Arrows and Marvelous clinch V. League Final Round berths

The Toray Arrows and JT Marvelous are the first teams guaranteed a place in the Final Round of the 2021-2022 Women’s Japanese V. League and only one spot for the deciding stage of the tournament, which will take place from April 9-16, remains open as the regular season approaches its end in the country.

Both leaders Arrows and defending champions Marvelous secured their 25th victories in the season and can only be caught by third-placed NED Red Rockets, who have 23 wins, before the end of the regular season. The Hisamitsu Springs, who won 20 matches so far, are the only team in a position to challenge the Red Rockets for the third and final berth in the Final Round.

The deciding phase of the Japanese League will start with a match reuniting the second and third-best placed teams in the regular season on April 9. The winners will be back on the court the next day to face the top team in the regular season in the first of the two legs of the final series. The deciding match will take place on April 16.

The penultimate weekend of the regular season was prolific for the Arrows. They clinched their Final Round berth but were also able to maintain the top spot in the standings they had earned on Wednesday.

The league leaders were challenged by the fourth-placed Springs, but pulled off a five-set (20-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 15-7) victory to preserve their first place. The top scorer of the league, Azeri outside hitter Jana Kulan led the Arrows to victory with a 26-point performance built with 24 kills and two blocks.

Japan national team outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa, with 16 points (12 kills, three blocks, one ace), and middle blocker Erina Ogawa, with 15 (all in kills), helped the Arrows’ offence, while Springs' outside hitter Arisa Inoue matched Kulan with 26 points (22 kills, two blocks, two aces) of her own.

Defending champions Marvelous had light work to do over the weekend as they cruised past Victorina Himeji to a straight-set (25-15, 25-22, 25-11) victory on Saturday. American Olympic champion opposite Annie Drews led the scorers with 12 points (all in kills), tied with outside hitter Kotona Hayashi, who produced ten kills, one block and one ace.

The contest between the Arrows and the Marvelous for the top spot in the standings, and the automatic berth in the league’s final series, will feature another chapter on Wednesday, when the leaders play the Saitama Ageo Medics and the reigning champions face the Springs.

At the bottom of the standings, 11th-placed Himeji are in a tough position as they need to win all of their three last regular season matches to have a chance of avoiding the relegation playoffs. Ranked 12th with just three wins, the Kurobe Acqua Fairies have no way out and will be among the two first-division teams that will face the two best sides of the country's second division during the Final Round.