Japan - V.League V1 (Division 1, Women) 2018-2019

Okayama wins 31-29 in set 2. Super super volleyball

I feel now that I've put my love on Okayama they can Start winning

They're up 2 sets to 1 and it's a long way to go, but they just look the better team right now

OMG

Sun 9 Dec 2018 Day 12 Results

Exciting night of volleyball

Ebata (15/49) returns to the court for PFU. Kurobe is 2-0 against PFU.

Hisamitsu plays better at the end of sets. That's what winners do. But they've looked vulnerable to both Toray and Toyota. JT beat them, and now here comes the red hot Seagulls. The Western Conference. They may lose a few games. Foluke (21/31). Kurogo 23/49. Mari Horikawa came in and took a few swings. I wonder why she's not playing.

Denso is not going to fulfill my expectations if Nabeya (4/27) can't be consistently good. Her ups and downs are not going to cut it. Rei Kudo (4/12) before being benched in set 2. #20 Reina Toukoku came in for her and hit reasonably well (11/30), but reception was a disaster for everyone. Sinéad (5/11, 3 blocks) is not having the impact needed. Denso looks completely out of sorts. I secretly wanted them to win because I have high hopes and expectations for them. NEC is a lost cause. Still have high hopes, but expectations are greatly diminished. This Mach II Lineup of Shiori Aratani (12/29), Mizuki Yanagita (13/38), and Shimamura (6/14, 3 blocks) is doing okay but Sarina Koga (9/30) continues to coast. Kana Ono ((2/10) struggled, Kaori Ueno (3/6) took over for her in set 2 and brought a kill block and an ace serve that announced the NEC win.

Toyota didn't play poorly until complete desperation took over and everything went to Neriman (39/84 -- in 4 sets), Okayama simply came out of nowhere and played better than them. I've said this about previous matches, and I'll say it about future matches, but this was the most exciting game of defensive volleyball I've ever seen on Okayama's part. It wasn't just a crazy dig here and there. It was non-stop craziness. Toyota also played good defense but Okayama brought compelling offense. MB # 28 Aimi Kawashima (14/23), 2 blocks) was the highlight. If you want to see what I mean by the rhythm of the MB HULK SMASH that foreigner MBs don't have yet (in Japan), check this girl, especially toward the end of the match. It was Serbia level awesome. Kills like hers have a debilitating effect on the opponent. Okayama played 13 of its 14 players, one of whom, Mai? Oikawa (4/7), just joined their already 26 person roster. Every player on the team deserves a shout out, but numbers don't tell the story. You could see mental toughness on every one of their pixelated faces. The only disappointment, if you can call it that, is that #5 Wonder Woman Mizuki Ugajin was 0/0 and hardly played. Can't wait for a re-watch in HD 30 days from now

Hitachi wins another 5-setter! Mai Irasawa (10/25, 11 blocks!) just won't stop. It's great to see #9 Hisae Watanabe (27/61, 2 Aces) playing full time, and Miwako Osanai (20/55) bringing it to reception and serving. Osanai had only one ace but her jump serve is smokin'. It puts the other team on their heels. The downside to these two performing as they should is that rookie youngster #18 Ruriko Uesaka has lost her spot. Newcomer #19 Miyu Kubota (11/30) is still solid at OP. Miya Sato is doing wonders with this young squad. Hitachi is the ice bag team. They need it with these 5-setters.

A complete night of satisfying, exciting, enjoyable volleyball. Club World Championship, Schmlub World Championship.

Standings 2018.12.09 -- after Week 6 (12 competition days)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

WESTERN CONFERENCE

OVERALL

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE:

#	Team	BECAUSE	W	L
1.	Okayama Seagulls	Defense rules. They try the hardest. Pure Chaos. A beautiful mess. Foreigner free. Unconventional. HD streams have brought Haruka Miyashita back into my life. Coach is kind of a clown. Maybe being on a 26+ person roster makes you try harder	2	7
2.	Hitachi Rivale	Six of their seven wins have been 5-setters, for my enjoyment. 15 points from 7 wins. Comical. They're mostly kids. Seeing the development of rookie Mai Irasawa happen in public is beautiful. Foreigner free	7	3
3.	Kurobe Aqua Fairies	They're the best losers. The most joyful team in the league. Rina Hiratani is always blushing. The quintessential Japanese team: great passing and reception; scrappy defense; difficulty winning	2	8
4.	Toyota Body Queens	The 3-point shot. They're talented. Solid, reliable middle blockers. Saori Takahashi has premium in her gas tank this year. Momoko Higane Neriman is an underrated blocker	7	3
5.	Hisamitsu Springs	Foluke. Still the coolest looking volleyball player in the world. Risa Shinnabe is playing almost perfect volleyball. I can't decide if I'm going to nickname Yuka Imamura The Cannon or The Sniper. She's both	7	1
6.	NEC Red Rockets	Till Death Do Us Part	6	5
7.	Denso Airybees	They're the Un-Team. Unpredictable. Unreliable. Uncertain. Unbelievable. Unconvincing. Unknown	6	4
8.	JT Marvelous	They're a skilled bunch. They don't take shit lightly, but it's sad to see them go from funky rapscallions to serious warriors. Brankica's Euro-sensibility needs a little sweetener. Relax girl. There's joy in the people around you	7	2
9.	Saitama Ageo Medics	Jaja looks a little overwhelmed but it hasn't stopped her. It makes you want to root for her. A little too foreigner heavy. Coach is almost Euro-style grumpy old man	4	5
10.	Toray Arrows	Love After Dark's skills don't match the 'tude she's coppin'. Mari Horikawa is still MIA. Foreigner is a little style challenged. I don't even know who their libero or setter are. That's fatal	4	4
11.	PFU Blue Cats	I want them to win a game, unless it's against NEC, Hitachi, or Kurobe. Add Okayama to that list	0	10

