Nagoya take on Suntory in remake of April’s semifinal clash in Japan

A clash between Wolfdogs Nagoya and Suntory Sunbirds Osaka highlights the upcoming third leg of the 2025-2026 men’s Daido Life SV.League season in Japan, offering a full set of five double headers and running from Friday, November 7, to Sunday, November 9.

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Wolfdogs Nagoya and Suntory Sunbirds Osaka will not only offer a remake of one of last season’s semifinals, but also a duel between the second and the third-placed teams in the current standings. They are running on a 3-1 win-loss ratio each, but Nagoya have collected nine points and occupy second place, while Suntory Sunbirds stand third with eight points. Spearheaded by opposite Kento Miyaura and French outside hitter Timothee Carle, Wolfdogs will host the squad around setter Masahiro Sekita, outside Ran Takahashi and Russian strikers Dmitriy Muserskiy and Egor Kliuka at the Entrio on Saturday at 14:35 local time (05:35 UTC) and on Sunday at 13:35 (04:35).

Last season, the two teams met as many as nine times. Only one of those encounters was resolved in straight sets, while as many as four were pushed to tie-breaker sets. Nagoya won five of the nine matches, including the first one of their semifinal series. However, Suntory Sunbirds won the most important ones, the second and the third of the semifinal playoff, which propelled the team to the final and eventually to the inaugural SV.League title.

The SV.League weekend will get underway on Friday, when Tokyo Great Bears welcome Nagano Tridents for the first game of their double header, serving off at 19:05 (10:05). The second game on Saturday will start at 15:05 (06:05). The two matches will be played at the Yoyogi National Stadium 2nd Gymnasium. Tokyo occupy eighth place on a 1-3 win-loss ratio and 3 points, while Nagano are fifth on 2-2 and 7.

Table leaders Osaka Bluteon will visit Toray Arrows Shizuoka at the Mishima Citizen Gymnasium on Saturday and Sunday at 14:05 (05:05). Osaka top the standings on 3-1 and 9, while Toray Arrows take seventh place on 1-3 and 5.

JTEKT Stings Aichi, who are running in fourth place on 3-1 and 8, will travel to Hiroshima Thunders, occupying sixth place on 2-2 and 5. The games will be played at the FPCO Arena Fukuyama. Saturday’s fixture is scheduled at 14:05 (05:05), while Sunday’s match will serve off at 13:05 (04:05).

Starting at 13:05 (04:05) on both Saturday’s and Sunday’s competition days, Voreas Hokkaido will entertain Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers at the Recruit Staffing Rick&Sue Asahikawa Gymnasium in a clash at the bottom of the table. Sakai stand in ninth place and Voreas trail in 10^th, on 1-3 and 3 each.

Men’s SV.League 2025-2026 third leg:
Nov 07, 19:05 local (10:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears в Nagano Tridents
Nov 08, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Nov 08, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Nov 08, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Osaka Bluteon
Nov 08, 14:35 local (05:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Nov 08, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Tokyo Great Bears в Nagano Tridents
Nov 09, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers
Nov 09, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Nov 09, 13:35 local (04:35 UTC): Wolfdogs Nagoya v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Nov 09, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shizuoka v Osaka Bluteon

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