High-calibre men’s clashes to spark excitement in Japan

A full set of five double headers will spark excitement in Japan as the fourth leg of the men’s Daido Life SV.League’s regular season unfolds from Saturday to Monday, November 2 to 4, highlighted by top-level clashes between previous week’s table leaders Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers and current leaders Osaka Bluteon, and between defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka and trending Tokyo Great Bears.

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Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers were undefeated until last weekend when they suffered their first two losses of the season at the hands of JTEKT Stings Aichi and dropped to a 4-2 win-loss record and 12 points in third place of the current standings. Meanwhile, Osaka Bluteon took advantage of the situation and with two victories over Wolfdogs Nagoya climbed to the top on 5-1 and 14. Now Sakai have an opportunity to regain their positions as they host Osaka at the Ohama Daishin Arena for two matches on Saturday at 15:05 local time (06:05 UTC) and on Sunday at 13:05 (04:05). Canadian opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans will once again have to spearhead Sakai towards success, but with his counterpart Yuji Nishida and outsides like USA’s Thomas Jaeschke and Cuba’s Miguel Lopez on the other side of the net, it is likely to be a real challenge.

The two clubs met four times last season with the squad from Osaka winning all four of these encounters, twice in straight sets and twice by 3-1. Blazers’ most recent win over this opponent dates back to March 2023.

All of the weekend’s other double headers will have finished, when the one between Suntory Sunbirds Osaka and Tokyo Great Bears gets underway. The first game of this leg’s special feature will be on Sunday at 19:05 (10:05) and the second – on Monday at 16:05 (07:05). The two teams are neighbours in the table. Hoping to further extend their four-game winning streak, the squad from the capital arrives at the Ariake Arena as the fourth-placed team in the table on 4-2 and 11. Having played only four matches so far, hosts Suntory are right below them, in fifth place on 2-2 and 7. With the likes of Dmitriy Muserskiy and Ran Takahashi on one side of the net, and Alexandre Ferreira and Maciej Muzaj on the other, the spectators at the iconic Olympic venue are bound to enjoy a stellar duel between greats.

Last season, the two clubs met four times. Suntory won the first three of these matches, but Great Bears shut out the opponents in their most recent encounter in December.

JTEKT Stings Aichi, one of only two teams to have achieved five victories so far this season, will welcome Toray Arrows Shizuoka to the Okazaki Central Park Gymnasium for a double header on Saturday and Sunday at 14:05 (05:05). Standing second in the table on 5-1 and 13, Kento Miyaura, Torey DeFalco, recovering Ricardo Lucarelli and company will also try to build on a four-game winning streak as they face seventh-placed Toray Arrows, who stand on 2-4 and 7.

Sixth-placed Wolfdogs Nagoya will try to improve their 2-4 and 8 record as they make the trip to the Swan Dome for their two matches with Nagano Tridents, who are second from the bottom, in ninth place on 1-3 and 3. Saturday’s match starts at 14:05 (05:05), while Sunday’s game will get underway at 13:05 (04:05).

Hiroshima Thunders, who have the same number of wins as the three teams above them, but stand eighth on 2-4 and 5, will be challenged by their visitors Voreas Hokkaido, who are at the bottom of the table, in 10^th place on 1-5 and 4. The games at the FPCO Arena Fukuyama are also scheduled at 14:05 (05:05) on Saturday and 13:05 (04:05) on Sunday.

Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 4th leg:
Nov 2, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Nov 2, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Nov 2, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Voreas Hokkaido
Nov 2, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Osaka Bluteon
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nagano Tridents v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Voreas Hokkaido
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Osaka Bluteon
Nov 3, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Nov 3, 19:05 local (10:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Tokyo Great Bears
Nov 4, 16:05 local (07:05 UTC): Suntory Sunbirds Osaka v Tokyo Great Bears

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