73rd All-Japan High School Championship 2021 (Jan 5–10)

73rd Spring High (Haruko)

All-Japan High School Championship 2021 Final Round (Jan 5–10)

52 teams, 51 matches in 5 days.

• Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium (Shibuya, Tokyo)
  This tournament will be held without spectators. Please note that you cannot enter the venue
• Opening ceremony will not be held

Competition Schedule

• January 5 (Tuesday) Round 1 (20 games)
• January 6 (Wednesday) Round 2 (16 games)
• January 7 (Thursday) Round 3, Quarterfinals (12 games)
• January 9th (Saturday) Semifinals (2 games)
• January 10 (Sunday) Final / Closing Ceremony

All matches are broadcast on Sports Bull

History:

就実

Shujitsu

Spring Valley High 2021 Champions

reality

Individual Awards source

Participating Schools

Hokkaido and Tohoku Region

Kanto Region

Chūbu Region (Tokai / Hokushin'etsu)

Kinki Region (Kansai)

Chugoku Region

Shikoku Region

Kyushu Region (and Okinawa)

First Round is underway. Great stuff going on so far. The NoSmiler Farm Team, Osaka International Takii High School clobbered their opponent, while the upset loss came to Hachiojijissen, who lost in a sweaty Tie Break. Hachiojijissen is where JT's Aki Momii and Nana Sakakibara came from (Bronze two years ago). Toyota has already signed a couple Hachiojijissen players who are on their way now.

Great Streams btw. Way better than the pros at VTV. They have the green and salmon colored floor

March Madness Style. You lose a match in the First Round you go home. Much crying. These high school players take risks because they're trying so hard. So there are blunders, but it's also why it's exciting. They swing hard. They dive after everything. The defense is superb. 170cm middle blockers are worshiped.

There isn't much difference between this and V.League. In some ways it's better. The body technique is all there but the Sarina Koga brainy stuff isn't. Take a player like YOLO, for example. Her team won this thing two years ago and six months later her team won the U20 World Championship.

Match of the night so far:

Seishu High School 1–2 Hitachi Daini High School

Beast of the night #2-OH on Hitachi hands down. She looks familiar. She won the match.

Most camera time #8-OH on Seishu. She lost the match.

Somebody explain to me why these high school kids swing so much harder than V.Leaguers. Some of them are like little Gabis, or Britt Herbots.

Round 1 Results 2021.01.05 jst

Surprise wake up call team of the night Chinzei. Attack happy front line #2, #3, #5. From Kumamoto, home of the Legendary Forest Leaves and Chika Saito:

This tournament is being played in fashionable Shibuya

Quote from theloneracer

Sorry, I didn't follow last year edition but has Shimokitazawa Seitoku missed out on qualifying for this comp? And have they not qualified for the past two seasons now ever since Mayu Ishikawa left the team?

True. Shimokitazawa Seitoku has missed it since Ishikawa left. A little startling but that's how it goes I guess. They are 3rd in medals over the past 20 years or so (4 wins, 4 Bronze, 1 Silver)

This should be interesting. My beast pick of the first round, #2 from Hitachi, plays Furukawa and their beast Merisa Valdes tomorrow. One of them will go home

First hero moment. This girl, #1 OH Karen Edock Polo(?) [エドックポロ　かれん] an ace on her team, Nara Culture, twisted her ankle early in the 2nd set and hobbled off court. She got taped up (numbed up?) and re-entered the court with her team down 16–18. She proceeded to swing goofyfoot, or semi-goofyfoot, scoring points, smiling all the way. She was in the back at the end of the set and didn't dare a back court attack so her team mates won the match for her

Higashi does this twirlybird thing, swinging their arms around after a point. To give them cover, I say it's an homage to Coach Lovebunny's airplane impersonations. They miss him.

Hitachi's happy go lucky beast #2 Aika Ishizaki lost the tie-break to Furukawa's more serious beast #2 Merisa Valdes.

Too bad. Hitachi had emerged as a barrel of fun. Sad to see them go.

Round 2 Results 2021.01.06 jst

Quote from Phoenix

I haven't really seen Valdes play but she's all over the news. 28 points right? I wonder where she's going with this afterwards.

Sakoda and I think Megumi Kurihara also interviewed her after the game

Valdes has the jump and hang time of Foluke. It's nuts. At 183cm and athletic af it doesn't matter where she is on court, she just runs and jumps and hangs out in the air until the ball comes her way. You can watch yesterday's match here. It was a fine battle the first two sets. Furukawa took the first one, Hitachi the second. Then Hitachi got tired and Furukawa walked away with it.

Hitachi #2, (I think her name is Aika Ishizaki) is a little squirt at 171cm but she packs a wallop (and she's a super happy camper!). I really thought Hitachi might send Furukawa home. They were digging Valdes and Ishizaki was landing them. But being so short Ishizaki was more prone to getting blocked. When Ishizaki went to the back row (no back attack from her) the other OH, who's actually pretty good too, failed. Hitting errors galore.

Hitachi had a tough match the day before and you could see them getting tired. Making lazy mistakes. Furukawa didn't play in the first round so they were fresh.

I'm done with Higashi That twirlybird thing is annoying and Coach Lovebunny has moved on. Still support my hero Rino Murooka but a line's gotta be drawn.

The Chinzai girls from Kumamoto came through. One of the better matches of the night. They're one of the most team-y teams. Solid front row but no one stands out as the "ace". They might make the quarterfinals

Very sad to see Hitachi go home. They got a bad draw but almost rose to the occasion. They were the most fun team. You can't help but root for #2

Koyei had a pretty easy match. I had given up on them after last year's wondergirls graduated but they are still solid. They have one of these idol girls with an upside-down-beard hairdo that almost completely covers her face, but she's actually pretty good. Three good pins and another tall Chinese MB exchange student.

Very happy to see Shujitsu advancing. They have cool black uniforms and it's Yuki Ishii's old school, so I support them now due to the unfair backlash against Yuki these days Also I don't like Bunkyo Gakuin so it was nice to see them one-and-done. They have an air that they deserve to be there that is off-putting.

Osaka (the NoSmiler farm team) had a fairly easy match.

I loved the very close Nara Culture win due to the Olympic moment mentioned above. Bummer they get Furukawa tonight. That's the only unfortunate draw for the third round. Every other team I'm onboard with should advance -- fingers crossed.

I've added links in the box scores to replay streams. They have what purports to be a very cool feature wherein below the stream there is a hit by hit score tally. A few of the scores have little halos on them which I assume suggests it was a good play. If you click on that play the video will jump to that play, kinda, almost. I tested a few and they don't quite land accurately, but close. And the few I tested wouldn't be my choice for the great plays, but it's the thought that counts.

Of course Coach Lovebunny is in the house scouting U20 talent.

Shujitsu and Kinrankai advance to the quarters. Toyota has already signed Shujitu's MB.

I don't like Kinrankai even though it's YOLO's team and the Nishikawa sisters.

Coming up :: Higashi (against Keiai) and their twirlybird nonsense, and Shiojiri who has a mysterious player, Vivian Taira, that NEC signed a couple years ago and then she disappeared. It actually seemed like she took a staff job. But here she is a senior at Shiojiri (v Saga Seiwa)

Higashi and Shiojiri advance. Doesn't look good for Nara which is too bad because Karen Edock Polo(?) [エドックポロ　かれん] is a special player. She floats around. She's still swinging half goofyfoot. Must just be the way she swings.