Japan Women's NT 2022

  • Do you think Manabe plans to take back Ishii and Nagaoka to the NT? Does anyone know when they will retire?

    Not sure, they could retire at the end of the 2022-2023 season.


    I don't think he'll take them back, unless there's a very very good reason too. An example would be like the China Women NT, where they had Yan Ni (MB) in the NT up until the 2020 Olympic Games even though she was 33/34 years old then. They did that because she was a superb MB, quite unparalleled by any other Chinese player due to her skill at reading the opponent and positioning her block. She didn't have the highest vertial nor the strongest spike like her younger teammates, but she was a stable force to be reckoned, a Great Wall of China.


    Unless Ishii and Nagaoka have that kind of potency which would benefit the Japan NT, even at the opportunity cost of obtaining and training younger talents, then I don't think these two will find themselves in the NT again anytime soon

  • Not sure, they could retire at the end of the 2022-2023 season.


    I don't think he'll take them back, unless there's a very very good reason too. An example would be like the China Women NT, where they had Yan Ni (MB) in the NT up until the 2020 Olympic Games even though she was 33/34 years old then. They did that because she was a superb MB, quite unparalleled by any other Chinese player due to her skill at reading the opponent and positioning her block. She didn't have the highest vertial nor the strongest spike like her younger teammates, but she was a stable force to be reckoned, a Great Wall of China.


    Unless Ishii and Nagaoka have that kind of potency which would benefit the Japan NT, even at the opportunity cost of obtaining and training younger talents, then I don't think these two will find themselves in the NT again anytime soon

    Take who back? they aren't in the NT roster this year. Why would he take them back? Ishii has announced her retirement from the NT, Nagaoka is retiring this season. Manabe couldn't touch them anymore even if he wanted to.

  • Ishii isn't retiring from Saga. And if that NT rule is still effective they cannot retire together. That's why Saori didn't retire with Sakoda and Nana didn't retire with Shinnabe.

  • It's fine for Nagaoka to retire she's been through enough. Her goal should be to end the season in good condition and win with Hisamitsu. When Ishii released a book or magazine? she said she wants to stick around for a little longer with Hisamitsu.


    The 2 girls I would like to see get called are Valdes and Yoshino Nishikawa. Toe has been doing well since the last time she was in the NT. She's certainly a better option now than Yamagishi and personally I think she is a lot better than Fukudome.

  • It's fine for Nagaoka to retire she's been through enough. Her goal should be to end the season in good condition and win with Hisamitsu. When Ishii released a book or magazine? she said she wants to stick around for a little longer with Hisamitsu.


    The 2 girls I would like to see get called are Valdes and Yoshino Nishikawa. Toe has been doing well since the last time she was in the NT. She's certainly a better option now than Yamagishi and personally I think she is a lot better than Fukudome.

    Nishikawa as another OPtion?


    Replace Ogawa with Shion and call up Araki instead of Hammy.

  • It's fine for Nagaoka to retire she's been through enough. Her goal should be to end the season in good condition and win with Hisamitsu. When Ishii released a book or magazine? she said she wants to stick around for a little longer with Hisamitsu.


    The 2 girls I would like to see get called are Valdes and Yoshino Nishikawa. Toe has been doing well since the last time she was in the NT. She's certainly a better option now than Yamagishi and personally I think she is a lot better than Fukudome.

    Valdes should be at the top of the list for OPPs but the question of whether Manabe will call someone who isn't Japanese by blood still remains

  • Valdes should be at the top of the list for OPPs but the question of whether Manabe will call someone who isn't Japanese by blood still remains

    I wouldn't think that Manabe is so old fashion that he sees that as a non-negotiable thing. Valdes said it herself she's dedicated to play for Japan. She's not in Japan in order to play for a different country. She should be considered by all means.

