Inoue powers the sensational victory with 27 points
Inoue in action for Japan
Japan bounced back from their loss to China with a stunning 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 25-20) upset of world’s number two Brazil in a Pool D match at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship 2022 in Arnhem’s GelreDome on Friday and reserved their spot in the next phase of the tournament. It was only the 15th time Japan were able to defeat the South Americans in their 76 encounters at major world-level competitions.
Also on Friday, China managed a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 27-25) shutout of Czechia and lead the current pool standings on a 4-0 win-loss record and a perfect set record of 12-0. Brazil are in second and Japan are third on 3-1 and nine points each, separated on set ratio, followed by Argentina on 1-2 and pointless Czech Republic (0-4) and Colombia (0-3). Later on Friday, Argentina will meet Colombia at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) and, if they win, all four tickets to the next phase from this pool will have been issued with one round of matches to go. The top four teams from each of the four round-robin pools will advance to the second pool phase of the tournament.
· Watch all FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship 2022 matches live on Volleyball TV.
Japan’s outside hitter Arisa Inoue, who captained the team in the absence of injured Sarina Koga, delivered the match high of 27 points, including three blocks and an ace. Her cross-court teammate Mayu Ishikawa added another 18 points, including two aces. Opposite Kotona Hayashi spiked at a success rate of 52% and also scored twice from the serving line to tally 16 points, one short of Brazil’s most prolific player, outside Priscila Daroit, who finished with 17.
Ishikawa opened the match with a perfectly placed ace. Her teammates added two more points for an early 3-0 breakaway. Brazil were swift in catching up. With a beautiful back-row tip, Pri Daroit levelled it at 6-6, and the South Americans took control of the scoreboard, opening a four-point lead at 14-10. An ace by Hayashi for 14-12 gave momentum to a Japanese comeback. The Asians caught up and then another ace by Ishikawa put them in front again at 19-18. This time they did not allow their opponents to recover and pushed forward to a 25-22 win, with Nichika Yamada spiking through the middle for the last point.
Middle blocker Julia Kudiess scored directly from the serving line to give Brazil a 2-1 lead in the second set,…
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