Inoue and Chatchu-On lead Himeji to two thrilling five-set wins in Japan

In the most dramatic double header of the second leg in Japan’s women’s Daido Life SV.League, Victorina Himeji squeezed out two thrilling five-set home victories over Saga Hisamitsu Springs, while Denso Airybees Koriyama maintained their perfect record with two away wins to stay in the lead of the current standings.

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In the first encounter between Victorina Himeji and Saga Hisamitsu Springs on Saturday, the hosts celebrated a 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-21, 15-7) win, with two of the sets decided by the narrowest of margins, one slightly in the overtime. Japanese international Arisa Inoue contributed 24 points towards the victory, two of those from aces and another two from blocking. Victorina’s other outside, Thailand’s Chatchu-On Moksri, added another 20 points, including two kill blocks. Middle blocker Airi Miyabe and opposite Saki Tanaka finished with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Saga’s Sae Nakajima produced the match high of 26 points.

It was even more dramatic on Sunday, when four of the five sets, including the tie-breaker, were pushed into overtime, the fourth set all the way to a 33-31 finish. In the end, Victorina triumphed again with a 3-2 (17-25, 26-24, 31-33, 17-15) victory, which lifted the team to 3-1 and 8 in fifth place, and left Saga on 2-2 and 7 in eighth. Once again, Inoue was Himeji’s best scorer with 24 points, including one block. Chatchu-On delivered 21, including one ace, while Saki Tanaka and Airi Miyabe added 18 and 16, respectively. Saga’s American opposite Stephanie Samedy topped the charts with an impressive 29 points, including four aces and a block. Nakajima scored 26 times.

“I think this was the first time in my career as a coach that a close match lasted more than three hours under the rally-point system,” commented Himeji’s head coach Avital Selinger. “Both teams didn't give up until the end. I'm really proud of my players.”

“First, we attacked with our serves and were able to create many situations that prevented the opponent from organizing good attacks,” said Saga’s head coach Shingo Sakai. “It was a tough game with many rallies that continued with tenacious defence on both sides. I think the reason we lost was that we were not able to score in the important moments at the end. We want to prepare well next week so that we can properly correct the issues that came up in these two games.”

Denso Airybees Koriyama added another six points to their record to stay in the lead on a perfect 12 and 4-0. In their first away match of the season, at Kurobe Aqua Fairies, they mastered a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-17) sweep, once again spearheaded by Brazilian opposite Rosamaria Montibeller with as many as 26 points in three sets of play. On Sunday, Denso dropped their first set of the season, but still got the three points after a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-9) win. Their Colombian outside Amanda Coneo led the way with 22 points, including four blocks and an ace. Rosamaria added 21. On the other side of the net, German outside tallied 24 points to top the match charts. Kurobe are still winless on 1 and 0-4 in 13^th place.

PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku managed to win both of their away games at Aranmare Yamagata to improve to 3-1 and 7 points in sixth place. In Friday’s leg opener, they took the three points with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-16) victory. Outside hitter Miyu Kawazoe led the way with 19 points, supported by cross-court teammate Kisa Okuma, who impressed with four aces towards an 18-point total. A five-set battle unfolded in Saturday’s second game of the double header and the visitors celebrated again, 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-13). This time opposite Kiiro Omura was PFU’s best scorer with 22 points, while Aranmare’s Thai outside Donphon Sinpho delivered a match-high 23 towards her team’s first point since the start of the season, which positioned them in 12^th place.

Astemo Rivale Ibaraki and Okayama Seagulls exchanged shutouts. In Saturday’s home debut, Astemo extended their perfect streak from leg one with a hard-fought 3-0 (27-25, 29-27, 25-21) win, led by captain Ruriko Uesaka with 17 points. On Sunday, however, they suffered their first loss of the season. The visitors from Okayama handed them a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) defeat with a 14-point match high from opposite Rinka Komatsubara. Astemo are now third in the standings on 3-1 and 9, while Okayama are in seventh place on 2-2 and 7.

Defending champions NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki rose to fourth place on 3-1 and 9 after snatching two four-set victories on the road at Toray Arrows Shiga, who are still winless in four matches, in 11^th place with just 1 point. Brazilian opposite Lorrayna Marys contributed a match-high 23 points towards NEC’s 3-1 (22-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-21) win on Saturday. During Sunday’s game, she was substituted for by Yukiko Wada, who made an impressive entrance and topped the charts with 26 points towards a 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-18, 30-28) victory.

Next weekend’s programme will offer six double headers on Saturday and Sunday.

Women’s SV.League 2024-2025 3rd leg:
Oct 26, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Denso Airybees Koriyama v PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku
Oct 26, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Oct 26, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Gunma Green Wings v Saitama Ageo Medics
Oct 26, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Oct 26, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shiga v Aranmare Yamagata
Oct 26, 18:05 local (09:05 UTC): Osaka Marvelous v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Oct 27, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Denso Airybees Koriyama v PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku
Oct 27, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v Kurobe Aqua Fairies
Oct 27, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Queenseis Kariya v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Oct 27, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Gunma Green Wings v Saitama Ageo Medics
Oct 27, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shiga v Aranmare Yamagata
Oct 27, 18:05 local (09:05 UTC): Osaka Marvelous v Saga Hisamitsu Springs

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