  • I think Valdes gets called to the wide roster next year, but Manabe has said the "2-Pass" is of utmost importance. Valdes has a lot of work to do on that

  • Mana Toe is probably the best libero in the league, and has a lot of experience and brains. But she wasn't called this year so it might be that she doesn't want to play NT -- or she just had something to do this past summer and we might see her next year


    I'm okay with Fukudome but I'm enjoying Miiku Iwasawa and Hitomi Fukumoto more. Iwasawa has a little U-Squad experience but she went from HS (Seitoku) to Saitama and might need to ferment a while longer. Still young. Fukumoto kinda came out of nowhere. She was Captain of her mid-level Uni Team (Kokushikan). Her reception is good -- 4th in the league @64% with more touches (288) than the other Top 15 (more than team mate Target Tugba, too) -- but what I'm loving about her is how well she handles foreign cannon balls coming across the net. She has that soft body and good arm placement to get knocked on her ass and still deliver an A-Pass. She's young tho, too. Even with four years of college under her belt she's younger (2000-01-11) than Iwasawa (1999.10.13)


    Iwasawa isn't reception ranked because of not enough sets played, I guess. She's @69% on 121 touches (compared to Top Gun Yuka Meguru @70% on 134 touches) ... Yamagishi isn't ranked either @77% on 75 touches


    But none of these liberos get off the floor the way Kobata did


    I'm keeping an eye on Yumi Hayashi too. She got called to the NT (as Yumi Nakagawa) once already but decided to have a baby instead. She's bad-ass


    Don't mix up Fukudome with Fukumoto (not to mention they are Satomi and Hitomi) :)

  • I'm okay with Fukudome but I'm enjoying Miiku Iwasawa and Hitomi Fukumoto more. Iwasawa has a little U-Squad experience but she went from HS (Seitoku) to Saitama and might need to ferment a while longer. Still young.


    Iwasawa isn't reception ranked because of not enough sets played, I guess. She's @69% on 121 touches (compared to Top Gun Yuka Meguru @70% on 134 touches) ... Yamagishi isn't ranked either @77% on 75 touches


    Iwasawa is pretty impressive. She receives deep serves effortlessly—moves back so fast and not a midline passer (Karch would love her as libero!:flower:) . She also digs and pancakes better than Yamagishi who now can’t dig up speedy balls that goes straight to her. Only problem I see with Iwasawa is lack of ball controll when digging. If she fixes it, she might get called and force Yamagishi to retire.

  • FIVB Paris Olympic Qualifier / World Cup 2023 JAPAN (Japan Pool) will play at Yoyogi National Stadium (Shibuya, Tokyo) both men and women's tournament.


    Tickets for this tournament are scheduled to be pre-sold on the Japan Volleyball National Team official fan site “Baretomo Town”. Detailed ticket information will be announced on the JVA and Volleytomo Town websites in April 2023.




  • Kobata is getting married!

  • Anyone interesting or a surprise in the training pool sitenoise? I'm not familiar with most of the high school players except those from Kinrankai, Seitoku and the ones in the U18 Asian Championships :cheesy: It seems like a totally different pool, specially the U20/U21.


    There's a 193cm OP in the training pool for U19 - Keila Gabriel, a High School from the United States. I found this highlights on youtube, is she this one - Keila Gabriel highlights


    https://www.jva.or.jp/topics/20221208-2/

  • Why this arena look like pussy lips :lol:

  • Anyone interesting or a surprise in the training pool sitenoise? I'm not familiar with most of the high school players except those from Kinrankai, Seitoku and the ones in the U18 Asian Championships :cheesy: It seems like a totally different pool, specially the U20/U21.


    There's a 193cm OP in the training pool for U19 - Keila Gabriel, a High School from the United States. I found this highlights on youtube, is she this one - Keila Gabriel highlights


    https://www.jva.or.jp/topics/20221208-2/


    Maybe I'm missing something but I wonder why Amiika Saeki, Arina Tsutsumi, Rin Honda, Twin Fukazawas ... oh wait. They must be limiting this ... oh wait again ....


    I thought the whole point of the recent switcheroo was so that the Asian U-20 Squad could compete in the FIVB U-21 Worlds


    OK, third time waiting's a charm. Those U21 "candidates" (there's only 13) must be players who are looking to join the Rin Hondas and etc's of the world who are most likely going to compete


    As for the U-19'ers I only know the handful you probably know. I don't get how a USA HS student is involved unless they have one of those Alondra Tapia Cruz kind of Deal Trades going on with her, or she must be a current Japanese citizen going to a USA HS? How else could she be participating ... Alondra never got to U-Squad

  • Re: Keila Gabriel ... could you imagine a Japanese 1st year High School Student posting their email address on a youtube video :what: