The team that is right between them in the current standings – FIVB Volleyball Club Men’s World Championship silver medalists Osaka Bluteon will travel to Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers this weekend. The two matches will be played at the Ohama Daishin Arena on Saturday at 16:05 (07:05) and on Sunday at 13:05 (05:05). Osaka Bluteon stand in second place on 20-4 and 58 and are the only team that has managed to beat Suntory Sunbirds so far this season. Sakai occupy seventh place on 8-16 and 24. This will be the second time Blazers host Bluteon this season. In November, the visitors brought home the full six points from the first double header between them – 3-0 and 3-1.
Fourth-placed Wolfdogs Nagoya will also play on the road this weekend. They will visit Voreas Hokkaido at the Recruit Staffing Rick&Sue Asahikawa Gymnasium. The games will serve off at 13:05 (04:05) on both competition days. Nagoya stand on 13-11 and 39, while Voreas are second from the bottom, in ninth place on 6-16 and 19, arriving at these matches on a negative six-game losing streak. The two teams battled for a total of 10 sets the first time they faced each other this season. Back then, in late November, Wolfdogs squeezed out two hard-fought 3-2 home wins.
Table trailers Nagano Tridents will welcome Toray Arrows Shizuoka to the Air Water Arena Matsumoto at 14:05 (05:05) on Saturday and at 13:05 (04:05) on Sunday. Nagano are stuck at the bottom of the standings, in 10th place on 3-21 and 14, following a 17-match losing streak. The last time Tridents won an SV.League match was at the previous time they hosted Toray Arrows back in November. Then, the two sides traded victories – 3-0 Nagano’s way and 3-2 Toray Arrows’ way. The team from Shizuoka is running third from the bottom, in eighth place on 7-15 and 21.
