Leaders NEC and Saga cope with five-set challenges in Japan

Тhe weekend in the women’s Daido Life SV.League in Japan once again brought in many interesting results as the 16th leg of action unfolded with a full set of seven double headers. The two leaders of the current standings, NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki and Saga Hisamitsu Springs, both playing at home, had to deal with difficult five-set challenges presented to them by their visitors on Saturday.

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A five-set battle unfolded in the first match between table leaders NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki and Denso Airybees Koriyama. In front of 2,766 spectators at the Tokyu Dresser Todoroki Arena, hosts NEC squeezed out a 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 23-25, 16-14) victory in the overtime of the tie-breaker. Outside hitter Ai Hirota was the top scorer of the match with 28 points for NEC. Opposite Yukiko Wada and American outside Giovanna Day chipped in with 25 and 24 points, respectively. Brazilian opposite Rosamaria Montibeller spearheaded Denso with a team-high 25 points.

On Sunday, NEC got the job done in straight sets, but it was not much easier for them as two of the three sets were pushed to overtime -  3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 34-32). Hirota was once again above all, with 19 points to her name, while middle blocker Moeka Kinoe shined with five stuffs. Now on a 26-4 win-loss ratio and 73 points, Red Rockets continue to top the standings convincingly, while Denso fell one position to 10^th place on 13-17 and 41.

Saga Hisamitsu Springs and Saitama Ageo Medics also delivered a five-set duel on Saturday. Almost four thousand fans in the stands cheered on as Saga managed a 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 20-25, 25-18, 15-10) home win. Outside Ayane Kitamado contributed a match-high 24 points, including three kill blocks, towards the victory, while opposite Fuyumi Hawi Okumu Oba was Ageo’s leading scorer with 21 points. Sunday’s match was way more straightforward and resulted in a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) shutout. American opposite Stephanie Samedy led Saga to success with a match-high 17 points, including three blocks and an ace. Hisamitsu Springs improved to 23-7 and 61 in the runner-up position. Ageo descended from eighth to ninth place on 14-16 and 40.

Defending champions Osaka Marvelous mastered a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-23) shutout of their hosts Aranmare Yamagata on the first competition day. Outside Kotona Hayashi was the most prolific scorer of the match with 16 points for Osaka. Marvelous followed up with another 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-19) shutout on Sunday with outside and captain Mizuki Tanaka leading the way with 17 points, all in swings. Osaka stayed in third place, now on 23-9 and 70, while Aranmare remained stuck at the bottom, in 14^th place on 3-27 and 10.

Victorina Himeji also swept both of their home games against Toray Arrows Shiga. They achieved a 3-0 (25-13, 29-27, 25-19) victory on Saturday with a match-high 21 points from opposite Saki Tanaka, while Bulgarian middle Mira Todorova impressed with six kill blocks, and followed up with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-19) win on Sunday with a match-high 16 points from outside Rui Nonaka. Himeji rose to fourth place on 21-11 and 61, while Toray Arrows are third from the bottom, in 12^th place on 5-25 and 15.

PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku hammered out a 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-19) sweep of Saturday’s home game against Queenseis Kariya. Opposite Melissa Valdes led the winners with 17 points, including three stuffs, while Kariya’s American opposite Danielle Cuttino topped that with 19 points for the visitors. Kariya, however, did not go home empty-handed as they took their revenge on Sunday with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20) road victory. Cuttino once again topped the chart, this time with 21 points, including two stuffs. PFU’s middle Mami Yokota put away a noteworthy five kill blocks. With that, BlueCats dropped to fifth place on 19-11 and 62, while Queenseis kept their sixth place, now on 18-14 and 60.

The first match between Gunma Green Wings and their visitors Kurobe Aqua Fairies went 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 25-22) the way of the home team. Polish opposite Olivia Rozanski topped the match chart with 25 points, including three blocks. Kurobe, however, retaliated with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-13) shutout of their hosts in the second match. German outside Lena Stigrot led the winners with 15 points, while Rozanski once again emerged as the top scorer of the match with 18 points. Gunma remained in seventh place, now on 18-14 and 53, while Kurobe climbed from 10^th to eighth on 14-16 and 41.

Astemo Rivale Ibaraki started their weekend with a hard-fought 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 26-24) away win over Okayama Seagulls. Outside Miwako Osanai led Astemo with 19 points to her name, while her counterpart Amika Saiki produced a match-high 21 for Okayama, including three blocks and an ace. On Sunday, Okayama managed to win a set, but the three points went to Astemo again – 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 26-24, 25-20). American opposite Mackenzie May spearheaded the winners in this one with a match-high 22 points, including three blocks. Astemo consolidated in 11^th place on 13-17 and 40. Okayama are second from the bottom, in 13^th place on 4-26 and 15.

The 17^th leg next weekend, February 21 and 22, will offer five double headers on its program.

Women’s SV.League 2025-2026 17th leg:
Feb 21, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Feb 21, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Feb 21, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Feb 21, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Kurobe Aqua Fairies v PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku
Feb 21, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shiga v Denso Airybees Koriyama
Feb 22, 12:05 local (03:05 UTC): Okayama Seagulls v NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki
Feb 22, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Saitama Ageo Medics v Astemo Rivale Ibaraki
Feb 22, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Aranmare Yamagata v Saga Hisamitsu Springs
Feb 22, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Kurobe Aqua Fairies v PFU BlueCats Ishikawa Kahoku
Feb 22, 15:05 local (06:05 UTC): Toray Arrows Shiga v Denso Airybees Koriyama

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