Japan NT 2019 Women

    Quote from theloneracer

    So Koga, Miyashita, and Nagakawa got benched by Nakata at Montreux.

    Haha, if you put it that way :lol: Koga can use the excuse that she's being rested for the VNL.


    Three had to get benched. Nakagawa I dunno about, but I'm seriously concerned for Miyashita's future with the NT. We'll see. Seki may implode, and it'll be two years before Manami Mandai gets out of school and takes over :rose:

    Mai Okumura may have been a little profligate this past season in Thailand. She's looks slightly out of shape in Montreux, maybe sporting a few extra pounds, a little less spring in her step. She's all about spring in her step so this worries me.

    As long as Nakata remain as head coach, I don't see Miyashita getting back into the NT anytime soon. IMO she is now like Nakata's 5th choice setter. Same goes for Koga too.


    I agreed, Mai Okumura is not playing well at Montreux. From what I saw, a lot of her spikes are getting blocked.



    It is very worrisome how the Japanese have collapsed multiple of times.

    What do you guys think of Nakata so far? Has the Japanese NT progress or regress under her reign?

    There is progress, but regular starting 7 will have Tashiro/Tominaga, Araki, Kurogo, Ishii, Iwasaka, Shinnabe/Koga, Kubota/Kotoe Inoue. Nabeya can substitute off the bench as a spark plug.


    This is their best lineup in my mind. Opposite for them is not a big scoring position compared to other countries. With Nagaoka it is, but she’s out due to injury.


    Japan has sped up its setting play, but still uses the middles less on long plays than a USA or Brazil. Blocking outside of Araki and Iwasaka is still an issue.


    I think that Miyashita’s boat has traveled. Nakata sees a lot of herself in her. If looking at her club play, she almost got Okayama into the playoffs with worse pieces than the teams above her. A year abroad would have helped her at some point, but really coach’s call at this point.

    Sarina Koga. I just don't know. She could be one of these players who was great at 18 and then fizzles by 22. Like Sakura Doi--she was a freaking beast in the HS matches I watched. Anybody know that name? Arisa Inoue? Kotona Hayashi remains to be seen. As does Kurogo, imo.


    Or Koga could be Nakata's treasure and she rested her to give youngsters/others a chance. We'll know more next week.


    I've been singing Miwako Osanai songs for two years. I can't believe it happened. We'll see if she has staying power. She has the best arm in the V.League. Just needs to get get Yuki-Tough™ and Risa-Smart.


    Watching Nakata at Montreux during huddles is hilarious. She looks like she expects the girls to tell her what to do :rolll: This is the way it should be. I would say Nakata's run so far has been not so good, but I blame it on the Ferhat experiment. It was just so wrong to have him flapping his gums non-stop during timeouts. As his role diminished the team improved. That's my controversial opinion.


    As for Miyashita, I think her ship has sailed--or her boat has traveled--whichever metaphor you like :) I'm so torn about it. Miya Sato is a way better setter than her but I'm still worried about Sato's defense. And Japan appears to have some good setters -- <3 Manami Mandai <3 -- in the pipeline. Not to mention the Kanon :rose:

    For me, it feels like Nakata has taken the Japanese team back a step (or maybe two).


    I, on the other hand, feels like the settings are slower than it used to be. Also, the coverings of the ball from the rebound off the opponent's blocks ain't as good as it used to be either. I know my criticisms might wrong but this is how I see it.

    About Miyashita,


    - During the yesterday's match, the commentator said Miyashita went back home by her own from 1st traning camp last season.

    - This is because she didn't prepare mentally to play for NT.

    - According to local magazine, she also couldn't decide whether she join the NT or not this season , but Nakada persuaded her to join the team then she joined.



    I read some of her interviews and it seems she lacks confidence in herself and tends to underestimate herself, even after she experienced 2016 Olympics as a main setter.

    Even though many coaches & ex-players saying Miyashita is the talented and the only setter who could bring big achievement for Japanese team, she doesn't trust these words and saying ''There are many setters in Japan who are better than myself. I still don't get why I got invitation to NT.'' :(

    It's sad. I don't understand Nakada's "support" for Miyashita if she never plays her. Miyashita could be playing this VNL. Doesn't make sense

    I like japan even with so much injuries, they play always. Height is just lacking and i can seriously calling them as the new brazil.

