Jaeschke and Nishida power Bluteon to double upset of defending champs Suntory

Japan’s new Daido Life SV.League is in full swing after the first leg of five double headers took place from Friday to Monday. In the most anticipated clash, Osaka Bluteon produced two upsets of defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka, with Thomas Jaeschke and Yuji Nishida powering the team to a straight-set win of the season opener on Friday in Tokyo and a nail-biting five-set away victory in Monday’s second match. Exciting action unfolded in the other four match-ups as well, with Wolfdogs Nagoya and Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers also celebrating double success against their first-leg opponents.

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In front of over 6,500 spectators at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, last season’s runners-up stormed the new season with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-21) shutout of Suntory Sunbirds. Star opposite Yuji Nishida led the way with 21 points, including four kill blocks and an ace. American outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke added another 16 points, while his Cuban cross-court teammate Miguel Lopez finished with 14. Suntory’s Russian opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy led his team’s scorers with 20 points.

As the double header moved to Osaka’s Edion Arena for the second match on Monday, the two teams offered the five thousand fans on the stands a spectacular five-set battle, in which Bluteon once again emerged victorious. This time Jaeschke was above all with 27 points, including three blocks and an ace. Nishida and Lopez tallied 17 and 14 points, respectively, while Muserskiy hammered out a match-high 28 points, including three aces and three blocks. Suntory’s outsides Ran Takahashi and Cuba’s Alain De Armas added 17 points apiece.

“It was a very beautiful match!” commented Bluteon’s head coach Laurent Tillie. “I think we were able to perform almost perfectly in the opening match on the 11th, but today's match was tougher and I'm very happy that we were able to win. I think this win was won by all the players, from the starters to the substitutes, who gave their all. Next is our opening home match. We would like to fight together with all the fans. Please support us.”

“The game level and fighting spirit of both teams were amazing,” said his Suntory counterpart and French compatriot Olivier Lecat. “It was especially good that we were able to perform better in all aspects than in the previous game. The season is long, so we want to recover well and keep up our good performance while building a team. We will prepare well so that we can win the next game.”

Wolfdogs Nagoya made the best start to the season and took over the top of the current standings with two three-point victories on the road at Tokyo Great Bears. On Saturday, they achieved a 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20) win with Dutch star opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz on fire with 27 points, and followed up with another 3-1 (11-25, 29-27, 25-23, 25-20) win, this time with a 29-point match high from Nimir.

Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers lost the opening two sets of their home double header against Voreas Hokkaido, but then shifted gears to celebrate a double win. In Saturday’s match, they mounted a 3-2 (18-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-11) comeback, led by Canadian opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans with a match-high 25 points. On Sunday, they took the three points with a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 25-18) victory, this time powered by a 30-point match high from Vernon-Evans, to line up third in the table.

The fourth place in the current standings is for Toray Arrows Shizuoka, who exchanged victories with their first opponents, Hiroshima Thunders. In the first match the home team from Hiroshima battled it out for a 3-2 (20-25, 19-25, 25-21, 30-28, 15-8) comeback from two sets down. Their Brazilian opposite Felipe Roque hammered out 32 points to top the charts. In the second match, however, the visitors from Shizuoka took revenge delivering a 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23) win on a 26-point match high from another Brazilian opposite, Alan Souza.

To settle in the middle of the table for now, JTEKT Stings Aichi and Nagano Tridents also took one win each from their double header over the weekend. Hosts JTEKT edged ahead with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-11, 22-25, 25-22) victory in the first match. Their opposite Kento Miyaura and his Danish counterpart Ulrik Dahl shared the top scorer honours with 22 points each. Nagano got back at JTEKT on the following day with a 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-21, 25-17) win of their own, once again driven by Dahl with a match-high 26 points.

The next set of five double headers will be played on Saturday and Sunday of this week.

Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 2nd leg:
Oct 19, 13:35 local (14:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Oct 19, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Oct 19, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Tokyo Great Bears
Oct 19, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Hiroshima Thunders
Oct 19, 16:05 local (07:05 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Oct 20, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazer
Oct 20, 13:35 local (14:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Oct 20, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Tokyo Great Bears
Oct 20, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Hiroshima Thunders
Oct 20, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v JTEKT Stings Aichi

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