Japan Women's NT 2021

    There was a remote press conference today (3/17) starting with Araki

    https://vbm.link/52084/


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    Erika Araki, captain of the Japanese women's national team: "I'm in good condition. The postponement of the Olympics did not shake my spirit"


    The team started the training camp at the NTC (Ajinomoto National Training Center) on March 1, and the team members were able to start the camp with a higher level of commitment to the Olympics than last year.


    Although there were veterans retiring in other sports, Araki said, "I never wavered in my feelings after I decided to continue, and I thought I would just do what I had to do every day for the next year." Araki is encouraged by Mako Kobata (JT), Ai Kurogo (Toray) who are captains of their own team, as well as Sarina Koga, who had a strong season this year, gaining confidence in the league and participating in the NT training camp.


    As for her focus, Araki said, "My number one job is to block. I want to work well with the defense behind me to prevent opponents from making even a single spike"


    In May, a test match against China will be held at the Olympic venue Ariake Arena. "We haven't been able to play in any international tournaments since last year, so this is a valuable opportunity. We want to strengthen the team so that we can play where we can get a good response."

    Nakada's interview


    Japan's women's volleyball coach, Kumi Nakada, was interviewed online on March 17 and revealed that she will decide on the 12 members of this summer's Tokyo Olympics team in June.


    The women's national team is currently in a training camp in Tokyo, and will play China on May 1 as a test event at the Ariake Arena, the site of the Olympics. Nakada said, "We chose China in order to test our strength up to that point and find out what we need to work on, and then go into the Nations League (VNL),"


    The biggest obstacle to strengthening the team is that they have not played an international match since the World Cup last 2019. VNL is the only opportunity for the team to play an international match before the Olympics.


    VNL will be held in Italy for a month from May 25, but there is still a possibility that it will be cancelled due to Corona variant. Nakada said that the VNL was a prerequisite, but that she would try out the final players there and then "narrow it down to 12 when it's over"


    https://www.sanspo.com/sports/…vol21031715520002-n1.html

    Are there any more members interviewed?


    I was worried for a sec that they would back out of VNL but now I understand that they're worried it would get cancelled due to Italy's Corona state.


    Honestly the only thing I'm expecting to drastically shift are the setters. I dislike Seki's toss the most, she's not good with MB exchanges. I just don't don't think she's stable enough.

    I'm surprised you can tell whose who in that very HQ photo you posted lol. I forgot Tashiro exists. Did Tominaga retire already? I prefer her to Tashiro. Or is she doing badly now?

    Quote from skorost

    I'm surprised you can tell whose who in that very HQ photo you posted lol. I forgot Tashiro exists. Did Tominaga retire already? I prefer her to Tashiro. Or is she doing badly now?

    You can tell by the hairstyles and body shape. I recognised everyone except for Nabeya, the number on the jersey looks like an 11 so I think it's her


    Tominaga is pregnant. She said she'll be back by next season

    Full Article:


    At the current training camp held at the NTC (Ajinomoto National Training Center), the team is taking measures to prevent infection, such as keeping silent during meals (eating without talking) and using private rooms.


    This year's theme is "Pushing the Limits/Breaking the Limits" and "Challenging the possibilities" Nakada said, "The Olympics is a special stage. It is difficult to win by doing the same things as before, so I have told the players to pursue their individual weapons," The team's policy is to continue to strengthen their volleyball by focusing on the reception attack and the attack from transition at the same speed.


    This year, setter Aki Momii was selected for the national team for the first time from JT, the team that won the V-League title for two consecutive years. A young setter at 20 years old, but one of her key points is her competitive strength that led the team to victory at such a young age. She also focused on the fact that she does not dribble on the toss, no matter how bad the return of the pass is. Nakada smiled and said, "I can watch her with peace of mind." As for the future, Nakada said that it would be a challenge for her to find a way to give Momii a chance since he has no experience in international matches.


    As for the Olympic team, Nakada would like to confirm their past performance, the test match in May (against China), and their play in the Nations League in June, and then decide after the Nations League is over. However, the possibility of the Nations League being cancelled cannot be denied, and in order to make up for the lack of experience in international competitions, 8 male training partners are currently participating in the training camp, focusing on getting used to the height and power.


    Noboru Aihara, who has been coaching the team since last year, said, "His way of communicating is simple and easy to understand. In the test matches in May, they will try out bench work so that they will not be confused in the Olympics."

    Quote from Phoenix

    You can tell by the hairstyles and body shape. I recognised everyone except for Nabeya, the number on the jersey looks like an 11 so I think it's her

    Nabeya was the first obvious one to me because of the pose. Her and Koga stood out. I thought Araki was Miya Sato until I blew it up. I'm liking Kurogo's long hair and the fact that she does some weird stylin' thing to keep it off her face when she plays volleyball.

    I haven't figured out where to watch full games yet. So far with the clips of JT's highlights I can't say that I like Momii's toss but I'm excited for her and Hayashi. Hayashi is fast, agile, good spike height for how tiny she is and an overall good reception too.


    Wasn't Tanaka JT's ace before Hayashi came along? but Nakada never liked her and opted for either Osanai or Watanabe instead.

    Quote from Playmaker

    I haven't figured out where to watch full games yet. So far with the clips of JT's highlights I can't say that I like Momii's toss but I'm excited for her and Hayashi. Hayashi is fast, agile, good spike height for how tiny she is and an overall good reception too.


    Wasn't Tanaka JT's ace before Hayashi came along? but Nakada never liked her and opted for either Osanai or Watanabe instead.

    you can watch a bunch of matches in analyst view here

    Quote from Playmaker

    I haven't figured out where to watch full games yet. So far with the clips of JT's highlights I can't say that I like Momii's toss but I'm excited for her and Hayashi. Hayashi is fast, agile, good spike height for how tiny she is and an overall good reception too.


    Wasn't Tanaka JT's ace before Hayashi came along? but Nakada never liked her and opted for either Osanai or Watanabe instead.

    Tanaka has been selected in 2016-2017 NT list. She was a lineup versus Thailand in WGP 2016 in Kyoto, as I remember.


    And this is Momii's full games in a normal view.


    JT vs TORAY Final [21/2/2021]