Another duel to follow is the one involving NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki and SAGA Hisamitsu Springs, two of the most traditional teams in the country – they will meet on Saturday, at 14:05 (5:05 GMT), and on Sunday one hour earlier. The Red Rockets signed the league’s top scorer in 2024-2025, Italian opposite Sylvia Nwakalor, to add to a strong Japanese core that features opposite Yukiko Wada, outside hitter Yoshino Sato and middle blocker Nichika Yamada. The Springs also made interesting moves, signing setter Aki Momii and retaining American opposite Stephanie Samedy and Japanese national team middle blocker Ayaka Araki.
On the same days and times, the Aranmare Yamagata and the Astemo Rivale Ibaraki will clash. Aranmare signed two pillars of the Thai national team this season in outside hitter Ajcharaporn Kongyot and middle blocker Wimonrat Thanapan, while Astemo count on Americans Brionne Butler (middle blocker) and Mackenzie May (outside hitter) to lead their squad.
The Saitama Ageo Medics and the PFU Blue Cats Ishikawa Kahoku also meet on Saturday and Sunday, with matches scheduled for 13:05 (4:05 GMT) on both days. Both teams have their cores formed by domestic players, with Saitama featuring setter Koyomi Iwasaki, opposite Ai Kurogo and outside hitter Fuyumi Hawi Okumu Oba, while the Blue Cats have setter Tamaki Matsui, outside hitter Yuki Nishikawa and Cuban-born opposite Melissa Valdés.
Queenseis Kariya and Gunma Green Wings will be the last teams to debut, meeting for the first time on Sunday, at 14:05 (5:05 GMT), and doing it again on Monday, one hour earlier. Both teams went heavily into the international market to build their squads, with the Queenseis adding legendary Thai setter Nootsara Tomkom, American opposite Danielle Cuttino, Russia outside hitter Sofya Kuznetsova and German middle blocker Marie Schölzel and the Green Wings signing Polish outside hitter Olivia Różański, Bulgarian middle blocker Nasya Dimitrova and Vietnamese outside hitter Trần Thị Thanh Thúy.
