Osaka Marvelous triumph as first ever SV.League champions

Osaka Marvelous triumphed as the first ever champions in the revamped women’s Daido Life SV.League! On Saturday, they mastered a second straight-set victory over NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki to close the best-of-three championship playoff in straight wins and without dropping a single set, dethrone the champions and collect their fourth national title, after 2011, 2020 and 2021.

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Well over 4,300 volleyball fans at the iconic Ariake Arena in Tokyo cheered on as the two best teams of the inaugural SV.League season went head to head – one for the crown, the other to stay alive in the series and push it to a third match on Sunday. It went a convincing 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-16) the way of Osaka Marvelous.

Belgian opposite Lise Van Hecke was once again the winners’ leading scorer. She contributed 13 points, all in offensive kills. Osaka’s outside hitter and captain Mizuki Tanaka chipped in with another 12 points, including a kill block, while Filipino middle blocker Sachi Minowa raised three stuffs to finish with 10 points. Outside Yoshino Sato was the best scorer of the match with 15 points, including a block, for NEC Red Rockets.

“I would like to thank all the people involved with NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki for fighting in the final stage,” Osaka’s head coach Daisuke Sakai stated. “I think this victory is the result of our players continuing to fight and continuing to learn this year. I am also very grateful to the staff who diligently supported them. I would also like to thank all the fans who kept supporting us. Thank you to all the players, staff, and people involved in the 14 teams for your hard work this long, long season. Let's liven up the SV.League with everyone again next season.”

“After yesterday's loss, we reviewed what we needed to do today and went into the game,” NEC’s head coach Takayuki Kaneko commented. “Just like yesterday, Osaka Marvelous's serves were strong from the start, but we held on the side-out. However, we were unable to overcome Osaka Marvelous's tenacious floor defense. We learned a lot from this tournament. We will never forget this disappointment and next year NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki will definitely come back to reclaim the championship.”

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