Japan Women's NT 2021

    Quote from sitenoise

    :rolll: OMG that's one of those things that's so obvious/good I can't believe it didn't enter out conversation earlier :thumbup:


    By process of elimination, if there is a secret weapon, it has to be Hayashinnabe at OP. It's the only thing we haven't seen.


    I just hope Nagaoka is up to it. I haven't seen Hayashinnabe hit a ball from the right side of the court in years. I think it bums out Kurogo to be stationed there, although she does play that position with Toray. I think she's much better from the left

    i stopped worrying for nagaoka she just does her thing. but it would be bad if kurogo wasn't effective on that side since nagaoka will never be a starter so if they have other options they should test it out already especially hayashi.

    I'm not that concerned about these trial losses. They were against China, after all. Japan has beaten them ... once ... this whole century?


    18 blocks is pretty pathetic but nobody else is going to do that. Maybe Brazil. And maybe Turkey. Well ... maybe Russia and Serbia. Possibly USA. Oh my god. Japan is fucked

    Quote from sitenoise

    I'm not that concerned about these trial losses. They were against China, after all. Japan has beaten them ... once ... this whole century?


    18 blocks is pretty pathetic but nobody else is going to do that. Maybe Brazil. And maybe Turkey. Well ... maybe Russia and Serbia. Possibly USA. Oh my god. Japan is fucked

    From the world cup (spoiler alert, it does get better):


    vs. Russia: 5-17 (over 5 sets)

    vs. China: 2-14 (over 3 sets) <- Japan set like almost every ball to pos. 4, what did you expect? But then with Shinnabe on it's not like setting pos. 2 would work

    vs. Brazil: 5-10 (over 3 sets)

    vs. USA: 5-17 (over 5 sets)


    Also, in the trial match Japan eventually started working the block better (I think some fans made stats, it was 6-6-3 per set for China). And Japan had quite a few blocks of their own. Of course by Japan I mean Nagaoka. Definitely ZCN and LYY both got blocked twice.


    This is a strange cycle. Usually the host is at one of their stronger periods relative to themselves. But maybe Japan will have surprises for us. I heard fans say that the new stadium is difficult to play in, so some fans are banking on wild upsets.

    That's reassuring :thumbup:


    Frankly, it bothered/worried me more when Japan hit the ball way long and wagged their fingers than when they got blocked. I know it's a strategy, and a necessary one for Japan, but many of the executions of it felt more 'mistake-y' than getting blocked.

    Quote from sitenoise

    That's reassuring :thumbup:


    Frankly, it bothered/worried me more when Japan hit the ball way long and wagged their fingers than when they got blocked. I know it's a strategy, and a necessary one for Japan, but many of the executions of it felt more 'mistake-y' than getting blocked.

    Literally every team does that to pressure the ref to be biased towards their side just a little tiny bit. They know what they're doing.

    Quote from zhutingfan

    vs. China: 2-14 (over 3 sets) <- Japan set like almost every ball to pos. 4, what did you expect? But then with Shinnabe on it's not like setting pos. 2 would work

    That was the worst match everrrr. It ended Yuki Ishii's career

    Quote from zhutingfan

    Literally every team does that to pressure the ref to be biased towards their side just a little tiny bit. They know what they're doing.

    My concern is making block touch your default hit. It's weenie :)

    Quote from sitenoise

    I'm not that concerned about these trial losses. They were against China, after all. Japan has beaten them ... once ... this whole century?


    18 blocks is pretty pathetic but nobody else is going to do that. Maybe Brazil. And maybe Turkey. Well ... maybe Russia and Serbia. Possibly USA. Oh my god. Japan is fucked

    Yeah once in 2014 peak Nagaoka https://www.japantimes.co.jp/s…-world-grand-prix-finals/


    It's at least a little concerning even if China is a powerhouse. I don't think they were even playing at full capacity. China's mens team isn't even in the top 10 in the ranking and they still put up a damn fight against Nishida Ran and team

    This thread moves fast:what: We were at page 31 yesterday.


