Yamagishi is less agile than I thought. They need a different libero alongside Kojima.
It's a shame that Buijs and Savelkoel targeted her. Digging is not really Yamagishi's specialty. If you watch Ageo vs Denso matches, Fukudome totally outperformed her. Fukudome will surely get her spot alongside Kojima.
it was a bit of a head scratchier why Manabe didn't cut right to the chase with Hayashi. He must really believe in Uchiseto as some stabilizer, or something. She looked sleepy
Mayu drifted a little but came out guns ablazin'. Some of these players might take a confidence hit not knowing their place (starting these new players today and then yanking them had to hurt--I almost wish Manabe would have stuck with them) but I don't think Mayu will ever take her eye off the prize, whether she plays shitty, or doesn't play at all. She's that clear and dedicated
I still like Ogawa but won't defend her
Mayu is good but she have zero presence at the net (which is their weakness).
Uchiseto is just not good on the court internationally. She’s been part of the wide roster for a long time, and it just always looks like the ball is coming back at her when spiking internationally.
First six/seven would have been the roster from First week.
Koga
Arisa Inoue
Matsui
Ogawa
Shimamura
Kojima
Ishikawa/Hayashi
I will always go Mayu, but Hayashi could fit as well.
I expected a lot from Yamada and hyped with Miyabe.
So for those who watched the game, how was Miyabe's performance?
So for those who watched the game, how was Miyabe's performance?
she didn't live up to the hype.
So for those who watched the game, how was Miyabe's performance?
She's good - good jump but swing could be stronger. She's just not accustomed to fast sets I believe. I feel she will do well.
It's just one game. Who the fuck gives up on someone after ONE GODDAMN GAME. LeBron flopped his first 5 games before he became a superstar. So stupid for anyone to be reaching after one game.
She's good - good jump but swing could be stronger. She's just not accustomed to fast sets I believe. I feel she will do well.
It's just one game. Who the fuck gives up on someone after ONE GODDAMN GAME. LeBron flopped his first 5 games before he became a superstar. So stupid for anyone to be reaching after one game.
well yes, I'm sure all of them could have done better because they're all good. Teams have bad days, no matter how good they are.
Y'all sit tight there's a troll in this thread who doesn't care about this team and has made so many confusing irrelevant remarks. Don't keep falling for their bait
Y'all sit tight there's a troll in this thread who doesn't care about this team and has made so many confusing irrelevant remarks. Don't keep falling for their bait
is that.... you? 
She's good - good jump but swing could be stronger. She's just not accustomed to fast sets I believe. I feel she will do well.
It's just one game. Who the fuck gives up on someone after ONE GODDAMN GAME. LeBron flopped his first 5 games before he became a superstar. So stupid for anyone to be reaching after one game.
She'll get used to it soon, especially once she starts playing with Himeji 
Hoping to hear more good things for this NT and especially its players; God knows they need it after the post-Olympic storm
She'll get used to it soon, especially once she starts playing with Himeji
It would be awesome if they become like the USA who has a well developed bench players so they can field whoever they want and still dominate.
It would be awesome if they become like the USA who has a well developed bench players so they can field whoever they want and still dominate.
We can all hope, but at the end of the day, half the time, it doesn't boil down to just the question of whether the players themselves have no skills or were lazy etc, it also depends on the coaching team's long-term talent development strategy
Not sure whether what I think is correct, but I noticed that in some cases, it might seem like having a good talent development system is a key to longevity. Case study would be the China NT under Lang Ping: she had talent development programmes where she'd even scout athletes from other sports that weren't doing so well and invite them to play volleyball instead (like Li Ying Ying), and she also mentored players from their youth (Yuan Xin Yue, Zhu Ting, etc).
Can Manabe do something similar? Of course, it also depends on how long a coach remains a coach because you can't expect to get concrete results within 1-2 years, but I digress. I'm just thinking out loud and assuming
We can all hope, but at the end of the day, half the time, it doesn't boil down to just the question of whether the players themselves have no skills or were lazy etc, it also depends on the coaching team's long-term talent development strategy
Not sure whether what I think is correct, but I noticed that in some cases, it might seem like having a good talent development system is a key to longevity. Case study would be the China NT under Lang Ping: she had talent development programmes where she'd even scout athletes from other sports that weren't doing so well and invite them to play volleyball instead (like Li Ying Ying), and she also mentored players from their youth (Yuan Xin Yue, Zhu Ting, etc).
Can Manabe do something similar? Of course, it also depends on how long a coach remains a coach because you can't expect to get concrete results within 1-2 years, but I digress. I'm just thinking out loud and assuming
good point. USA has a very competitive NCAA and they have endless talent pool. I'm not sure if the collegiate volleyball of Japan is as competitive?
Yamagishi's case could be classified as having a bad day as oppose to Kotoe now being sluggish due to injuries. As much as I like Denso's super cute libero I don't see her as a more capable substitute for Yamagishi who is vice captain btw. I'm surprised that cutie even made the VNL roster. Victorina's libero has a wider ground coverage than her. I think it was even more difficult for Hanai when Plak was around.
We can all hope, but at the end of the day, half the time, it doesn't boil down to just the question of whether the players themselves have no skills or were lazy etc, it also depends on the coaching team's long-term talent development strategy
Not sure whether what I think is correct, but I noticed that in some cases, it might seem like having a good talent development system is a key to longevity. Case study would be the China NT under Lang Ping: she had talent development programmes where she'd even scout athletes from other sports that weren't doing so well and invite them to play volleyball instead (like Li Ying Ying), and she also mentored players from their youth (Yuan Xin Yue, Zhu Ting, etc).
Can Manabe do something similar? Of course, it also depends on how long a coach remains a coach because you can't expect to get concrete results within 1-2 years, but I digress. I'm just thinking out loud and assuming
not sure if Manabe has something similar to that. they seem to rely on their Vleague and their university volleyball.
Yamagishi's case could be classified as having a bad day as oppose to Kotoe now being sluggish due to injuries. As much as I like Denso's super cute libero I don't see her as a more capable substitute for Yamagishi who is vice captain btw. I'm surprised that cutie even made the VNL roster. Victorina's libero has a wider ground coverage than her. I think it was even more difficult for Hanai when Plak was around.
The problem is that 'bad day' may be a sign of something worse with her condition. She's older than Kobata. She's probably around Kotoe's age already. Kotoe is older than Shimamura.
The problem is that 'bad day' may be a sign of something worse with her condition. She's older than Kobata. She's probably around Kotoe's age already. Kotoe is older than Shimamura.
Well, one day is not enough to deduce that immediately. She's only one year older than Kobata, that's not a big problem imo especially if she still continues to keep fit. Injuries seem to be the worst thing an athlete faces: they not only have to rehabilitate their body, they also have to overcome the fear and anxiety in their mind that whenever they do this action, they might face that injury again.
The problem is that 'bad day' may be a sign of something worse with her condition. She's older than Kobata. She's probably around Kotoe's age already. Kotoe is older than Shimamura.
I mean De Gennaro is in her mid-30s but still dives like a 20 year old Miyashita. I wouldn't rely so much on age. Besides Yamagishi has never been injured afaik. We'll just have to see in the next games.
The problem is that 'bad day' may be a sign of something worse with her condition. She's older than Kobata. She's probably around Kotoe's age already. Kotoe is older than Shimamura.
she's only 31. for other national teams, those aren't retiring age. I noticed that Japanese players tend to retire before 30.
