Sakai Blazers stay undefeated, top SV.League table

Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers remained the only undefeated team since the start of the new season in Japan’s Daido Life SV.League after adding two away victories to their record, as the second leg of five double headers unfolded over the weekend.

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Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers picked up the full six points from their visit at Nagano Tridents and took the lead in the current standings after leg two on a 4-0 win-loss record and 11 points, leaving the opponents second from the bottom, in ninth place, on 1-3 and 3. On Saturday, Sakai spoiled Nagano’s home debut with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22) shutout on the wings of a 20-point match high from Canadian opposite Sharone Vernon-Evans, including two aces and one kill block. Outside hitter Kosuke Yasui added 17 points, while Nagano’s Danish opposite Ulrik Dahl led his team’s scorers with 16.

On Sunday, Nagano were more competitive, but Sakai produced another win, this time in four sets, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24). Vernon-Evans topped the charts again, with 24 points, including two blocks, while Yasui finished with 14 points. On the other side of the net, Dahl produced 20 points, supported by outside Yuki Higuchi with 19.

“This difficult match gave us hope that the team will continue to mature,” said Sakai’s head coach Takeshi Kitajima. “I would like to thank all the supporters who came to the away games and those who cheered from afar for their enthusiastic support until the end.”

“We need to be able to side-out and process strong serves at the crucial moments,” Nagano’s head coach Shinji Kawamura stated. “We will improve on our strengths and correct what needs to be corrected to prepare for the next game.”

Defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka, who suffered a double home upset at the hands of Osaka Bluteon in the first leg, now achieved their first victories of the season during their second-leg trip to Voreas Hokkaido. In the first match, they hammered out a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-14) shutout with a 19-point match high from Russian opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy. In the second, they won in four sets, 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 16-25, 25-17). This time Muserskiy shared the team’s top scorer honours with Cuban outside Alain De Armas, on 19 points apiece. Voreas’s opposite Chang Yu-Sheng of Chinese Taipei delivered a match-high 22 points. Suntory climbed to fourth place in the standings on 2-2 and 7, while Voreas remained the only winless team in the league, at the bottom of the table on 0-4 and 1.

JTEKT Stings Aichi handed previous table leaders Wolfdogs Nagoya their first two defeats of the season and rose to third place on 3-1 and 8. On Saturday, the visitors claimed a 3-1 (17-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-19) victory on a 28-point match high from American international Torey DeFalco that included four kill blocks and three aces. He was on fire on Sunday again, in the weekend’s closing match, leading his team to a hard-fought 3-2 (27-29, 25-22, 18-25, 25-20, 15-10) win with 28 points. Nagoya’s Dutch star Nimir AbdelAziz was the best scorer of the game with 31 points. His squad dropped to fifth place on 2-2 and 7.

On the other hand, Tokyo Great Bears, who were bottom of the table after the first leg, now achieved two away wins that lifted them to sixth place on 2-2 and 6. They beat Toray Arrows Shizuoka by 3-1 (16-25, 25-16, 26-24, 29-27) on Saturday and by 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 25-23) on Sunday, led by Rikuto Goto with 17 and 21 points, respectively. His Portuguese teammate Alexandre Ferreira matched his 17 points in the first match. Toray’s Brazilian opposite Alan Souza was the best scorer of both games with 24 and 25 points, respectively. The squad from Shizuoka fell to eighth place on 1-3 and 4.

Last season’s runners-up Osaka Bluteon, who managed to upset Suntory last weekend, had their home opener spoiled by Hiroshima Thunders, who mounted a spectacular 3-2 (19-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-21, 15-7) comeback from two sets down. Brazilian opposite raised a remarkable seven kill blocks towards a 29-point match high. His Cuban teammate Oreol Camejo chipped in with 25 points. On Sunday, however, Osaka returned to the winning track and hammered out a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-15) shutout, powered by star opposite Yuji Nishida with 20 points, including three aces. Blueton occupy the runner-up spot in the table on 3-1 and 9, while Hiroshima are seventh on 2-2 and 4.

Four double headers are scheduled for next weekend, October 26 and 27.

Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 3rd leg:
Oct 26, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Oct 26, 13:35 local (04:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Toray Arrows Shizuoka
Oct 26, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Tokyo Great Bears
Oct 26, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Oct 27, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Osaka Bluteon v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Oct 27, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Tokyo Great Bears
Oct 27, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v JTEKT Stings Aichi
Oct 27, 13:35 local (04:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Toray Arrows Shizuoka

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