Break time until Saturday, January 5, 2019

Quote from brahmin

Empress Cup goes the next two weekends.

This is so exciting. Victorina Himeji is competing. We'll see if they have any metal when and if they get past the school kids

brahmin Do you know who this new SeaGull is and/or where she came from? She got a lot of camera and court time in the game against Toyota for someone who just joined a 26 person roster on 2018-11-29.

及川 真夢

Oikawa is the family name. What would you translate her given name as? Mai? Mari? True Dream?

Okayama is interesting. This Oikawa girl looks very very comfortable with her extended camera and court time. She is ostensibly a middle blocker. She starts a play in the middle with her arms up in the air like a good middle blocker. With Miyashita to her right they go up to attempt a block. Failing that, Oikawa fades to the wing and comes in like an OP for the kill. The very next play she fades left and does a typical MB slide to the right. Fascinating.

Cool, thanks. She must have been a star there. She already has a youtube highlight video from the one game she's played at club level (taken from the broadcast in HD, not a butt stalker fan cam, which also shows a few of Okayama's wonderful defensive plays against Toyota)

Highlights from Week 6

Sat 08 DEC 2018

Denso Airybees v PFU BlueCats (3-0) (25-21 25-21 25-16) Stats

Nabeya in rare form, a half dozen high jumpin' kills. Ari and Sinéad attempt the HULK SMASH a couple times

Hisamitsu Springs v Toyota Body Queens (3-0) (25-21 25-23 32-30) Stats

Imamura. Foluke

Saitama Ageo Medics v NEC Red Rockets (3-0) (27-25 25-17 25-19) V.TV Stats

vtv no highlights

Hitachi Rivale v Kurobe AquaFairies (3-0) (26-24 25-21 25-19) Stats

JT Marvelous v Okayama Seagulls (3-0) (25-22 25-22 25-18) Stats

Sun 09 DEC 2018

PFU BlueCats v Kurobe AquaFairies (1-3) (20-25 25-20 23-25 22-25) Stats

Hisamitsu Springs v Toray Arrows (3-1) (25-19 15-25 25-22 25-22) Stats

Foluke can almost HULK SMASH a slider

Denso Airybees v NEC Red Rockets (0-3) (22-25 21-25 19-25) Stats

Aratani and Yanagita. Nothing from Koga. A good look at one of Kaori Ueno's curve ball serves.

Toyota Body Queens v Okayama Seagulls (1-3) (28-26 29-31 22-25 20-25) Stats

The highlight people have a wing spiker bias. Too bad, it was the middle-blockers who won the offensive game for Okayama

Hitachi Rivale v Saitama Ageo Medics (3-2) (25-21 25-21 20-25 20-25 15-9) Stats

I wish Hitachi could win more efficiently. The 2nd half of their season is going to be tougher. They haven't played Hisamitsu, NEC, or Toray yet.

Enjoy the Empress Cup December 14–23, 2018

V1 games resume January 5, 2019

Quote from barnabas

Ageo's coach is the US NT's former coach before Lang Ping, isn't he?

Apparently so. Google confirms.

Quote from iVolley

volley transfers - Imoco Volley: Lowe arrives (Nagaoka definitely returns to Japan)

https://www.ivolleymagazine.it…initivamente-in-giappone/

That article mentions the Hisamitsu web site confirms Nagaoka's return. There is a mention on the Hisamitsu news feed:

News of his return by Miyu Nagaoka player injury with this result when you click on it:

The requested URL /topics/2018/12/20181211_2326.html was not found on this server.

That's how Japanese web sites work. Maybe it will show up later.

Quote from beri

Sachiko Sugiyama who is my all time fave Japanese MB.

I was looking for some youtube about an MB I like from Victorina Himeji, Rie Takaki, who apparently used to play for JT Marvelous. I came across this video of JT v NEC which showed Sugiyama doing a pretty decent HULK SMASH

queued up to the play:

For kicks, here's Okayama's Kawashima imitating her:

Not quite, but almost A HULK SMASH has two requirements:

1. the attacker has to start her swing before the ball leaves the setter's hands
2. the attacker and the ball have to both be going UP when contact is made

They're close.