LEGENDARY MATCH | JAPAN vs USA | Women's VNL 2023
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Published 2024-04-26
Japan ended their participation in the Week 2 of the Volleyball Nations League 2023 in great style as the Asians topped the United States in the tie-breaker in Brasilia on Saturday, taking down the last undefeated team in the tournament.
The Japanese were stronger in the fifth set to secure a 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-6) victory over the Olympic champions in a roller-coaster of a match held at the Nilson Nelson Stadium in the Brazilian capital.
With the victory, the Japanese now sit in sixth place in the VNL 2023, with five wins and 16 points. The Americans could have ended the day in second, but are now fourth with six victories and 16 points.
Opposite Yukiko Wada was the unlikely Japanese hero against the Americans. The 21-year-old player, who had scored 22 points in the first seven matches of the VNL 2023, had arguably the best performance of her career, carrying the Asian offense with a whooping 32 points (28 kills, one ace and three blocks).
“I just tried to remain aggressive and don’t be afraid of their block,” she said after the match. “We had some pretty tough matches before this one. We had a meeting with the players and said to each other that we had to keep fighting for every single point. We still hadn’t won a tie-breaker in the VNL and we did it today, so I think that we need to keep this same mindset for the third week.”
Japan’s outside hitter duo of Mayu Ishikawa and Sarina Koga also played a big role in the team’s victory, with the 23-year-old Ishikawa registering 19 points (16 kills, two aces, one block) and team captain Koga adding another 12, all in kills.
The United States, who didn’t start setter Micha Hancock, opposite Jordan Thompson or middle blocker Haleigh Washington, had in outside hitter Khalia Lanier their top scorer with 20 points (15 kills, two aces, three blocks. Opposite Danielle Cuttino also produced well, tallying 18 (17 kills, one block).
The higher number of errors made by the Americans (29 to 19) proved to be a main factor in the Japanese victory as the teams' production in all other skills was similar, with the Asians getting more points from kills (69 to 65) and aces (five to three) and the Olympic champions dominating in blocks (11 to eight).
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All Comments (21)
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Everyone can say Japan is small,but they oversize the their game change..Gambateh All Nippon🔥🔥🔥💪💪💪
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Japan made all Asians proud. Imagine if Japan team has same heights like all other teams.
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Japan team is incredible
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When I see the coach of Japan, I know he is really officially back. And Japan would go very far and strong as they used to. Olympic pic 2008 and 2012.
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Japan sekarang menjelama menjadi tim yg kuat..
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Selalu senang liat permainan jepang...mau menang ataupun kalah....❤😍🇯🇵
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Wada is very dangerous, another big talent for Japanese vball team
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Wadaちゃんが迫田を思い出させるんだよなぁー 応援してる❤
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JAPAN🇯🇵🗾
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I love Japan
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สุดยอดเลยสาวญี่ปุ่นอยากให้ทีมไทยเก่งแบบนี้จัง
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Поздравляю девушки с победой❤❤❤
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gak ada versi fullnya ya?
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JAPAN 👍👍👍👍
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日本好强
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Koga nice
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Nippon 🇯🇵
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Jepang bagus
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Ishiwaka 😂😂😂
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SUGOI! Nippon! 💪🇯🇵