Led by captain Yuki Ishikawa and rising star Yuji Nishida, the Japan men's volleyball national team achieved its best result in a major international competition in nearly 50 years on Sunday, June 30.
Japan collected the silver medal in the 2024 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League, dropping a 23-25, 25-18, 23-25, 23-25 decision to reigning Olympic champion France in the final in Lodz, Poland.
It was Japan's first appearance in a major men's global tourney finale since the 1977 FIVB World Cup, when it finished second in Tokyo.
In July 2023, Japan earned the bronze medal in the Men's Volleyball Nations finals, also held in Poland. And it was a clear sign that appointing French coach Philippe Blain in 2021 had begun to pay dividends.
A Month to Remember for Japan Volleyball
Meanwhile, June 2024 demonstrated that Japan is a rising power in the sport.
The Japan women's national team captured the silver medal in the VNL title match against Italy on June 23 in Bangkok.
Entering the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Japan men's and women's teams appear to be strong medal contenders.
On Sunday night, Ishikawa paced the Japan men, the world's second-ranked team, with 17 points, Nishida had 10 and opposite spiker Kento Miyaura contributed 10. Outside hitter Tatsunori Otsuka finished with nine points. Taishi Onodera had three blocks.
After dropping the first set by two points, Japan bounced back and won the second set by the same margin. Ishikawa spearheaded the runner-up's effort in the set, registering five kills. Nishida and Kentaro Takahashi had three apiece in that action-packed, 25-minute period at Atlas Arena before a crowd of 9,966 spectators. Onodera notched the final point of the set with an impressive block. (Watch match highlights on Volleyball World's YouTube channel.)
Japan Comeback Effort Falls Short
World No 4 France fired on all cylinders in the third set, getting attack points from five different players, with Kevin Tillie (four) and Yacine Louati and Nicolas Le Goff (three apiece) leading the effort.
France's outstanding play in the final continued in the title-clinching fourth set. Opposite spiker Jean Patry put his personal stamp on the proceedings with a jaw-dropping nine kills and a block in the last set, which consumed 29 minutes. Ishikawa (five attack points), Miyaura and Otsuka (four apiece) gave spirited efforts in the fourth set as Japan attempted to extend the match.
But France, which won its first VNL crown in 2022, found a way to wrap up the victory and send the team back to the 2024 Olympic host nation in a euphoric mood.
Patry led all players with 24 points, including 20 kills. Tillie ended the match with 13 points.
Blain acknowledged Japan faced a formidable challenge against France.
"From the beginning, we knew it was going to be a difficult match," Blain was quoted as saying by Sports Nippon. "Both teams were struggling physically and mentally. However, we had a chance to score two points toward the end of the fourth set, and if we had taken it, I think we could have turned the tide of the match."
Blain added, "We are disappointed to have lost, but there were many aspects of the team that grew through the tournament, and we are proud of that, and we will work hard for the [Olympics]."
Also Sunday, Poland defeated Slovenia 26-24, 25-16, 25-17 to earn the bronze.
Motivation for the Japan Men's Volleyball Team
In reaching the final, Japan set its sights on winning this tournament, which was first staged in 2018, for the first time.
After placing second, Ishikawa said the squad affectionately known to fans as Ryujin Nippon, which translates to "Dragon God of Japan" or "Japanese Dragon God," intends to channel its focus on having a successful Olympic campaign.
"I'm glad we achieved our goal of reaching the final, but I regret losing," Ishikawa was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "We have the chance to make up for this disappointment, so I want to prepare to get good results at the Olympics."
The Path to the Volleyball Nations League Final
Japan secured a spot in the title match against France by beating Slovenia 25-21, 27-25, 31-29 on Saturday, June 29. The match got underway at 3 AM JST on Sunday.
Hours before most Japanese households sat down to eat their Sunday morning breakfasts, the national team had slammed the door on Slovenia's hopes of reaching the final.
Ishikawa delivered a team-best 21 points, highlighted by 19 attack points.
Nishida also had a dynamic performance, contributing 18 points, including 15 kills.
After the match, Nishida shared his thoughts on the significance of the team's triumph over Slovenia.
"Being in the final makes us so, so happy," Nishida said. "It was a very tough game and it was played at such a high level, but I think each of our players had the right mentality today."
Top Players at the Volleyball Nations League
After the title match, the all-tournament team was unveiled for the VNL Finals.
France's Antoine Brizard received the MVP honor and the Best Setter award, and teammate Patry collected the Best Opposite accolade.
Ishikawa, who led all players with 64 points in the VNL Finals, and Poland's Tomasz Fornal were named the Best Outside Hitters.
Le Goff and Poland's Jakub Kochanowski were honored as the Best Middle Blockers.
Also for Japan, Tomohiro Yamamoto was chosen as the Best Libero.
A Look Ahead
The 12-nation Olympic men's volleyball tournament gets underway at South Paris Arena on July 27.
In addition to France and Japan, other teams include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and the United States.
Japan is assigned to Pool C along with Argentina, Germany and Team USA for the first round.
RELATED:
- Japan Women Claim Silver Medal in the Volleyball Nations League
- [ODDS and EVENS] Yuki Ishikawa Fills a Vital Role for Italian Club Allianz Milano
- Japan Earns Bronze Medal in Men's Volleyball Nations League
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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