Japan Women’s NT 2020

    Quote from sitenoise

    Reading these Nakada interviews I'm getting the sense she wants to speed up their game and incorporate more back attack. I'm all for that in theory but if it's Kurogo and Ishikawa at the top of the food chain I fear disaster. They are both high ball hitters. Apparently that was the Shimokitazawa Seitoku way. Ishikawa swings harder at out of system balls than quick sets. The timing is hers and that's what she likes. Quick sets close to the net for her are a block waiting to happen. Give her a high ball a meter or two back and she's good to go.


    Kurogo and Ishikawa playing together this past season was awkward. And it was with Nakada NT setter, Nanami Seki. Kurogo missed the first round or two with an injury, though

    Kurogo and Mayu are a power clash duo. It's not a particularly harmonious dynamic that worsens with the overly predictable Seki.

    Quote from sean1

    You can't really compare Aratani to Nabeya. Nabeya at Aratani's age was plain mess. Of course there was a transition from plain mess to somehow a useful chaos from Nabeya. Aratani definitely has more control over her attacks and she has a smoother swing than Nabeya. Kubota from Hitachi is probably closer to Nabeya than Aratani. Aratani knows she's good, there's a level of confidence from her that's palpable and you can see during NEC's matches that Koga can't even keep up sometimes but Aratani is far more reliable on the court.


    I know I sound like a huge fan right now LOL but I have high hopes for her. Perhaps her skillset isn't what's necessary for NT right now but perhaps in the near future when they realize what it is their team is exactly lacking which is a lot let's be real.


    I see your point. I take back what I said about her being a Nabeya starter pack and I agree that she does have a far cleaner attack.


    I'm assuming they didn't call her in since they have no idea how to utilize Koga which is basically the same as her in terms of what she can bring to any team.

    In honor of the Shiori Aratani highlights, I watched the 2017 U20 World Championship Bronze match between Japan and Turkey. That was a fine Japan squad, Kurogo and her high school buddies. Yamaguchi was their YOLO. Tamaki Matsui, wonderful.


    Highly recommended. Zehra Gunes is there :)


    Yoshino Yuri from Ageo Medics (OH, 20/ 173cm.)

    Quote from haru_12

    Blue team...got Sato, Tashiro, Kurogo, Ishikawa, Iishi n Kobata :what:

    Yeah, lol. I would've picked them for a sweep. It looks like the Red team gave them the third set out of pity :rolll:


    Would have been nice to see who was responsible for the Red win. Yoshino is the real deal and I'm all in for Hayashi until she proves me wrong :thumbup:

    Quote from Phoenix

    AiMayu which means their dynamic is really not working.

    This whole problem started with a minor dust-up on social media they had over whether or not ketchup is appropriate inside a rice omelette.

    I enjoyed the 2017 Japan v Turkey U20 match so I watched the Semifinal between Japan and Russia. Russia clobbers them in the first two sets but then it's suspenseful until the end of the Tie Break. This U20 squad had some juice.


    Semi final 2 - FIVB Women's U 20 Championship JPN v RUS


    I'm getting excited about Shiori Aratani with Himeji this fall. She's definitely the adult in the room here, and it's probably peak Aratani, but the 2017 U20 squad is anchored by Kurogo's Shimokitazawa Seitoku HS Champions graduating class: Kurogo, Miyuki Horie, and Shuri Yamaguchi.


    What's interesting to me --and how this touches on the AiMayu kerfuffle-- is that when Kurogo plays with Horie (OP) and Yamaguchi (MB), the latter two take care of the right side of the court. When Aratani switches in she does as well. Aratani does it with MB sliders but Kurogo stays on the left side of the court, mostly. The one year Kurogo and Ishikawa played together in HS, and this past season with Toray, when Ishikawa rotates to the front Kurogo takes two spins as OP. That's what I don't like.


    Trivia:

    The Head Coach of this U20 squad, Kiyoshi Abo, who's coached a lot of U20 squads, is now the GM of Himeji, and the U20 Assistant Coach, Kodai Nakaya, who's also assisted a number of U20 squads, and spent the past eight years with NEC, is now Himeji Head Coach.


    Probably just a coincidence that Shiori is now sporting pink :) The future belongs to Himeji

    Quote from sitenoise

    Would have been nice to see who was responsible for the Red win.

    I trust Araki's blocks :heart: and Hayashi hehe


    I just knew about this girl (Aratani) when a friend says he saw from jva's photographer that they're betting to place Shiori Aratani in Hinotori in the next shift. (this could be just a rumour) haha :lol:

    Quote from haru_12

    I trust Araki's blocks :heart: and Hayashi hehe

    I read this blogger's rundown (which is a tough google-translate) but here's the recap:

    Quote

    Ishikawa stands out after Yoshino and Hayashi in red, and black after [Kurogo] in blue. In particular, Yoshino has seen remarkable growth since last year, not only in the serve receive, but also in the attack side. Hayashi is a player who wants to enter the game in a real battle situation because he is stepping on the scene. Ishikawa and Kurogo had more stability and the power up of the serve was noticeable.


    There is an impression that Koga and Araki are fine and Koga has recovered quite a bit.

    Their bio states: "Information about the All Japan Women's Volleyball Team will be posted with dogmatism and prejudice".


    I've noticed we share some of the same opinions :whistle:




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    Quote from haru_12

    I just knew about this girl (Aratani) when a friend says he saw from jva's photographer that they're betting to place Shiori Aratani in Hinotori in the next shift. (this could be just a rumour) haha :lol:

    Is this the same photographer who bet Ranna Shiraiwa was going to NEC?

    Quote from Phoenix

    Not a good sign. Even if say, Nagaoka did school the sht out of them that's still really troubling. They already beefed up the Blue team and wouldn't even separate AiMayu which means their dynamic is really not working.

    I made that comment to go with the photo since it wasn't included. I have no idea what happened there and I doubt any of us here do unless we see the full remote match which is not possible. I wouldn't be surprised if the biggest factor was Miyu but I'm only going by what I've seen from her before, I don't know the extent of her power anymore. Also, it's a solo shot which could be a hint

    Who exactly is Yoshino? I should probably check her out. Is this the #27 girl? the ones I follow on twitter were buzzing about her. Also the setter I'm least impressed by seem to have done well too.

    Quote from sean1

    I made that comment to go with the photo since it wasn't included. I have no idea what happened there and I doubt any of us here do unless we see the full remote match which is not possible. I wouldn't be surprised if the biggest factor was Miyu but I'm only going by what I've seen from her before, I don't know the extent of her power anymore. Also, it's a solo shot which could be a hint

    Miyu is still in recovery mode and even if I want to believe that it's her doing I'm already under the impression that she doesn't really want to play anymore.


    I don't know if anyone else remembers when Koga came in, Miyu was already dreading having to play with the younger ones. It was like a competition of who can score more between her and Koga years ago

    Regarding Aratani, I think she's close to entering NT. International press wouldn't even have her in their radar if there was no hype around her. The timing of her leaving NEC to Himeji could be a catalyst. But I can't see her playing well with Mayu, everything is centering around Mayu with the exception of Kurogo lol