JAPAN set the night alight with an explosive reverse sweep of Olympic gold medalist France, 17-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-10, in the 2024 Volleyball Men’s Nations League (VNL) Manila leg on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Already undermanned without Ran Takahashi, the Japanese lost Yuji Nishida after the first set due to stomach pain. And so, it was team captain Yuki Ishikawa who led by example with a 33-point eruption built on 31 attacks, one block, and one ace.
Taking over the opposite spiker position in Nishida’s sudden absence was Kento Miyaura who stepped up with 19 markers on 16 attacks, two aces, and one block.
“We have to push all the time. First, second sets, we were a little bit nervous. We were not working good. At the same time, we made too many mistakes, especially on our attacks. After the third set, we worked on our chemistry, our attack, and defense,” said Ishikawa.
“Today, it's not important for me (to have scored 33 points). What's important is the team and my teammates played very well. I had to make the right plays.”
Japan and USA's clash of the crowd darlings
The Japanese side strengthened its hold of a VNL quarterfinals spot in fifth place at 8-3 ahead of its star-studded Manila leg finale versus USA.
READ: Micah Christenson makes sure Team USA stays alive
A commanding, one-sided start went for naught for France, as ace spiker Jean Patry paced the defeat with 21 attacks on 18 attacks, two aces, and one block.
The French trio of Trevor Clevenot (15 points), Yacine Louati (11 points), and Nicolas Le Goff (10 points) also started strong but lost steam in their second defeat in three matches in the Philippines. They now stand at sixth place with a 7-4 slate.
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