Japan 🇯🇵 vs Slovenia 🇸🇮 | Highlights | Men's VNL 2026

Japan vs Slovenia | Highlights | Men's VNL 2026. The first week of the qualifying round of the Volleyball Nations League 2026 (VNL) is being held in Linyi, China, starting on Wednesday, June 10th.

The Japanese men's volleyball team, ranked 6th in the FIVB world rankings (as of the start of the match), faced Slovenia, ranked 5th, on Sunday, June 14th Japan time, and won with a set score of 3-1 (25-27, 25-16, 25-22, 25-22), finishing the tournament in China with a perfect 4-0 record.

In the first set, Japan's first point came from a quick attack by Akihiro Yamauchi. Japan took the lead early on, and good digs by Tomohiro Ogawa and Ran Takahashi gave them points, giving them momentum and extending their lead to 3 points. They were later tied, but back attacks by Yuki Ishikawa and Yuji Nishida helped Japan maintain their lead until the middle of the set. A spike out by the opponent put Japan ahead at 18-14, prompting Slovenia to call a timeout. After the timeout, Japan continued to score points, making it 20-14, but they conceded their third service ace of the day, putting them behind 21-18. They then conceded more points, and the score was tied at 23-23. When the set went to deuce, Slovenia got set point first, but their serves disrupted Japan, and they lost the first set 25-27.

In the second set, Ishikawa's service aces and back attacks gave them a 6-4 lead. Yuji Nishida's soft hits and digs to score against the opponent's powerful spikes, along with Takahashi Ran's blocks, extended their lead to 14-9. Setter Fukatsu Hideomi's aggressive use of the center line also paid off, and with service aces from Nishida and Ishikawa, they won the second set 25-16.

In the third set, Slovenia took the lead early on, and the match was evenly contested, with Ishikawa scoring a difficult high set. Onodera Taishi scored from Nishida's serve to make it 15-13, Takahashi Ran's serve then disrupted the opponent's reception, and Ishikawa scored directly to make it 21-18, a three-point lead. Riding this momentum, Japan scored points from Takahashi Ran's serve, and finally Nishida's spike secured the win 25-22, giving Japan a 2-1 set lead.

In the fourth set, Japan's serves were strong, and Ishikawa scored a service ace. Yamauchi then made a block to make it 6-4. However, their serve reception was erratic and they couldn't extend their lead, but Nishida scored two consecutive service aces, and they accumulated break points with stable floor defense after disrupting Slovenia's serve. Nishida then rebounded to regroup their attack, and Ishikawa scored to make it 17-14. Towards the end of the set, they struggled against Slovenia's jump floater serves and were tied, but they won the rally to take a 23-22 lead. Ogawa made a good dig and Ishikawa scored to give Japan match point, and Ishikawa scored the final point to make it 25-22. Japan won the set 3-1.

Yuki Ishikawa said
, "I'm happy that we won four straight matches, and although we identified many areas for improvement in the first week, it was good that we were able to win despite the limited time we had to practice, and that we were able to identify those areas. I regret that we couldn't finish the first set when we should have, but we made a strong comeback after that, and although the opponent had some good blocks in the second, third, and fourth sets, I think it was good for the team that we were able to win 3-1. We will take a good rest now, and then we will start preparing for the tournament in France, and I would like to correct the areas where we identified problems in the first week.

Nishida Yuji said
, "For me, the first week was one in which I wasn't able to contribute to the team, and I had a lot to think about, but I'm always doing what I can in my own way, and I think that's the current situation, so I want to accept my current situation and prepare to take the next step. It depends on the situation, but I think communication is still necessary, and more than anything, I think I need more time, but if I can take some time to calm my mind, I think I can clear my head to some extent, so I want to take that into consideration when I go into the second week. I think the team's results are very good, and I think each and every player on the team is fulfilling their role, so I want to do my best not to be left behind.

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