Stars debut and lead Japan’s comeback over Germany

The debuts of Yuki Ishikawa and Ran Takahashi in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 is one of Japan’s attractions in the third and last week of the Preliminary Phase in Chiba, and the star outside hitters needed no time to make an impact, leading the Asians to victory against Germany in front of 7,000 fans on Wednesday.

Playing in front of a huge crowd at the Chiba Port Arena, the reigning Asian champions saw Ishikawa and Ran combine for 41 points as they came back to defeat Germany 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20) in the first of their four home matches in the week.

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A member of the VNL 2024 Dream Team, Ishikawa was unstoppable and tallied a match-high 22 points, with 19 kills, two blocks and one ace. Ran added 19, all in kills, and was another important offense option for the Japanese, who also got 20 points (19 kills, one ace) from opposite Kento Miyaura to overcome the Europeans in front of their home fans.

“We knew this was going to be a difficult match, and we had to adjust some details during the match,” Miyaura explained. “I’m satisfied with our victory, but I know I have some things to improve for the next matches, especially my serve.”

The victory elevated the Japanese to third place with six victories and 18 points, but they could go back down to fourth before the end of the day if Italy win their match against Serbia. Germany, on the other hand, dropped a spot, now appearing in ninth place, with four victories and 15 points.

The Europeans, who are heavily involved in the dispute to qualify for the VNL Finals, had outside hitter Erik Röhrs, who produced 19 points (16 kills, two blocks, one ace), and opposite Filip John, who added 16 (all in kills), as their leading scorers against Japan.

USA sweep Türkiye and move up

The Germans were passed in the VNL standings by the United States, which had a solid performance in their first match of the week in Chiba and downed Türkiye 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 19-27).

The positive result took the Americans up to eighth place with five wins and 13 points, the same campaign of Argentina, the first team inside the qualification zone for the Finals. The Europeans are 16^th with two wins and six points and continue to be threatened by relegation.

Opposite Gabi Garcia led the Americans to victory with a 15-point performance, built with 13 kills and two aces. Ethan Champlin registered 13 points, one more than fellow outside hitter Cooper Robinson.

“It was a great win against a tough team,” Garcia reflected. “We need every point we can get to make it to the Finals and it was a great day for us. Now we need to keep it going. I thought we worked very well as a team and am excited to see where this is going to take us.”

On the Turkish side, the Lagumdzija brothers carried the team’s offense, with opposite Adis dropping 14 points (13 kills, one block) in his first match in the VNL 2025 and outside hitter Mirza getting to ten, with nine kills and one block.

In the first match of the week in Chiba, VNL leaders Brazil got the better of South American rivals Argentina, winning 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 24-26, 25-18).

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

Two matches will be held on Thursday in Chiba, with Türkiye and Germany meeting in the first duel of the day, scheduled for 15:30 local time (6:30 GMT), and Argentina and Japan battling later, at 19:20 (10:20 GMT).

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