The home team shut out Iran in their VNL 2023 opener
Captain Yuki Ishikawa showed his charisma on the court in Nagoya as he led Japan to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-19) victory over Asian rivals Iran in front of a packed house of fantastic fans as the men’s Volleyball Nations League 2023 Pool 2 action got underway on Tuesday.
The outside hitter produced the match high of 20 points. He put away an ace and a kill block, while spiking at a 60% success rate. Ishikawa’s cross-court teammate Ran Takahashi added another 10 points, including the match winner, while libero Tomohiro Yamamoto was brilliant in defence, piling up 11 digs.
Opposite Amin Esmaeilnezhad was Iran’s leading scorer on 11 points, also including an ace and a block. Experienced Iranian middle and captain Seyed Mousavi impressed with four blocking points during the match.
Inspired by the noise from the stands, Japan stormed the match on a 3-0 run and, with Ishikawa on fire in attack, they cruised on to open a gap as wide as 11 points during a completely one-sided first set. Finally, opposite Kento Miyaura closed the set at 25-16 with a sharp cross-court hit. The second set was way more competitive, with the lead swinging from four points Iran’s way to five points Japan’s way, and ended at 25-22 on a powerful pipe by Ishikawa for the last point. Iran stayed competitive through 8-8 in set three, but then the home team started building up a margin, which amounted to six points at the end of the match, brought about by Ran Takahashi with a blistering shot for 25-19.
“From the beginning we played very well as a team, well supported by our fans. Defence is one of our weapons and we could show it to the fans tonight. I am just happy we can perform in front of such a crowd,” said Ishikawa…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Asian Volleyball Confederation…