ITALY dealt the biggest stunner in the 2023 Volleyball Nations League thus far as it took down erstwhile unbeaten Japan, 29-27, 28-26, 23-25, 25-20, in front of a jam-packed Mall of Asia Arena crowd on Saturday.
Italy vs Japan VNL recap
Throughout the entire Pasay City leg, Italian ace Yuri Romanò has manned the ship for the red-hot Azzurri offense.
And against their toughest foe yet, Romanò erupted for 22 big points off 16 attacks, three blocks, and three aces.
Italy now rises to third place at 9-3 (win-loss) as Japan's once unrivaled win streak ends at ten games, with one last prelims showdown against world no. 1 Poland on Sunday.
Top Italian aces Daniele Lavia (18 points) and Ale Michielletto (14 points) helped land the finishing blow to Japan's mighty 10-game unbeaten run.
It was the slimmest of margins that set both teams apart in the first three sets up until Italy cracked the winning code in four frames.
"It was a great match. We played really good versus a very strong team. Now, we have a lot of confidence as we improved during the games and we'll get ready for the finals week," Romanò said.
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