Arisa Inoue and Himeji cause Denso first damage this season

Someone finally managed to beat Denso Airybees Koriyama in Japan this season. In one of Sunday’s matches of the fifth leg in the women’s Daido Life SV.League regular season, Japanese international Arisa Inoue powered her team Victorina Himeji to a five-set victory over the previously undefeated table leaders.

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Denso Airybees Koriyama continued their victorious quest and Brazilian star opposite Rosamaria Montibeller continued her amazing season on Saturday, when they delivered a 3-1 (25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 25-16) home win over Victorina Himeji. Across the four sets of the match, Rosamaria put away a match-high 28 points, including two kill blocks and an ace. Colombian outside hitter Amanda Coneo raised four kill blocks towards a 22-point tally, while sub-in outside Haruna Yamashita also reached the double digits with 12 points. On the other side of the net, middle blocker Airi Miyabe and Thai star Chatchu-On Moksri scored 15 points each, while outside Arisa Inoue added another 13.

“We thought it would be a tough match because Himeji was a very powerful team. Both teams played aggressively,” Denso’s head coach Takeshi Tsuji said after that game. “We outdid ourselves today, but we're sure they'll make some adjustments tomorrow, so we'll prepare to do even better.”

The adjustments Himeji made for Sunday’s game brought them a narrow, hard-fought 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 17-15) victory and handed Denso their first defeat of the season. Inoue was on fire and led Victorina to victory with a 29-point match high, including one ace and one block. Chatchu-On added 24 points, while opposite Saki Tanaka finished with 22. Rosamaria once again spearheaded her team with 26 points. Outsides Haruna Yamashita and Coneo scored 17 points each.

“It was a very close and heated match, and I think the fans enjoyed it. It was really great how the players quickly recovered from yesterday's loss and fought with a positive attitude,” commented Himeji’s Dutch head coach Avital Selinger.

After the end of the fifth leg, Denso continue to top the current standings on a 9-1 win-loss record and 27 points, while Himeji stayed in fourth place, now on 6-2 and 15.

Meanwhile, Osaka Marvelous earned the full six points from their home double header with Astemo Rivale Ibaraki and rose two positions to second place on 6-2 and 18, while pushing the opponents two positions down to fifth on 5-3 and 14. On Saturday, Osaka claimed a 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18) win with a 20-point match high from Kotona Hayashi. Although the next day’s match was resolved in only three sets, the star outside scored even more points, 21, towards a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-12) victory.

It was Saitama Ageo Medics that gave up their runner-up position and dropped to third place on 6-2 and 17 after taking home just one win and two points from their trip to Saga Hisamitsu Springs. On Saturday, they came back from a set down twice to snatch a dramatic 3-2 (17-25, 35-33, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11) victory over their hosts. Outside Momoko Niida and opposite Aki Meguro led the winners with 18 points each, while Saga’s American opposite Stephanie Samedy hammered out a 31-point match high. On Sunday, however, Hisamitsu Springs mastered an emphatic 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) sweep to move up to seventh place on 5-5 and 15. Samedy topped the charts again with 17 points to her name.

Toray Arrows Shiga squeezed out two five-set victories at home over Queenseis Kariya, enough to surpass them in the table. Toray Arrows are now in 10^th place on 4-6 and 12, while Kariya fell to 11^th on 3-5 and 9. In Saturday’s 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12) win, Italian opposite Sylvia Nwakalor led the home side with 16 points, while her Belgian counterpart Kaja Grobelna topped the charts with 25 points for Queenseis. In Sunday’s 3-2 (18-25, 31-29, 19-25, 25-22, 15-13) win, Nwakalor was the match top scorer with a 26-point contribution, including five blocks and two aces.

Towards the lower end of the table, Aranmare Yamagata celebrated their first wins of the season. With two straight-set victories on the road at Kurobe Aqua Fairies, they jumped over the opponents into the 12^th place in the standings on 2-8 and 8, leaving Kurobe in 13^th on 1-9 and 3. Thai outside Donphon Sinpho led the way towards Saturday’s 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-23) sweep with 15 points to her name. In Sunday’s 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) shutout, Ukrainian opposite Oleksandra Bytsenko was the best scorer with 17 points.

PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku claimed two home wins over Gunma Green Wings and left them as the only winless team in the league at the bottom of the table on 0-6 and 0, while themselves climbing to sixth place on 6-4 and 17. The first match was a straight-set affair, 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-21), with Thai middle Thatdao Nuekjang excelling on the block with five stuffs towards a 15-point match high. In the second, PFU achieved a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 25-6) victory with 17 points from opposite Reina Kawasaki.

The sixth leg next weekend will offer a full set of seven double headers on the programme for November 16 and 17, with all 14 teams in the league playing.

Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 6th leg:
Nov 16, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Astemo Rivale Ibaraki v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Nov 16, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Osaka Marvelous
Nov 16, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku
Nov 16, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Nov 16, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shiga v Gunma Green Wings
Nov 16, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Saga Hisamitsu Springs v Okayama Seagulls
Nov 16, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v Saitama Ageo Medics
Nov 17, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Astemo Rivale Ibaraki v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Nov 17, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku
Nov 17, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v Saitama Ageo Medics
Nov 17, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Osaka Marvelous
Nov 17, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Nov 17, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shiga v Gunma Green Wings
Nov 17, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Saga Hisamitsu Springs v Okayama Seagulls

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