    Quote from theloneracer

    Also, the coverings of the ball from the rebound off the opponent's blocks ain't as good as it used to be either. I know my criticisms might wrong but this is how I see it.

    Ah, I missed your post. Without Miyashita, or Hitomi Nakamichi, or Arisa Sato, block coverage has receded a little. Coach Nakata has different priorities--which is okay.


    I'm so torn about Miyashita. She's right. Japan does have better setters than her but she contributes to defense way more than any other setter I've seen. Hitomi Nakamichi is up there with her but she's retired now.


    Miya Sato set balls faster with Hitachi than she is with the NT. I don't know if that is at Nakata's direction or that Sato had Hitachi players who wanted them faster than NT players do. I think Tashiro is probably the one who enjoys and executes the fastest game for the NT the past couple years.

    This appears to be the 15 players -- which may be whittled down to 12 -- that are going to compete at the FIVB U20 World Championship in July:


    Minami Nishimura Libero - Okayama

    Rena Mizusugi Libero - Toray

    Ayaka Araki Middle-blocker - Higashi Kyushu Ryukoku

    Kotomi Osaki Middle-blocker - Toray

    Nichika Yamada Middle-blocker - NEC

    Shion Hirayama Middle-blocker - Hisamitsu

    Kanon Sonoda Setter - Free Agent (from Okayama) Higashi Kyushu Ryukoku

    Tsukasa Nakagawa Setter - Tokai University VBC

    Ameze Miyabe Wing-spiker - Kinrankai High School

    Ayumi Yoshida Wing-spiker - NEC

    Haruna Soga Wing-spiker - NEC

    Haruna Yamashita Wing-spiker - Tokai University VBC

    Mayu Ishikawa Wing-spiker - Toray

    Saki Goya Wing-spiker Free Agent (from Okayama) Higashi Kyushu Ryukoku

    Yuki Nishikawa Wing-spiker - JT Marvelous


    Source

    Quote from sitenoise

    Sarina Koga. I just don't know. She could be one of these players who was great at 18 and then fizzles by 22. Like Sakura Doi--she was a freaking beast in the HS matches I watched. Anybody know that name? Arisa Inoue? Kotona Hayashi remains to be seen. As does Kurogo, imo.


    Sakura Doi was always a part of JP underage team to participate in every regional and international competitions from 2011up until 2015 . However, she failed to carry the team to final round at 2011 U17 world championship then easily faded away at subsequent tournaments. Those attacker who shined the most during that time were Momoka Oda, Aya Horie, Misaki Yamauchi (played as MB with an ultra quick slide) & especially Arisa Inoue who single handedly led the JP U19 team to the 2013 World U20 final only to lose to Zhuting. I believe she was also in the wide roster of Japan national team back in 2013. I didnot really follow any High School contest but Sakura Doi clearly did not show any of her beast side at those international matches back then.


    The same case applied for Mizuki Tanaka of JT. She was also an unstopable beast at the 2014 national HS final match. Some people in her high school team even said she was an upgrade version of Risa Shinnabe. but now she remains to be a decent spiker, no more no less.




    So the whole thing is from Miyashita personally :-(. Thanks so much for your clarification, Ryu Takamiya.

    Nghiphong Thanks for the input. I have only recently discovered the world of Pre-Club volleyball. I'd seen a handful of U-tournaments but had no context or knew anything about the players. I also just discovered School Ball. It's cool to have this new perspective.


    I remember in the 17/18 run-up to V.League Club Finals when this kid Kotona Hayashi showed up on JT and knocked Kitsui and Kanasugi to the bench. I couldn't understand it. Now I know where she came from. She wasn't that impressive to me but I understand she has a reputation.


    It's different now, for example, to have seen Rena Mizusugi play in the High School Championship before she showed up on Toray mid-year and took over, and improved, the libero situation. If I hadn't seen the HS games I would have thought "Who is this kid"? And known nothing.


    It's hard to follow it, though--reading google translations that often translate names incomprehensibly: Mizusugi is known as Lycopodiella Cernua Rena LOL.


    This web site https://www.getsuvolley.com seems to cover HS, at least I can find rosters, and bless them for hosting videos of the Spring Valley. I can't find anything comparable for University Teams and tournaments. So frustrating.


