STINGS TWICE BITTEN BY WOLFDOGS; TOP THREE CONSOLIDATE THEIR LEAD IN JAPAN

Recap of men’s SV.League weekend matches

Wolfdogs Nagoya’s Dutch star Nimir Abdel-Aziz

With Dutch opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz on fire, Wolfdogs Nagoya achieved two away victories over JTEKT Stings Aichi in the Games of the Week of the men’s Daido Life SV.League in Japan. Table leaders Osaka Bluteon and defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka also celebrated two wins each on the road this weekend, over Hiroshima Thunders and Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers, respectively, as the three successful teams consolidated their places in the top three of the current standings.

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On Saturday, Wolfdogs Nagoya put together a 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21) turnaround at JTEKT Stings Aichi. Spiking at a 58% success rate, Nimir led the way with 26 points, all in attack, while Aichi’s American outside hitter Torey DeFalco matched that tally with 24 spike kills, one ace and one kill block. Nagoya’s outsides Tine Urnaut of Slovenia and Taito Mizumachi added 16 and 13 points, respectively, towards the victory.

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Nimir was even more brilliant on Sunday, when in just three sets, he fired 27 points, including four aces and a block, towards a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 26-24) shutout. Mizumachi added 12 points, while the home side was led by Brazilian outside Ricardo Lucarelli with 13 points and DeFalco with 11.

Nagoya improved to a 25-7 win-loss ratio and 75 points, and occupies second place in the table, while Aichi stayed in fifth place on 18-14 and 48.

“There were times when we struggled with the opponent’s tough serves, but I believe that the players responded well by communicating with each other,” commented Wolfdogs’ Italian head coach Valerio Baldovin. “Through such tough matches, the players gain experience, and I believe that each individual will continue to see, feel and grow with their own eyes.”

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In the only five-setter of the weekend, Suntory Sunbirds Osaka squeezed out a 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12) victory over their hosts Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers on Saturday. The reigning champs’ Russian opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy was on fire and topped the charts with 33 points. Outside hitter Ran Takahashi added another 16 points. His counterpart Kosuke Yasui led Sakai with 23 points, including two aces, while Canadian opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans impressed with four kill blocks towards a 22-point tally for the home team. On Sunday, Suntory Sunbirds produced a tight 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 27-25) straight-setter, as Muserskiy delivered a match-high 18 points, supported by Polish outside Aleksander Sliwka with 15. Vernon-Evans was Blazers’ most prolific scorer with 17 points. Third-placed Suntory rose to 22-8 and 66. Sakai remained sixth on 12-18 and 38.

Osaka Bluteon mastered two emphatic sweeps of both matches at Hiroshima Thunders to improve to 27-3 and 80 on top of the standings. Seventh-placed Hiroshima dropped to 12-20 and 37. Cuban outside Miguel Lopez was the best scorer of both matches. He put away 18 points, including two aces, towards Saturday’s 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-18) victory. Opposite Yuji Ishikawa added another 16, including three aces and a block. The two strikers produced 17 (one block) and 15 (two aces, one block) points, respectively, towards Sunday’s 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) win. Brazilian opposite Felipe Roque led Hiroshima with 14 points in each of the two games.

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The remaining 16th-leg fixtures are scheduled for next week.

Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 16th leg:
Feb 19, 19:05 local (10:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Feb 20, 19:05 local (10:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Feb 22, 13:35 local (04:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Nagano Tridents
Feb 23, 13:35 local (04:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Nagano Tridents

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