MVP - Yoshino Sato
Is this the beginning of her surpassing Koga? I wonder who will take the OH1 spot between her and Ajcharaporn now that Koga has retired. If it’s her, could she be Japan’s next OH1? I can’t think of any other standout tall OH1 that would work well with Mayu, unless Inoue will still play for the NT. I’m concerned that U21 World Champion OH1 Mayu won’t work against the senior powerhouses. Well, it did work tho against Thailand and SoKor with KYK back in AVC 2019 so who knows?
Semifinal 2
LP Bank 3:1 Quanysh
Just wow...Vietnam is uncontrollably rising! 
I'm not generally a Tsukada fan but will splash kudos all over any setter who gives her middle blockers that many swings
IKR! There were times they'd be out of system, and she'd still set it to Shimamura for a slide. It always caught me off guard. 
I thought she's been married since last year
I guess the guy's active because she doesn't publicize him
Quite understandable why they can't get an existing club to participate. It's probably because it will affect the players/club for the regular league. Still, the showing in these tournaments isn't fantastic and makes the players an easy target for haters (I mean the toxicity among PH fans is well-known lol; this is coming from me, a Filipino XD).
I hate how top Asian clubs don’t take this as seriously as they do in the CEV Champions League. South Korea has never even bothered to send a team. It would be great to see KYK play again internationally! I remember it being somewhat competitive, but things changed when Japanese clubs stopped fielding their core winning lineup. In 2015, Hisamitsu had Ishii, Nagaoka, Shinnabe, Zayasu, and Iwasaka. In 2016, NEC featured Koga and Oumi. Since 2017, Japanese clubs have stopped using their core lineup. In Europe, import contracts typically include playing in continental championships. Given the rising popularity of volleyball in Asia, I really want the AVC Club Championship to reach the same level as the CEV CL, where each club plays with their core lineup with their imports to truly determine who’s the boss.
Since both her and Valdes already interned with the NT. JVA has acknowledged their willingness to play for the national team. It may even speed up the process. They should be eligible by next year unless something goes wrong like with the Cuban player from Suntory.
Yoshihara's selection is another story however.
KYK and Takeshita congratulated her on her 2nd post 
These JT girls
PFU Bluecats signed American Kashauna Williams and Thai players Thatdao and Natthanicha
They can now have 2 Asian imports?
Valdes is such a waste at PFU I don't know why she won't get the hell outta there.
IKR! Tapia is already making a name for herself, but Valdes was better during her Furukawa years compared to Furukawa Tapia. I even remember noticing that she was better than Lorenne during her rookie year at PFU. Tapia and Lorenne are now Olympians. Valdez really downgraded after her first year at PFU. The Furukawa Valdes is gone; she was 'PFUd.' I hope she will transfer to a better team where she can be a monster again.
This feels like deja vu. Lavarini kicks them out and DOM gets in.
I still can’t believe that it could be Koga’s last match later. I definitely have to see it 
The match against Poland was a real bummer. Come to think of it, Lavarini basically kicked them out again—same coach, different country.
I saw this coming. I mentioned it in last season’s thread hehe
…All the foreign god tier OP don’t wanna go to Japan anymore…
Btw, Nwakalor and Van Hecke haven’t signed with any clubs yet. It seems they’ll still play in Japan, and I’m pretty sure one will join JT.
Edit: I forgot about Karsta Lowe. She might return?? She’s a better choice than those two for me tho.
Is it true that Hancock will replace Carlini? I prefer Hancock but that seems very brutal for Carlini...
Yup, it’s all over Twitter. It must be heartbreaking for Carlini. Every time I watch her interviews in the past 3 years, all I hear is “Olympics.” That’s how she badly wants it. I saw this coming tho. Hancock is better for double sub coz she’s a multi-awarded best server.
It was impressive that they finally managed to contain Stysiak. Girl was struggling, hitting at 38%. Lukasik was invisible. You know it’s gonna be bad when your MB is the top scorer. Just get out of system and you’re dead. Japan’s gameplan was working; you could see it in Lavarini’s body language. And contrary to what others said, it didn’t look like Koga was the only one functioning. In fact, Mayu and Wada were hitting at 56% and 57%, respectively. The odds were in favor of Japan to force a fifth set and eventually win the match. BUT, their errors in the 4th set turned the tables, particularly:
- Seki’s 2 net touches
- Inoue’s literal free ball
- Koga hitting the antenna (She could’ve sealed the 4th set in this sequence if not for Wada’s imprecise set)
In all the time I've been watching them, this was the game where they made the most errors in a single set. Poland couldn't even easily close out the match in the fourth set. Japan pushed it to deuce despite their errors. However, their service errors and clumsy sequences were just too overwhelming. They were winning until they took a self-destructive turn. What a time to do it at the Olympics! Manabe’s reaction says it all:
Aki Momii with Nakada
If her performance hadn't declined after the Tokyo Olympics, she could’ve been in Italy instead of Seki. If they truly want to transition to a Euro volley system, they need a taller setter who can deflect outside hitters, and she’s the best candidate to invest in.
Who are they? Link is broken
Mum's a NEC OG and Kyoei is a NEC partner school so 99.9% NEC.
I understand now that Wada shouldn't compete with her as opp
I feel like she’s gonna sign with JT because they currently lack a true local OP. All the foreign god tier OP don’t wanna go to Japan anymore, so I guess she’ll be able to compete for her spot against whoever that leftover 2nd-tier OP import will be.
Btw, Nwakalor and Van Hecke haven’t signed with any clubs yet. It seems they’ll still play in Japan, and I’m pretty sure one will join JT.
Edit: I forgot about Karsta Lowe. She might return?? She’s a better choice than those two for me tho.
As far as I know, Japan senior NT’s core always features a >=180 cm OH as OH1 and the best among the shorter Japanese OHs as OH2 like Saori-Ebata, Saori-Sakoda, Ishii-Uchiseto, Ishii-Nabeya, Ishii-Mayu, Koga-Uchiseto, Koga-Nabeya, Koga-Mayu, and Inoue-Mayu. Otherwise, it’s always a duo of >=180 cm OHs like Saori-Ishii, Saori-Koga, Ishii-Kurogo, Koga-Ishii, Koga-Kurogo, and Koga-Inoue.
I can’t think of anyone who can fill in her shoes as Japan’s next >=180 cm OH1, unless Inoue continues until 2028 and retires at 33. Mayu can’t be their OH1 with her height, same goes for Hayashi, Ameze, and Osanai. I mean you just can’t put midgets in front of Vargas, Egonu, Boskovic, and Stysiak. Putting two small OHs together won’t be sustainable.
Hawi? Nishikawa? Kurogo?
Their 2018 campaign would suggest that it would be Kurogo but her OH career went downhill when Mayu made her mark in 2019 and replaced her as Jana Kulan’s pair in Toray. Their 2015 & 2022 campaign would suggest that it would be Airi but she slumped after being benched in Minnesota. Her Japanese OH technique faded (as seen in VNL 2022 Week 3) and was turned into an interpreter MB, so as not to waste her sacrifices flying to the US.
Is there anyone in the youth teams who’s a promising tall OH1? I guess there isn’t any. If there is, she would already be in the senior NT, just like what Koga and Airi were able to reach in 2015 at the age of 19 and 18, respectively.
Anyway, here’s a throwback to Koga’s debut in 2015. She’s come into full bloom with her ~90 to ~100 km/hr spikes nowadays. I will surely miss her 
Why didn’t Tominaga (Iwasaki) win the best setter award?
What did I just see? I didn’t know can do Hayashi a 102 km/hr frontline attack.
