2019 FIVB Women's U20 World Championship in Mexico

Congratulation to the Japanese team for winning the U20 World Championship beating those "giant teams"!

Frankly I didn't expect the Japanese team could win this title, I thought the gold medal belonged to the European teams.

And came from trailing 0-2 it's even more surprising!

Btw playing in the American Continent is always challenging for us in the Asia to watch live the games due to the wide time gap

Anyhow Mexico is a great host, and live broadcast relayed by the Volleyball Federation of Mexico thru FB is better than last U20 WCH I can remember.

Finally, a low outcome for both the world's WR-1 and WR-2 to finish at 9th and 7th respectively

Here's the team picture of the gold medallist:

Japan, 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's U20 World Championship Gold Medal winners

ha... you guys won't believe that i missed the 2nd half of the match. i have been waking up very early lately so i only watched the first 2 sets last night, and i was falling asleep, so i gave up and went to bed. what a surprise to see the comments this morning!

well done, JPN... they show the best of JPN volleyball: relentless in their defense (including a block that gets lots of touches if not block kills); relentless in their fast, deadly counter-attacks; amazing ball-handling; creative, unusual system; and a "never give up" attitude.

just watched the last half of the match that i missed... in the 3rd set, did you guys remember that amazing sequence by panetoni? first, on a 2nd touch, she set lubian in the middle (like de gennaro does) for a kill. then shortly after, on a free ball, she set populini on 4 on a first touch! incredible.

i thought that morello was a very brave and creative setter. so what she made mistakes or there was a bad connection with kone sometimes (so often, kone would just do a paintbrush, i.e., almost miss the ball), and too bad about the last 2 sets to lubian, but it takes a lot of nerve to do that at such decisive moment. omoruyi very shaky in reception and was soon replaced by tanase, who is also quite promising.

sitenoise, i noticed that this JPN team played their own, strange system, mostly, i think, because the setter nakagawa is so short, they don't even bother have her block in front row, instead they use a 2-woman block (i think at one point, the US did that with ah mow santos), so nakagawa would just back down for defense. also, when soga (OPP) was not at the net, hirayama (MB) would shift to hit from 2 like an OPP. i did not notice yamada (the other MB) do that, she played a more traditional MB role. i don't recall if anyone else hit from backrow other than soga, maybe ishikawa (3) or nishikawa (5) did?

Quote from Spyro

Russia limited Italian players with their blocks, Russian middle #11 Brovkina was a beast

If she transitions to the senior team well, Brovkina may be the "Super MB" Russian NT may have been waiting for

Quote from Ksenia

She needs to choose the right team where she won't sit on the bench.

Agree. I hope she can develop her slide attack, but seeing as she is so tall maybe she attacks best in front of the setter. If she plays her cards right, she can be Russia's "Super MB" in a few years

A few interesting points about U20 WChs:

Japan is the most successful one if we consider last 4 U20 WChs. They reached the semis finals in all 4 WChs, which is a very remarkable acviement.

2000s Gold

1998s Bronze

1996s 4th place

1994s Silver

Moreover, best setters are from Japan in last 3 WCh: Tsukasa Nakagawa, Tamaki Matsui and Misaki Shirai. Maybe one of these 3 can fill Takeshita's shoes in the future.

Turkey become 4th second time in a row and has one MB selected in dream team each year (Merve Atlıer and Zehra Güneş)

When we compare the results of this generation in U18 with current U20 WCh, this is how it looks like:

	Japan +4
	Italy -1
	Russia 0
4	Turkey 0
5	Poland +11
6	Brazil +4
7	China +12
8	United States 0
9	Serbia +4
10	Mexico +8
11	Argentina -4
12	Peru 0
13	Dominican Republic -11
14	Cuba +6
15	Egypt
16	Rwanda

As seen in the table, the biggest improvement from U18 level to U20 level comes from China from being 19th place to 7th place. Also Poland improved their position from 16th to 5. Mexico's jump on the table is worth to mention as well. On the other hand, the biggest setback comes from Dominican Republic who were the silver medalist at U18 level and ended up 13th place at U20 level. Also Argentina lost their 7th place drastically which could be explained by unlucky draw that put them in the same group with RUS and TUR. Italy managed to receive a medal again but this time it was silver instead of gold. Germany and Belarus which were 6th an 9th in U18, respectively, couldn't even qualify to play in U20 WCh, which makes them the teams that retrogressed most. Positions of RUS, TUR, USA and PER did not change from U18 to U20 level.