    I'm going to try and keep an eye on the upcoming U-tournaments, but I can't really learn anything without watching them actually play. Statistics and Scores don't land with me unless I've seen it.

    U18 Candidates:


    1 √Yoshino Sato OH/MB Yonezawa Central High School 2 years 183㎝

    2 √Nanami Asano OH/MB Kinrankai high school 2 years 183㎝

    3 √Ayana Funane OH Shimokitazawa Seitoku High School 2 years 180㎝

    4 √Yoshino Nishikawa OH Kinrankai high school 2 years 178㎝

    5 √Mika Yoshitake OH Kinrankai high school 1 year 178㎝

    6 √Manami Koyama OH/MB Kyoei Gakuen high school 2 years 176㎝

    7 √Yukiko Wada OH Kyoto Tachibana High School 3 years 175㎝

    8 √Yoshie Kawakami OH Kinrankai high school 2 years 174㎝

    9 √Ai Hirota OH/MB Bunkyo Gakuin University Girls' High School 1 year 173㎝

    10 √Wakana Akishige OH/MB Kinrankai high school 2 years 171㎝

    11 √Rino Murooka :heart: OH/L Higashi Kyushu Ryukoku High School 2 years 161㎝

    12 √Ami Takahashi MB Yonezawa Central High School 3 years 184㎝

    13 √Madoka Kashimura MB/OH Mito Girls' High School 2 years 183㎝

    14 √Vivian Taira (Chidimma) MB Tokyo City University Shiojiri 2 years 182㎝

    15 √Nana Sakakibara MB Hachiojijissen high school 3 years 180㎝

    16 √Aimi Okawa S/OH Hachiojijissen high school 2 years 173㎝

    17 √Haruka Kaji S/OH Sundai school 2 years 172㎝

    18 √Natsumi Kondo S/OH Hinomoto Gakuen 2 years 171㎝

    19 √Mana Nishizaki L Kinrankai high school 2 years 158㎝

    20 √Aoi An Furukawa OH Aira Municipal Kajiki Junior High School 3 years 183㎝

    21 √Merisa Valdes OH Furukawa Gakuen high school 2 years 181㎝

    22 √Yoshiko Kamei OH Yonezawa Central High School 1 year 171㎝


    1 佐藤吉野 OH/MB 米沢中央高校 2年 183㎝

    2 麻野七奈未 OH/MB 金蘭会高校 2年 183㎝

    3 舟根綾菜 OH 下北沢成徳高校 2年 180㎝

    4 西川吉野 OH 金蘭会高校 2年 178㎝

    5 吉武美佳 OH 金蘭会高校 1年 178㎝

    6 小山愛実 OH/MB 共栄学園高校 2年 176㎝

    7 和田由紀子 OH 京都橘高校 3年 175㎝

    8 川上良江 OH 金蘭会高校 2年 174㎝

    9 廣田あい OH/MB 文京学院大学女子高校 1年 173㎝

    10 秋重若菜 OH/MB 金蘭会高校 2年 171㎝

    11 室岡莉乃 OH/L 東九州龍谷高校 2年 161㎝

    12 髙橋蒼未 MB 米沢中央高校 3年 184㎝

    13 樫村まどか MB/OH 水戸女子高校 2年 183㎝

    14 平ヴィヴィアンチディンマ MB 東京都市大学塩尻高校 2年 182㎝

    15 榊原菜那 MB 八王子実践高校 3年 180㎝

    16 大川愛海 S/OH 八王子実践高校 2年 173㎝

    17 加地春花 S/OH 駿台学園高校 2年 172㎝

    18 近藤なつみ S/OH 兵庫県立氷上高校 2年 171㎝

    19 西崎愛菜 L 金蘭会高校 2年 158㎝

    20 古川愛梨 OH 姶良市立加治木中学校 3年 183㎝

    21 バルデス メリーサ OH 古川学園高校 2年 181㎝

    22 亀井美子 OH 米沢中央高校 1年 171㎝

    I'm a bit confused by this list of the Universiade Squad Source


    1) - I thought it was limited to College kids, although:

    ①1994年1月1日から2001年12月31日までに生まれた選手

    ②大学/大学院に在学中、もしくは今年/前年に卒業した選手

    （日本の大学・大学院の場合は文部科学省管轄に限る）

    "Born between 1994 and 2001"

