Japan 🇯🇵 vs Serbia 🇷🇸 | Highlights | Women's VNL 2026

Japan vs Serbia | Highlights | Women's VNL 2026. The second week of the qualifying round of the Volleyball Nations League 2026 (VNL) is being held in Pasig City, Philippines, starting on Wednesday, June 17th.

The Japanese women's volleyball team, ranked 4th in the FIVB world rankings (as of the start of the match), faced Serbia, ranked 9th, on Wednesday, June 17th Japan time. They won the match in a full five sets, 3-2 (20-25, 26-24, 18-25, 32-30, 15-7), extending their winning streak to five games.

The first set started with a close contest. Serbia took a slight lead in the middle of the set, but at 12-15, Yoshino Sato's tenacious play and block brought the score to 13-15. Japan wanted to seize the momentum from here, but an accident involving Sayaka Araki forced them to call a timeout at 15-18. In an attempt to change the momentum, Misora ​​Akimoto and Ayane Kitamado were brought onto the court, and Akimoto and Kitamado were active in both offense and defense, but Japan lost the first set 20-25.

In the second set, Kitamado was put into the starting lineup. The match remained close until the end, but Kitamado's service ace gave Japan momentum, and finally, consecutive points from Ishikawa Mayu secured the set 26-24, allowing Japan to take the set back.

In the third set, neither team gave an inch at the start, and the match progressed to an 8-8 tie, but they struggled against Serbia's tall blocks. Yamada Nichika's serve allowed them to tie the score at one point, but Serbia pulled away towards the end, and they lost the set 18-25.

In the do-or-die fourth set, Serbia took the lead from the start, but Japan mounted a comeback thanks to the efforts of Yukiko Wada and Sato. Japan had the first set point, but Serbia reversed the score and held match point at 24-25. A Serbian service error allowed Japan to tie the score, and spikes from Ishikawa and Wada helped Japan to the end, forcing a full set with a 32-30 victory.

In the final set, Japan maintained their momentum from the fourth set and took a 10-5 lead. Haruyo Shimamura's quick attack and consecutive service aces from Sato further extended their lead to 13-5, and finally, Ishikawa's spike secured the win at 15-7, giving Japan a 3-2 set victory.

The Japanese women's national team will play their next match against the Czech Republic (ranked 13th) on Friday, June 19th at 9:00 PM. The match will be broadcast live on BS-TBS, so please continue to cheer on the Japanese women's national team from in front of your screen.

Mayu Ishikawa

"It was good that we won our first match of the tournament in the Philippines in a full set, but it was a match that showed both our strengths and weaknesses. It was good that we were able to switch gears after each set, but it would have been better if we could have made more adjustments during the match. With various members playing, we need to be able to maintain our momentum when we are in it, and I feel that I also had a lot of ups and downs in my own game. I was conscious of trying to encourage the team in each and every situation. I thought that it would be difficult (going forward) if we didn't win matches like this, so I think I was more motivated. (Serbia) is tall, and they have a lot of really good middle blockers, so I was conscious of how to break down those players and score points. (Looking ahead to the next match) We have a day off and then three more matches, so I want to make sure I'm in good condition. I think there will definitely be tough situations like today's in the future, so I want us to be able to adjust the flow of the match more quickly and create a good momentum."

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