Wolfdogs and Great Bears split spoils in double header

While each of the two leaders in the men’s volleyball Daido Life SV.League in Japan – Suntory Sunbirds Osaka and Osaka Bluteon – celebrated double wins in their double headers this weekend, the 19^th leg offered split wins in the other three match-ups, including the big clash between Wolfdogs Nagoya and Tokyo Great Bears.

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Wolfdogs Nagoya delighted the home crowd of 3,280 fans at the Entrio on Saturday with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-21) victory over Tokyo Great Bears. Opposite Kento Miyaura (two aces, two kill blocks) and outside hitter Taito Mizumachi (one ace) led the winners with 18 points apiece, while Polish opposite Bartosz Kurek produced a match-high 23 points for Tokyo. Kurek (two aces, two blocks) shared the top scorer honors with Argentinean teammate Luciano Vicentin (two aces, one block) with 18 points each as Great Bears retaliated on Sunday with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-22) shutout of Wolfdogs. Nagoya stayed third in the current standings, now on a 21-13 win-loss ratio and 61 points, while Tokyo kept in fifth on 18-16 and 53.

In front of five thousand in the stands at the Ookini Arena Maishima, FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship runners-up Osaka Bluteon, who had already qualified for the playoffs, mastered a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-23) sweep of their first home game against JTEKT Stings Aichi. Opposite and captain Yuji Nishida fired three aces and put up a kill block to emerge as the best scorer of the match with 19 points. On Sunday, Osaka hammered out another straight-setter against the strong opponent, 3-0 (25-20, 29-27, 25-19). This time Cuban outside hitter Miguel Lopez led the way with a match-high 19 points. Bluteon stand second, now on 28-6 and 82, while Stings are in fourth place on 20-14 and 58.

Hiroshima Thunders and Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers traded victories this weekend to keep the status quo in their race for a berth in the quarterfinals. Hiroshima stayed within the playoff zone, in sixth place on 15-19 and 47, while Sakai remained just below the red line, in seventh place on 13-21 and 39. Blazers took the first match by 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-21), led by Danish opposite Ulrik Dahl with 20 points, including two aces and two stuffs. Thunders pleased the nearly three thousand fans at the Hiroshima Sunplaza Hall with a 3-1 (27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23) revenge on Sunday, spearheaded by American outside Cooper Robinson with 22 points.

The clash at the very bottom of the table also led to split wins between Voreas Hokkaido and Nagano Tridents. Table trailers Nagano surprised their hosts with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) shutout on Saturday, led by opposite Hazuki Kishikawa with 16 points. Voreas got back at their visitors with an emphatic 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-14) sweep on Sunday with a match-high 19 points from Taiwanese opposite Chang Yu-Sheng, including four blocks and two aces. Now on 4-30 and 18, Nagano remained stuck at the bottom of the standings in 10^th place, while Voreas moved up a spot, to eighth place on 10-24 and 31, edging Toray Arrows Shizuoka on set ratios.

Also on 10-24 and 31, Toray Arrows Shizuoka descended to ninth place after two home losses to defending champions and table leaders Suntory Sunbirds Osaka. The hosts took a set on Saturday before their mighty visitors hammered out a 3-1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-15, 25-17) comeback. Russian opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy led Suntory with a team-high 19 points, while his Toray Arrows counterpart Daiki Yamada impressed with five serving aces towards a match-high 21 points. On Sunday, Suntory Sunbirds took out Toray Arrows in straight sets, 3-0 (31-29, 25-20, 25-17). With another 19 points, including two aces and a block, Muserskiy emerged as the best scorer of the match. The playoffs-bound champions improved to 31-3 and 90 and are now just two points away from booking a direct ticket to the semifinals.

The 20^th leg next weekend will offer a full set of five double headers with one game on Friday, March 20, five on Saturday and four on Sunday.

Men’s SV.League 2025-2026 20th leg:
Mar 20, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Hiroshima Thunders
Mar 21, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Hiroshima Thunders
Mar 21, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Mar 21, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Osaka Bluteon
Mar 21, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Mar 21, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Mar 22, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Mar 22, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Osaka Bluteon
Mar 22, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Mar 22, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers

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