    "A graduate of this year / year before / while in graduate school"


    Ayaka Sugi was in her 4th year of University in 2017 Source (not that it matters one wit, I suppose, but the Wikipedia World better get on this with some straight facts because this girl is going places)


    2) - Nanami Tani is lost in that resigning/retiring/leaving conundrum Source

    Nanami Tani has retired, it's Minami Takasou who's playing



    1 Arisa Inoue OH Hisamitsu Springs 178㎝

    2 Ayaka Sugi MB Toyota Auto Body 178㎝

    3 Yuka Sawada S NEC Red Rockets 159㎝

    4 Chinami Furuya OH NEC Red Rockets 173㎝

    5 Riho Sadakane OH Victory Na Himeji 170㎝

    6 Minami Takasou OH PFU Blue Cats 164㎝

    7 Mayu Oikawa MB Okayama Seagulls 175㎝

    8 Saki Tanaka ON Victory Na Himeji 169㎝

    9 Tamaki Matsui S Japan Women's Physical Education 4-year university 170㎝

    10 Mami Yokota MB Tokai University 4 years 177㎝

    11 Mikoto Shima OP Juntendo University 3 years 175㎝

    12 Yuka Ikeya L Nippon Sport Science University 4 years 156㎝




    1 井上愛里沙 OH 久光製薬スプリングス 178㎝

    2 杉 郁香 MB トヨタ車体クインシーズ 178㎝

    3 澤田由佳 S NECレッドロケッツ 159㎝

    4 古谷ちなみ OH NECレッドロケッツ 173㎝

    5 貞包里穂 OH ヴィクトリーナ姫路 170㎝

    6 髙相みな実 OH PFUブルーキャッツ 164㎝

    7 及川真夢 MB 岡山シーガルズ 175㎝

    8 田中咲希 OP ヴィクトリーナ姫路 169㎝

    9 松井珠己 S 日本女子体育大学4年 170㎝

    10 横田真未 MB 東海大学4年 177㎝

    11 志摩美古都 OP 順天堂大学3年 175㎝

    12 池谷優佳 L 日本体育大学4年 156㎝

    Japan Week 3 ... 14 players again. oh my god :rolll:


    Setters:

    12 Miya Sato (Hitachi), 25 Nanami Seki (Toray)


    Middle Blockers:

    3 Nana Iwasaka (captain, Hisamitsu), 13 Mai Okumura (JT), 20 Aya Watanabe (Toyota), 24 Aika Akutagawa (JT)


    Outside Hitters:

    2 Sarina Koga (NEC), 7 Yuki Ishii (Hisamitsu), 11 Yuri Nabeya (Denso), 16 Ai Kurogo (Toray), 21 Miwako Osanai (Hitachi), 27


    Opposite:

    4 Risa Shinnabe (Hisamitsu)


    Liberos:

    14 Mako Kobata (JT), 18 Akane Yamagishi (Saitama)


    Miyashita out and Seki back in. Miya Sato is doing a good job. Hitachi won the Entertainment Value Index for the 2017-18 club season. I watched every one of their matches, but I didn't really notice Sato that much. I noticed the heck out of her the 2018-19 season even though Hitachi didn't win the Entertainment Value Index. Because. Okayama.


    The Setter situation is fascinating. Is Coach Nakata resting Tominaga and Tashiro? Or hiding them? What's the dang deal with Miyashita? Miya Sato has improved. She'd improve more if Japan's middles could conjure up a desire to HULK SMASH from the middle (like her Hitachi teammate Mai Irasawa). It would give her more ability to be deceptive if she had that as a threat. Nana Iwasaka kinda does it, but she's Iwasaka. The others are sliders. Okumura is a little slower than last year. Maybe too much good Thai food. Watanabe and Akutagawa are doing great offensively. Blocking is weird, though. Yuki Ishii is having more success than the MBs (except Okumura), but she's also had a lot more court time.


    Nanami Seki's come out of nowhere (except High School). Her sets are more accurate when she's running after the ball than when it's delivered to her in a standing position. She's a great story. I love kid success <3


    Sarina Koga.


    I hope this is Miwako Osanai's Transformational Tournament™. She's got a better swing than all the other attackers but she's not as smart or as confident yet. She's not dumb, the others are very smart. Come on, Miwako. Make your biggest fan proud :rose: