Hayashi shines as Marvelous add fourth win to impeccable run

The two teams that had been unbeaten before the start of the Japanese women’s Daido Life SV.League’s third weekend - Denso Airybees Koriyama and Osaka Marvelous – stayed unbeaten after the end of the weekend. Denso extended their winning streak to six consecutive victories to remain on top of the current standings, while Osaka, who were off in leg two, have now added two more victories to improve their win-loss record to 4-0 and keep their runner-up position in the table. Their outside hitter Kotona Hayashi was particularly brilliant in Sunday’s late game, which brought in the fourth victory for Marvelous.

• Watch Japan's SV.League on VBTV.

Hayashi led her team with 26 points, including two aces and a kill block, towards a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 30-28, 25-22) home win over Saga Hisamitsu Springs in the second match of this weekend’s double header between the two teams. Belgian opposite Lise Van Hecke contributed another 18 points towards Osaka’s success, while her Saga counterpart Miyu Nagaoka produced a match-high 27 points, including four kill blocks and an ace. On Saturday, Marvelous hammered out a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-13) shutout of their opponent, with three players – Hayashi, Van Hecke and Saga’s Hungarian outside Greta Szakmary - sharing the top scorer honours with 17 points each. While Osaka have now collected 11 points from four matches played, Saga are down to 11^th place on a 2-4 win-loss record and 7 points.

“There were many moments in today's game where we struggled against Hisamitsu, but each individual player persevered and fought hard,” said Osaka’s head coach Daisuke Sakai after Sunday’s match. “I think we were able to win today as a team thanks in part to the efforts of the substitute players.”

Denso Airybees Koriyama’s foreign players Rosamaria Montibeller and Amanda Coneo put up a great blocking effort to steer their team to a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 25-16) home win over PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku on Saturday. The Brazilian opposite scored five blocking points and fired two aces to finish on a match-high 22 points, while the Colombian outside had four stuffs towards an 18-point tally. In Sunday’s 3-1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-20, 25-19) win, Denso’s middle blocker Nanami Asano impressed with as many as seven kill blocks, while Rosamaria led the overall match scorers again with 18 points (two blocks). On top of the table, the squad from Koriyama have the full 18 points from six matches played, while PFU are in eighth place on 3-3 and 7.

Saitama Ageo Medics celebrated two away victories over Gunma Green Wings to rocket up to third place in the table on 3-1 and 9, while keeping their opponents down to the bottom of the table on 0-4 and 0. On Saturday, Ageo mastered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-17) sweep with an 18-point match high from opposite Aki Meguro, including four aces. On Sunday, the match was pushed to four sets, but Ageo celebrated victorious again, 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21). This time outside and captain Yuka Sato was the best scorer of the game with 22 points.

Defending champions NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki started their weekend at Queenseis Kariya off with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) shutout with Brazilian opposite Lorrayna Marys Da Silva leading the way with 14 points, but then allowed their hosts to get back at them in a nail-biting 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 28-26, 29-27) turnaround on Sunday. Outside and captain Shigihara Hinata was the best scorer of that match with 20 points, including four aces, for Queenseis. In the table, NEC Red Rockets are sixth on 4-2 and 12, while Kariya are in ninth place on 2-2 and 5.

Okayama Seagulls and Kurobe Aqua Fairies also exchanged wins during their double header over the weekend. The hosts produced a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-19) sweep in the first game with an 18-point match high from outside Shuuka Kaneda, but in the second, the visitors from Kurobe took partial revenge by claiming a hard-earned 3-2 (24-26, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14) victory, their first win of the season. German outside Lena Stigrot topped the match charts with 29 points, all in attack, while her teammate, middle Maki Yamaguchi, raised a remarkable seven kill blocks towards the victory. Okayama stand seventh in the table on 3-3 and 11. Kurobe are 12^th on 1-5 and 3.

Toray Arrows Shiga secured their first two wins of the season as they hosted Aranmare Yamagata and climbed to 10^th place on 2-4 and 7, while keeping the opponents winless on 0-6 and 1 in 13^th place. Italian opposite Sylvia Nwakalor was on fire as she powered her team to two four-set wins as the best scorer of each match. She contributed 23 points to Saturday’s 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-14, 25-17) victory and another 30 points to Sunday’s 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 27-29, 25-16) win. Her Dutch teammate, middle Juliet Lohuis, chipped in a solid five kill blocks on each occasion.

Another six double headers, including a clash between undefeated Denso and Osaka, are coming up next weekend, November 2 and 3.

Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 4th leg:
Nov 2, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Denso Airybees Koriyama v Osaka Marvelous
Nov 2, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Nov 2, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Queenseis Kariya
Nov 2, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Toray Arrows Shiga
Nov 2, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Nov 2, 15:35 local (06:35 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Denso Airybees Koriyama v Osaka Marvelous
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku v Queenseis Kariya
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Nov 3, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Nov 3, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Victorina Himeji v Toray Arrows Shiga

Quick links:
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter