Recap of women’s SV.League 21st-leg matches
Himeji’s setter Miki Sakurai in action
Victorina Himeji became the seventh team to qualify for the playoffs in the women’s Daido Life SV.League in Japan. Before this weekend’s 21st leg of regular season action, they needed to collect just two points from their double header against Queenseis Kariya. They picked up three, but even that would not have been necessary, as the highest placed team below the cut-off, PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku, lost both of their games and the bar was not as high anymore.
- Watch Japan’s SV.League on VBTV.
The weekend did not start well for Victorina Himeji. They suffered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) shutout at the hands of Queenseis Kariya on Saturday, with outside hitter Riri Kasai leading the winners with a match-high 19 points. On Sunday, however, the visitors took revenge with a 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-20) victory, led by star outside Arisa Inoue with 19 points. Her Kariya counterpart, team captain Hinata Shigihara, was the best scorer of the match with 20 points. Seventh-placed Himeji now stand on a 24-16 win-loss ratio and 70 points and can no longer be pushed below the eighth place in the final regular season table. Kariya climbed to ninth place in the current standings on 17-23 and 53 and still hold a distant shot at the quarterfinals.
https://x.com/victorinahimeji/status/1903707455370014866
Astemo Rivale Ibaraki are the most likely taker of the last remaining vacancy in the playoffs, as they currently stand eighth on 21-19 and 59, and need just one more win in their remaining four games to reserve it. This weekend they took two victories from their visit to Okayama Seagulls – a 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20) win on Saturday, with their outside Miwako Osanai putting away 21 points and sharing the top scorer honors with Okayama’s Rinka Komatsubara, and a 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-13) comeback on Sunday, with American middle blocker Brionne Butler above all with 28 points, including five kill blocks. Okayama are now mathematically out of contention for the playoffs, standing 12th on 12-26 and 36.
Despite stunning defending champions NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki in one of their matches this weekend, Kurobe Aqua Fairies are now also out of contention, standing in 11th place on 14-26 and 40. On Saturday, they put together a 3-2 (25-23, 25-21, 16-25, 17-25, 16-14) upset of their mighty hosts in Tokyo, led by Dutch opposite Iris Scholten with 19 points, while NEC’s outside Yoshino Sato and Brazilian opposite Lorrayna Marys jointly topped the charts with 26 points apiece. On the next day, Red Rockets achieved a 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21) victory to improve to 29-11 and 88 in second place. Sato led the way with 23 points, including three aces and two blocks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DHf_y7ZvHSv/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku are the only other team, along with Kariya, that could in theory challenge Astemo for the eighth place. They occupy 10th place on 17-23 and 51 after suffering two losses at home to Saga Hisamitsu Springs. In the first match, Saga mastered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-22) shutout of PFU with a remarkable match high of 26 points from American opposite Stephanie Samedy. The hosts struck back in the first two sets of Sunday’s game, but Saga mounted a furious comeback to win the match by 3-2 (18-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-8) with a 35-point contribution from Samedy. However, the point lost also cost Saga the fourth place in the table and they dropped to fifth on 26-14 and 78.
They were surpassed by Saitama Ageo Medics, who took home the full six points from their trip to third-placed Denso Airybees Koriyama and rose to 26-14 and 79. Ageo swept Saturday’s match by a convincing 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-20), led by outside Aki Meguro with 16 points. Denso’s Colombian outside Amanda Coneo also scored 16, including four kill blocks. Denso took the lead in the second match, but their visitors turned it around to a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-18) victory. This time, Ageo’s sub-in opposite Nika Markovic from Slovenia topped the charts with five kill blocks towards a 23-point match high. Denso kept their third place, now on 27-13 and 83.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DHgKROKhFXv/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Bottom-placed Gunma Green Wings also made headlines this weekend. The team that had been on a 35-match losing streak since the start of the season until last weekend has now scored three wins in a row. This weekend, they managed to score their first ever league victories on the road in two four-setters at Aranmare Yamagata – 3-1 (25-14, 25-19, 15-25, 25-21) on Saturday with a match-high 19 points from outside Minami Takaso, and 3-1 (25-14, 25-10, 22-25, 25-18) on Sunday with Takaso spiking another 19 kills, but this time adding three kill blocks towards a match-high 22 points. Now on 3-35 and 11, Gunma still trail bottom in 14th place, while Aranmare are just above them, on 5-35 and 16.
Next weekend’s 22nd leg will offer a full set of seven double headers on March 29 and 30.
Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 22nd leg:
Mar 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Astemo Rivale Ibaraki v Gunma Green Wings
Mar 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Osaka Marvelous
Mar 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Kurobe Aqua Fairies v Queenseis Kariya
Mar 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Toray Arrows Shiga
Mar 29, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Aranmare Yamagata
Mar 29, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Mar 29, 15:35 local (06:35 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Astemo Rivale Ibaraki v Gunma Green Wings
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Osaka Marvelous
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Kurobe Aqua Fairies v Queenseis Kariya
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Toray Arrows Shiga
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Mar 30, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Mar 30, 14:05 local (04:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Aranmare Yamagata
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.