourth set on Saturday, Osaka Bluteon achieved a 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 36-34) home win over Tokyo Great Bears with a 21-point match high from Cuban outside hitter Miguel Lopez. However, on Sunday, the tables were turned and the squad from the capital mastered a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-22) shutout, disappointing nearly three thousand home fans on the stands at the Panasonic Arena. Portuguese outside Alexandre Ferreira led Tokyo with 19 points, while Yuji Nishida scored a match-high 20 for Osaka. That loss cost Bluteon the first place in the current standings and they dropped to second on a 13-3 win-loss ratio and 39 points. Tokyo kept their fifth place, on 10-8 and 31.

JTEKT Stings Aichi took advantage of the situation to emerge on top after two wins at bottom-placed Voreas Hokkaido, despite losing a point in the first game on Saturday. Opposite Kento Miyaura hammered out a 28-point match high, including five aces and three kill blocks, towards a 3-2 (25-16, 17-25, 25-14, 24-26, 15-9) victory. In the second match, Aichi left no doubt over their superiority and mastered a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-20) sweep. Miyaura fired another three aces to top the scorers’ charts again with a total of 17 points. JTEKT improved to 15-3 and 38 and climbed up to the first place, while Voreas continue to trail bottom on 1-15 and 7.

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In the clash between the third and the fourth in the standings, Wolfdogs Nagoya and defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka exchanged victories, while their opposites Nimir Abdel-Aziz and Dmitriy Muserskiy engaged in an exciting scoring race. The Dutch star scored three aces, three kill blocks and 16 kills in attack on Saturday, leading hosts Wolfdogs to a 3-1 (15-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-19) victory. His Russian counterpart put away two aces, two kill blocks and 16 kills in attack. Both strikers were on fire on Sunday and contributed to a five-set spectacle with a combined total of 72 points, or 36 each. Muserskiy tallied 34 spike kills and two kill blocks towards Suntory’s 3-2 (19-25, 25-16, 25-27, 25-20, 15-12) victory, while Nimir accumulated 32 in offence and four from the serving line. Nagoya and Suntory kept their places in the table, Nagoya now on 13-5 and 40, and Suntory on 11-5 and 33.

An all-Brazilian individual duel between opposites Felipe Roque and Alan Souza unfolded while Hiroshima Thunders claimed two home wins over Toray Arrows Shizuoka. In Saturday’s epic 3-2 (29-27, 19-25, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14) five-setter, Roque contributed 28 points (three blocks, one ace) to his team’s success, while Alan finished with 26 (two blocks). In Sunday’s nail-biting 3-1 (25-21, 13-25, 25-14, 39-37) four-setter, Roque put away 23 points, while Alan topped that with a 24-point match high. Hiroshima improved to 7-11 and 22 in sixth place, while Toray Arrows dropped to 4-12 and 13 in eighth place.

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In the most one-sided double header this weekend, Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers hammered out two shutouts of Nagano Tridents at home: 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) with Canadian opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans leading the team with 19 points, and 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) with Vernon-Evans and Argentinean outside Luciano Palonsky chipping in with 13 points each. Sakai are seventh in the table, now standing on 6-10 and 19. Nagano are second from the bottom, in ninth place, on 4-12 and 10.

The Emperor’s Cup is next on the teams’ agenda, while SV.League action will resume on December 27.

Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 10th leg:
Dec 27, 18:05 local (09:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Voreas Hokkaido
Dec 28, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Dec 28, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Tokyo Great Bears
Dec 28, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Hiroshima Thunders
Dec 28, 16:05 local (07:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Voreas Hokkaido
Dec 29, 12:05 local (03:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Dec 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Dec 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Tokyo Great Bears
Dec 29, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Hiroshima Thunders
Dec 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Wolfdogs Nagoya

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