Japan - V.League V1 (Division 1, Women) 2021-2022

    Quote from haru_12

    this should be a good year for Haruka to comeback but I think OK will be struggling in bottom 4 :gone:

    Well ...


    Haruka-Mizuki / Megumi6

    Angry Fu / Mayu

    Syuka / Aoi An (Miharu) yada yada

    Yoshi


    That's a good team, if Kawamoto knows how to work it


    This thing with Sanae really points a finger at Kawamoto for me. I certainly don't know anything but WTF. Sanae was the most NoSmiler-y of them all :(

    I'm going to re-watch a couple World Champion PFU Summer League matches in honor of this

    PFU and Denso play a double-header opening weekend :box:

    Quote from skorost

    Do you think Matsui can be better than Momii?

    Oh man. You put me on the spot :)


    I stan Matsui, don't stan Momii, so I'm biased. College girls love their middles so that may help Matsui in the long run, but Momii is still very young and left-handed


    yup

    Back court attacking middle blocker alert :!: Kurobe's Miku Shimada :rose: Summer League Final against PFU


    Not surprising, really. She's built for it



    Smiler

    Transfer Hoping year over year. If it doubles every year like this we'll soon be like South Korea


    Last year:

    PlayerFrom
    		To
    Mami UchisetoToyotaSaitama
    Misaki InoueSaitamaSAGA
    Shiori Aratani
    		NECHimeji
    Natsumi Watabiki (first to see the PFU light)KurobePFU
    These didn't amount to anything:
    Hazuki NakamotoHimejiSaitama
    Ranna Shiraiwa
    		KurobeV2 Forest Leaves



    This year (so far)


    PlayerFrom
    		To
    Riho ŌtakeDensoSAGA
    Airi TaharaDensoPFU
    Yurie NabeyaDensoPFU
    Yurika MizoguchiHimeji
    		V2 Prestige
    Sanae Watanabe
    		Okayama
    		PFU
    Megumi Sato
    		V2 Hiroshima
    		Okayama
    Hibiki SuzukiV2 Gunma Bank
    		Saitama

    		Still to come
    Kotoe Inoue
    		Denso
    		TBD
    Yuka KanasugiHimejiTBD


    These dudes also officially say they are transfer hoping:

    Mana Ishikawa

    Mami Miyashita


    These might show up after making a fake "retiring" announcement like Sanae's. It seems too early for them to retire, like Sanae:

    Miyuki Horie

    Yurika Banba


    A couple V1 players went 9-ball


    Appears Saitama and PFU are the good vibes destinations and Denso and Himeji are the bad vibers

    Found a 2019 Inter-High FINAL match between Shujitsu and Kyoei Gakuen (my <3 HS squad) on the youtube. Long story short:


    Manami Koyama (JT) will/might be interesting to see this year (if she plays at all). JT is packed at the pins with only one spot remotely open so it's going to be tough. If Tomoko Yoshihara makes a player out of Manami she will have my full blessing as NT Coach.


    Manami is one of those "fan favorite" stupid hairdo types, but she's actually pretty good. She was great as one of three equally good pins, but when the other two graduated and she was tasked with trying to win it on her own it wasn't pretty. She can, and does, hit from all over the court: front, back, left, right. Yoshihara might even try her as MB.

    I feel like spamming about Hitachi. I was just grazing their new and improved web site and came across this photo of one of the setters who I'm completely indifferent to. But it pumped me up. I can't wait for V.League.


    Uesaka / Nonaka / Osanai is as good as any three pins in the league (grading on a curve against teams with BCS). Don't know what the Little Giant Murooka is going to add yet, and Fuyumi is still itching to boil. With Hannah Tapp and Watanabe in the middle, and two decent youngsters to back them up, not to mention ::cough::Irisawa::cough:: they should be good to go there.


    A young spike happy southpaw setter who I disliked just because she wasn't Miya Sato might entertain. I guess it comes down to her. Can she make use of the weapons she has?


    Bums me out that after a few or more years of stanning the team I still can't confidently name either of their liberos (because neither of them is Arisa Sato). That's a problem. One of them is captain now and I've seen her being snarky and fun in some home movies kind of things they post on the internets. I'm ready to like her, but I don't know that I've ever seen her dive. WTF


    Anyway, Sarina Sakai, setter #2, listen to me now and believe me later:



    #gogoHitachi

    <3

    Quote from haru_12

    stan PFU

    Based on the concept of "a little devil girl who nobly tosses the opponent", the design expresses a woman who has a brilliant movement on the court, a bullish and aggressive heart inside, and a woman who has these.


    #gogoPFU

    Following up on my Hitachi love I re-watched their Summer League match against Ligare Sendai. It was hard to take my eyes off Sendai because they give me a stan attack, but Hitachi is going to be fun (I hope)


    Osanai playing OP is cool. She's got the angles of someone who was born over there. That's rare, and she's a strong hitter. Little Giant Murooka is also impressive. She's plays defense --in Summer League!-- like a high-schooler, that is, like every play is match point in a Final. Definitely improves the Hitachi defense but I'm not sure how she'll fit in. Can't imagine her taking Uesaka's place or Nonaka. And how do I always get four deep before mentioning Fuyumi?


    It's also great seeing the two kid MBs, Kamisawa and Nakamura. They're very polite, not great, and we probably won't see them once the season starts, but with all the kids on court like this the floor chemistry is good and that makes the defense good. Gosh bless these off-ramp tournaments


    Setter Keito Saiga is only 19 years old, but she's cheeky. It's going to be all about her

    Quote from Phoenix

    Now that Kubota is retired it's time to stan a new opposite

    Nonaka wasn't good enough for you? :)