Recap of women’s SV.League 16th-leg matches
Victorina Himeji’s players celebrate at Osaka Marvelous
At least one upset was produced in five of the seven double-headers of this weekend’s 16th leg of women’s Daido Life SV.League matches, and that also caused a few movements up and down the current standings.
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The big clash of the leg, selected Games of the Week, lived up to the expectations. In the second match of the double header between table leaders Osaka Marvelous and recent Empress Cup winners Victorina Himeji, the visitors from Himeji stunned their hosts with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-16) turnaround. Thailand’s star outside hitter Chatchu-On Moksri was instrumental to Victorina’s success, as she led her team to victory with a match-high 28 points, including two kill blocks. Opposite Saki Tanaka added another 15 points, while Serbian middle blocker Minja Osmajic raised three kill blocks towards a total tally of 14 points. The hosts were led by outside Kotona Hayashi with 15 points and sub-in opposite Ameze Miyabe with 14.
“I’m very happy that we were able to beat Osaka Marvelous, who lead the league, as this will give us confidence in the future,” commented Himeji’s Israeli head coach Avital Selinger. “We were able to bounce back from yesterday’s loss in a short time. Especially in defence, everyone worked hard, picking up the ball, connecting, and accumulating points to get this win.”
https://x.com/victorinahimeji/status/1891045542236455187
Saturday’s match between the two teams left no doubts over Osaka’s superiority and no hint as to what was going to happen the next day. The home team hammered out a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-23) shutout with Hayashi on fire with a match-high 19 points. Despite the unexpected loss of Sunday, Osaka continues to top the table, now on a 25-5 win-loss ratio and 76 points, while Himeji ascended one spot to fifth place, on 18-12 and 51.
Defending champions NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki were upset at home in a five-set battle with Astemo Rivale Ibaraki on Saturday. The visitors squeezed out a narrow 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 17-15) victory with American opposite Mackenzie May leading the way with a match-high 32 points. NEC Red Rockets bounced back with a convincing 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-19) sweep of Sunday’s match, in which their outside Yoshino Sato emerged as the best scorer of the team with 13 points, while May topped the match charts again with 14. NEC stand third on 21-9 and 64, while Astemo remained in seventh place, on 17-13 and 48.
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10th-placed Queenseis Kariya stunned fourth-placed Saitama Ageo Medics on Saturday with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-19) shutout, inspired by Belgian opposite Kaja Grobelna, who led the winners with 20 points, including three blocks. The two teams offered a five-set duel on Sunday, with Ageo taking partial revenge with a dramatic 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-17, 32-20, 15-11) comeback. Grobelna was once again the best scorer of the match, this time with 30 points, including three aces and a block. Outside and captain Yuka Sato led the winning side with 21 points. Ageo stand on 19-11 and 57, while Kariya improved to 12-18 and 38.
Toray Arrows Shiga vs Saga Hisamitsu Springs was the double header, in which the lower-placed team won both matches. Hosts Toray Arrows took the full six points from these encounters staying in eighth place, now on 18-14 and 52, but pushing Saga down one spot to sixth on 19-13 and 58. In the first match, outside and captain Tsugumi Fukazawa contributed a match-high 22 points towards Toray Arrows’ 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-17) victory. Italian opposite Sylvia Nwakalor joined the squad for the second match and delivered a match-high 29 points (including five kill blocks) towards another 3-1 (25-22, 16-25, 28-26, 25-20) win.
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Closer to the bottom of the standings, 13th-placed Aranmare Yamagata and 12th-placed Okayama Seagulls exchanged victories in their double header. Aranmare put together a 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24) upset on Saturday, inspired by Ukrainian outside Oleksandra Bytsenko with a match-high 22 points. On Sunday, Okayama bounced back with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-17) shutout, led by outside Yuzu Nakamoto with 17 points, while Aranmare’s Thai opposite Donphon Sinpho topped the charts with 23. Okayama and Aranmare kept their positions in the table, now on 10-18 and 31, and on 5-27 and 16, respectively.
Denso Airybees Koriyama were one of the teams that did not allow any surprises this weekend. The second-placed team took advantage of Osaka’s setback to get closer to them on a 25-7 win-loss ratio and even surpass them on points with 77, after two home wins over Kurobe Aqua Fairies, who were pushed two spots down to 11th place, on 12-20 and 34. Denso’s Brazilian opposite Rosamaria Montibeller was the best scorer of both matches. She chipped in 23 points towards Saturday’s 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-21) turnaround and another 30 towards Sunday’s 3-1 (28-26, 25-21, 27-29, 25-19) victory.
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Kurobe’s previous spot in the table was taken by PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku, who jumped two positions up to ninth place on 13-19 and 38, after two three-point victories at winless Gunma Green Wings, who trail bottom on 0-28 and 2. Opposite Melissa Valdes powered PFU BlueCats to Saturday’s 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 26-24) sweep with a 19-point match high and to Sunday’s 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16) win with a 23-point match high.
Four double headers are scheduled for next weekend, February 22 and 23.
Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 17th leg:
Feb 22, 12:05 local (03:05 UTC): Astemo Rivale Ibaraki v Victorina Himeji
Feb 22, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Gunma Green Wings
Feb 22, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Feb 22, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Osaka Marvelous
Feb 23, 12:05 local (03:05 UTC): Astemo Rivale Ibaraki v Victorina Himeji
Feb 23, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Gunma Green Wings
Feb 23, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Feb 23, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Osaka Marvelous
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