It will be interesting to see how these youngster will develop and if they will manage to reach high levels with their senior NT.

I think the MBs of this Turkish team, Derya and Yaprak can easily find a spot in one of the VVSL teams this season. Most teams could not afford to make transfers yet.

Derya will play in starting six of Yesilyurt all season for sure since their head coach is originally from Vakifbank.

Same for Merve Atlier playing in Karayollari.

I have not seen Yaprak being transferred somewhere yet but after this tournament, I am sure she will get a contract.

For the other players, I will be surprised if any of the VVSL teams would like to take the risk. They should play in Division 1 instead until they prove themselves.

Quote from Ksenia

I really don't want to spout it again but Pankov's statement was like that, Lokomotiv Kaliningrad should allow Brovkina and Shevchuk to play in another club as the main players.

I agree with this statement. At least Brovkina should have a decent shot at the second MB spot since I don't think that Zaitseva and Podskalnaya are much better than her. The situation for Shevchuk is much worse competing with Kurilo and Iurinskaya for one OH spot...

The situation for Pipunyrova is very promising in Krasnodar. Neither Bessonaya nor Sperskaite (hope she will be better than last season) are consistent in reception.

Quote from ossubtus

sitenoise, i noticed that this JPN team played their own, strange system

Thank you for noticing that

You're probably correct that it has to do with having such a short setter. Why bother having her try to block.

Quote from ossubtus

when soga (OPP) was not at the net, hirayama (MB) would shift to hit from 2 like an OPP. i did not notice yamada (the other MB) do that, she played a more traditional MB role.

Sometimes, even when Soga is at the net (@2) and Hirayama is @4, Hirayama will also go wide, and Soga will attack in front of the setter. Yamada does play a more traditional MB role, occasionally hitting from two -- I've seen Brazilian MBs do that, so that's not so unusual.

It is very common in Japan's High School and University teams for MBs to hit from wide right. BTW - YOLO, aka Haruna Soga played MB with her high school team.

Quote from ossubtus

anyone else hit from backrow other than soga, maybe ishikawa (3) or nishikawa (5) did?

Yuki Nishikawa #5 is this squad's main back row attacker, but they all do it occasionally--even MB Hirayama!

Quote from serdar

A few interesting points

Japan's backrow finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the reception category for this tournament Source

1. Mayu Ishikawa
2. Haruna Soga YOLO
3. Rena Mizusugi

That seems inane (ly great)

Has that ever happened before in any age group anywhere in the world in any tournament?

When you have a team of 173cm weaklings with no "good" players destined to be the next Ebrar, you need a different game plan. I don't understand Setter Statistics, but when you couple that kind of reception with a setter's stats that are almost two times the next in line and almost three times the 3rd place, at least you're off to a good start. Having two of your Wings in the top 5 attackers is icing on the cake.

One of the reasons this tournament was so fun for me is that I, for the first time, watched High School matches this year, so I knew all these players and their Super Coach very well. I was confident good things would result.

I'm curious how other folks know about the players on the teams they follow. Have you seen them play in High School? Or only a few highlights from earlier U18 Tournaments, along with just reading about them?

I watched Ebrar and Derya Cebecioğlu while they were playing in 1st division, our federation broadcast some matches with a low quality.

https://twitter.com/Gio1315/status/1153536354824916992

Giovanni Guidetti‏ @Gio1315

Congrats to the U16 Turkish team!Unfortunately is not the first time Turkey win big medals at young level!The key is what will happen between 16 - 20 years old!Dear managers and families... in the next 4 years don’t put money in front of good training and playing in the court

so why do you (Gui) keeps signing all the talented young Turkish players and keep them on the bench? ...

