Japan losses to Russia by 0-3 in first round of FIVB Volleyball Junior World Championship
The last of the pool play matches of the FIVB Volleyball Women´s Junior World Championship that is currently taking place in Peru, was played between Russia and Japan. The match was held in Lima on Sunday, 24th July and lasted three sets by the
end of which the Russians had secured themselves a win over the Japanese by bagging three in a row.
This was the first win for the Russian team in the tournament. The Japanese side put in tremendous effort to get their first win but their hard work fell short. The first two sets were thrilling and competitive to the very end but the Japanese side lost
steam by the third set and Russia bagged the match at the following final set scores: 25-23, 25-22 and 25-19.
Russian captain, Alina Yaroshik, shared her feelings at the press conference that was held after the match in the following words: “I am happy because of the victory. It is a pity that we could not be on top four."
On the other hand, the Russian coach, Vadim Kiryanov, happily expressed his sentiments by giving the following statements: “Today we have enjoyed this match. We played a very good, defined strategy."
The Japanese head coach, Yasuhiro Fukuda, expressed himself by making the following statement: “We are sad due to we could not get the results we wanted."
The first set of the match saw both teams struggle to get into their stride. However, the Russians eventually found their pace and got the lead at 8-7. The Japanese did not back off from the offensive despite the fact that the Russians had the lead at the
second technical time out at 16-15. Both the teams battled on until the very end when the Russians were able to win by bagging the opening set at 25-23.
The Russians got the lead at 8-4 in the second set but the Japanese made it difficult for their opponents to score points. However, the Russians proved to be the better team as they took the second set at 25-22.
The third set saw the Japanese take the lead for the first time but the Russians tied the score at 13-13. After that point, there was no stopping the Russian squad as they made their way to a final set win at 25-19.
The player that scored the most on the Russian squad was Natalia Malykh as she tallied 12 points for her team. Malykh was helped by Yana Manzyuk and Valeriya Safonova, both of whom kept the pressure on the Japanese by making 11 points each.
On the Japanese side, Azusa Futami kept the score board ticking by tallying 12 points. Futami was supported by Mirei Sasaki, who registered 11 points.
The Japanese captain Mari Horikawa summarised the game play of her team in the following words: “We could not define the sets. It was a very close match."
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