    But yeah 18 blocks is ridic. Mayu could not break through in the first 2 sets. Tashiro made Koga look like a clown with those repeated blocks. She was already trapped in a corner but Tashiro still kept tossing the ball to her like c'mon. China's blockers didn't bother moving anymore, that's how predictable Tashiro was.

    Japan's holy trinity for the Olympics may eventually be NagaKoga and maybe Ishii. Kurogo is a bit of a wildcard. Maybe she plays better on the right but I don't see Nakada changing her position anymore so she has to deal with it.


    This setter fiasco is troubling. They need to sort it out fast.

    Quote from Playmaker

    Japan's holy trinity for the Olympics may eventually be NagaKoga and maybe Ishii. Kurogo is a bit of a wildcard. Maybe she plays better on the right but I don't see Nakada changing her position anymore so she has to deal with it.


    This setter fiasco is troubling. They need to sort it out fast.

    On the left you mean? as OH. And Takeshita said in her interview some stuff about Sato training with NT so that may be a hint. There could still be major changes plucked from outside the 18 selected players

    does anyone have a video of the match? i can't remember everything in detail but imo momii didn't do poorly out there but she needs to be more conscious of whats happening near the net. there was a part where yuan or maybe yan ni icr, slapped the ball out of her hand and that clearly shook her. i think thats when she got clumsy with the combinations

    I was shocked to see Momii not paired with Nagaoka. I believe if they paired them up from the get-go, Japan could have easily been more competitive, maybe losing the first two, but eventually getting the 3rd. The key is to keep Nagaoka healthy which would mean multiple VNL losses with Kurogo at OPP, unless Hayashi makes waves there, making her the final backup OP.

    Quote from Hassan Kadem

    does anyone have a video of the match? i can't remember everything in detail but imo momii didn't do poorly out there but she needs to be more conscious of whats happening near the net. there was a part where yuan or maybe yan ni icr, slapped the ball out of her hand and that clearly shook her. i think thats when she got clumsy with the combinations

    Display Spoiler

    Watching the replay it clearly shows that Ishii should be one of the starting OHs of the team. Mayu and Koga are both lacking the confidence to win. The experience of Ishii is what makes her dependable and gives morale to the team. They should stick with Nagaoka Ishii Araki Kobata and Tashiro as starters. They only need to develop another OH and MB for them to beat powerhouse teams.

    Quote from SirOrly

    Watching the replay it clearly shows that Ishii should be one of the starting OHs of the team. Mayu and Koga are both lacking the confidence to win. The experience of Ishii is what makes her dependable and gives morale to the team. They should stick with Nagaoka Ishii Araki Kobata and Tashiro as starters. They only need to develop another OH and MB for them to beat powerhouse teams.

    Watching the replay clearly shows Ishii should come off the bench. that's what she did and that's when she does well, and it's in line with 91.279% of the way she has performed over the past four years.


    I want Inoue in there. I'm still angry with Kobata for letting that ball hit the floor in front of the three point line when they were deucing it out. It was Tashiro's ball but Inoue would have known Tashiro wasn't up to the task and she would have kept that puppy alive. If Japan is going to get blocked 15-20 times a match they need better block coverage. My kingdom for Arisa Sato :rose:

    Quote from sitenoise

    Watching the replay clearly shows Ishii should come off the bench. that's what she did and that's when she does well, and it's in line with 91.279% of the way she has performed over the past four years.


    I want Inoue in there. I'm still angry with Kobata for letting that ball hit the floor in front of the three point line when they were deucing it out. It was Tashiro's ball but Inoue would have known Tashiro wasn't up to the task and she would have kept that puppy alive. If Japan is going to get blocked 15-20 times a match they need better block coverage. My kingdom for Arisa Sato :rose:

    Why isn't Arisa considered for NT?