Quote from sitenoise

Not sure what you mean. If you watched Japan play in this tournament there was nothing surprising about the final result

After complimenting Japan on an incredible comeback, I went on to say 2-3 more things from yrs. of experience (player/coach/administrator/referee). To put it into the context I meant, I will preface this by repeating that my background is mostly NCAA-U.S. based. There, teenagers and women in their really early 20's abound: much like in this tourney. Is NCAA ball anywhere near the USWNT's level of play? Of course not (nor is it comparable to other nations' National Teams)! My point,~a page back, was to state that, no matter how strong a team may look like in any stage of any tourney, upsets and youth go hand-in-hand!

sitenoise, actually MBs hitting high balls at 2 are pretty rare. often they might be at 2 and they’ll do a one-footed takeoff and hit it like a back slide. a versatile player like hirayama is indeed a great asset.

you can see the dilemma when an MB comes in to block for a setter. in the transition, that player often becomes non-existent for counter-attacking.

Quote from Ridehard10

After complimenting Japan on an incredible comeback, I went on to say 2-3 more things from yrs. of experience (player/coach/administrator/referee). To put it into the context I meant, I will preface this by repeating that my background is mostly NCAA-U.S. based. There, teenagers and women in their really early 20's abound: much like in this tourney. Is NCAA ball anywhere near the USWNT's level of play? Of course not (nor is it comparable to other nations' National Teams)! My point,~a page back, was to state that, no matter how strong a team may look like in any stage of any tourney, upsets and youth go hand-in-hand!

I'm only three years into watching volleyball, and less than a year into watching any kind of youth volleyball, so I'll keep in mind your statement that "upsets and youth go hand in hand" as I experience more and see if it plays out with my watching.

I think I responded to your post before I recognized you as the new guy who, along with me and no one else that I can find, believes passing and defense win! Welcome to the darkside There's a lot of Hero Ball worship here.

Most people think "Japan" can only win by cheating, paying off the refs, rigging the pools, and so on. So and but I'm still confused whether or not you think Japan beating Italy was an upset

Not that it matters.

Quote from ossubtus

you can see the dilemma when an MB comes in to block for a setter. in the transition, that player often becomes non-existent for counter-attacking.

I'm trying to learn. That's why I make massive posts with illustrations asking for help understanding things. Thanks for your input!

Quote from sitenoise

but I'm still confused whether or not you think Japan beating Italy was an upset

Not that it matters.

Hey, I can slightly tell that it matters to you; happy for - and congrats to - your country, and your nation's VB culture/organization, for winning. Tbph, I felt that it was a toss-up going in. Italy had their amazing match in the semis vs. Turkey -- and, therefore, momentum -- while I felt Japan was the (slightly) better team!

Quote from Ksenia

First of all, I want to say something to the person, who somehow pretended to speak fluently in english in this forum. I checked out old posts of that person in this forum yesterday , all of a sudden I saw that person had used very basic and false english in past (like "sürprised" and "olda", " is became " etc (2007) ), nothing would be more ridiculous than that, that person somehow pretended to be fluent in English (it's not to you, ignorans )

I agree with you to a certain extent, about Brovkina and Shevchuk. It would be better both of them somehow to find the right club and play as the main players there instead of wasting their time in Loko.

Frankly, I want Shemanova stays in America because of having enough playing time there. I have a hope about her improving a lot in future there. I dislike Yakushina's performance and wasnt satisfied by Borisova's performance either. Our OPP players are a big question to me, although Yakushina will play in Zarechie, and she has a great chance for OPP spot, to be bluntly honest, neither Yakushina nor Russu will be a great OPP player in future.

