VNL 2026

Ishikawa leads Japan in huge comeback from two sets down against Olympic champs France

The Asian squad remains the only unbeaten team after two weeks of VNL

Published 07:05, 28 Jun 2026

France (FRA) vs. Japan (JPN) - Pool 4 - Preliminary Phase #109887928

Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa in attack against France

In a spectacular five-set battle against their hosts and reigning back-to-back Olympic champions France, Japan mounted a huge comeback from two sets down to extend their winning streak to eight consecutive matches since the start of the men’s Volleyball Nations League 2026.

Watch the Volleyball Nations League 2026 on VBTV

Over eight thousand spectators in the packed stands in Orleans witnessed a fantastic duel, in which star outside hitter and captain Yuki Ishikawa led Japan in an epic 3-2 (28-30, 19-25, 25-17, 35-33, 15-12) reverse sweep of Sunday’s big game against France. In the money time of the nail-biting fourth set, Japan denied three French match points on the way to forcing a tie-breaker and claiming the victory. This result kept the Asian squad undefeated on top of the current VNL standings, on an 8-0 win-loss record and 20 points, while France are still quite far from the quarterfinal zone, in 12^th place on 4-4 and 10.

France (FRA) vs. Japan (JPN) - Pool 4 - Preliminary Phase #109893103

The fantastic atmosphere in Orleans during the France v Japan game

Ishikawa spearheaded Japan’s offense with 23 successful swings, raised three kill blocks and fired an ace to emerge as the best scorer of the match with a total of 27 points. His cross-court teammate Ran Takahashi contributed another 20 points, all in swings, including the match winner, while opposite Kento Miyaura spiked 17 points at a 52% success rate. Overall, Japan outperformed France in attack by 69-63 in spike kills. They also made four unforced errors fewer than the opponents – 37 against 41.

“This was a very important game for us, because both the French team and Japan were on a 3-0 here,” Miyaura commented in front of the VBTV camera. “Finally, we will get two days off and I am happy!”

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Inspired by their fantastic fans, France outdid Japan in net defense by 13-10 in kill blocks, and in serving by 4-2 in aces. Their 21-year-old outside Mathis Henno put away a team-high 24 points. Opposite Stephen Boyer added 21, while middle blocker Francois Huetz raised four stuffs towards a 14-point tally.

“It’s tough now… We played a great game, but they never gave up. Until the end they were… Japan,” said France’s setter and captain Antoine Brizard. “I am proud that we fought the battle until the end. We needed to be more precise in some cases. We have to understand together that these games are won on details… But we had a great week and we are here, we are on the level.”

The last day of the second competition week continues with the last games at each of the three venues – Poland against Argentina in Gliwice, Slovenia against Italy in Ljubljana, and Serbia against USA in Orleans.

VNL 2026 schedule and results
VNL 2026 ticket information