Get a life

Obviously, I don't see any huge difference among teams. We saw a lot of "tiebreak" in this tournament from the start. This probably means that the teams somehow have the same powers. Perhaps, a player we never expect to be the star of future, will be the real star in future, who knows.

Honestly, for me this tournament will be remarkable if the national teams get their gold players instead of the gold medals.

Quote from Ridehard10

Hey, I can slightly tell that it matters to you; happy for - and congrats to - your country, and your nation's VB culture/organization, for winning. Tbph, I felt that it was a toss-up going in. Italy had their amazing match in the semis vs. Turkey -- and, therefore, momentum -- while I felt Japan was the (slightly) better team!

Hey, let's be friends.

FYI - I was born in Des Moines, currently live in San Francisco. I'm as white bread as they come. I enjoy Japanese volleyball because I like passing and defense. I loathe high sets and hero ball. I prefer a big smile over punching the goal post after scoring a point, have no interest in unhappy faces soiling my TV screen unless they are accompanied by tears. Shit like that

Quote from pope

so why do you (Gui) keeps signing all the talented young Turkish players and keep them on the bench? ...

Maybe you've seen me ask a similar question over in the Japan threads: Why do (most of) the best youngsters sign with Hisamitsu or Toray and hang out on the bench rather than sign with Kurobe of PFU and play like crazy.

I think the reply is that with Hisamitsu/Toray they get stability, good facilities, the best coaches, and better team mates. So it's a better decision for the youngsters in terms of their long term growth. I wonder if young Turkish players might be thinking something like that.

You've given examples where it didn't seem to work out for young Turkish players in the long term. I've asked for examples of where it worked for young Japanese players in the long term. Still waiting.

YOLO's fate will be interesting. She signed with NEC. Here's NEC's swingers: Nanami Hirose-> Sarina Koga NT -> Misaki Yamauchi (C) OP-> Mizuki Yanagita OP -> Shiori Aratani NT OP/MB-> Chinami Furuya (MVP, Best Scorer, Best Server in 2018 U-Tournaments) -> Ayumi Yoshida (Big Spirit Award winner, or whatever, during this summer's V.League, and best receiver in 2018 Asian U20).

YOLO is a peculiar piece of work so she might cut in line, and the fact that she swings from the right side will be an advantage, but your question is a good one: Why does this keep happening?

Quote from sitenoise

Maybe you've seen me ask a similar question over in the Japan threads: Why do (most of) the best youngsters sign with Hisamitsu or Toray and hang out on the bench rather than sign with Kurobe of PFU and play like crazy.

I think the reply is that with Hisamitsu/Toray they get stability, good facilities, the best coaches, and better team mates. So it's a better decision for the youngsters in terms of their long term growth. I wonder if young Turkish players might be thinking something like that.

You've given examples where it didn't seem to work out for young Turkish players in the long term. I've asked for examples of where it worked for young Japanese players in the long term. Still waiting.

YOLO's fate will be interesting. She signed with NEC. Here's NEC's swingers: Nanami Hirose-> Sarina Koga NT -> Misaki Yamauchi (C) OP-> Mizuki Yanagita OP -> Shiori Aratani NT OP/MB-> Chinami Furuya (MVP, Best Scorer, Best Server in 2018 U-Tournaments) -> Ayumi Yoshida (Big Spirit Award winner, or whatever, during this summer's V.League, and best receiver in 2018 Asian U20).

YOLO is a peculiar piece of work so she might cut in line, and the fact that she swings from the right side will be an advantage, but your question is a good one: Why does this keep happening?

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I honestly think these players are influenced by their managers to sign with a bigger club that eventually is paying them more money. So the agent ends ups making more money if they sign with Vakifbank or Hisamtisu... And this is something that has been mentioned here before.

Another thing is. The clubs does not care for the NT success...of course they want them to win, but for the owners and coaches their club success is what matters. So they don't care if they sign a local player with a lot of potential knowing she won't get to play.

But getting the best facilities, coaches and all that could be a factor also. But I don't believe any player will ever improve if they don't get to play.