Japan stayed unbeaten but had to work overtime to beat Brazil in five Thursday in Volleyball Nations League.
Japan got big-time performances from Yuki Ishikawa, Kento Miyaura and Ran Takahashi, who combined for 66 kills.
Poland kept pace as it rallied for a five-set victory over host Netherlands.
Third-place USA (5-1) is back in action Friday when it plays Iran (2-4) at 10:30 Eastern.
Also Friday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Serbia faces Italy. The two matches in Orleans, France, has Argentina vs. Bulgaria and Francs vs. Cuba.
All VNL matches are replayed on Volleyball TV. Use the promo code VOLLEYBALLMAG for a discount on monthly or annual subscriptions.Â
Lucas Saatkamp of Brazil tries get past the block of Japan’s Kento Miyaura/Volleyball World photo
In Orleans, France
Japan (7-1) got past Brazil (4-2) 25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 22-25, 18-16 as Ishikawa had 25 kills and two aces, Miyaura had 22 kills, a block and an ace, and Takahashi had 19 kills and two aces. Brazi’s Alan Souza had 20 kills and nine digs and Henrique Honorato and Ricardo Souza had 11 each. Souza had eight digs and Honorato had four blocks and an ace.
Canada (2-5) got a much-needed 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-20 comeback victory over Bulgaria (1-5). Stephen Maar ha 14 kills, a block and an ace. Arthur Szwarc had 12 kills, a block and two aces. Danny Demyanenko had 10 kills, two blocks and three aces. Alex Nikolov and Martin Atanasov had 12 kills each for Bulgaria. Nikolov, the 2022 NCAA player of the year for Long Beach State, had a block, six digs and two aces.Â
Slovenia lost the first set and then cruised to a 22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-19 win over Cuba (1-5). Tine Urnaut led with 16 kills and three aces. Klemen Cebulj had 12 kills, a block and an ace, and Ziga Stern had 12 kills and a block. Jan Kozamernik had three kills and six blocks as Slovenia held a 10-2 blocks advantage. Cuba’s Jaime Herrera had 12 kills and an ace and Marlon Herrera had 10 kills, a block and two aces.
In Rotterdam, Netherlands
Italy (4-2) swept China (1-6) 25-13, 25-19, 26-24 as eight players had kills, nine from Daniele Lavia and eight each from Yuri Romano and Simone Anzane. Italy had 12-3 blocks advantage as Romano had four, Anzani and Alessandro Michieletto three each, and Lavia two. Dejun Zhai had 12 kills for China.
Serbia (3-3) beat Germany (1-6) behind 15 kills and an ace from Drazen Luburic in a 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23 win. Miran Kujundzic had 12 kills, a block and an ace. Marko Ivovic had 11 kills and a block. Petar Krsmanovic had six kills, five blocks and two aces. Germany’s Anton Brehme had 13 kills, a block and an ace. Linus Weber had 12 kills, a block and two aces, and Moritz Reichert had 12 kllls, a block and an ace. Serbia had a 12-6 blocks advantage, while Germany had 10 aces to Serbia’s four.
Poland (5-1) battled past the Netherlands (3-3) and came away with a 22-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11 win in front a huge partisan crowd. Jakub Kochanowski had 10 kills, two blocks and all five of Poland’s aces. Wilfredo Venero had 13 kills and a block. Nimir Adbel-Aziz of the Netherlands continued to tear it up, this time with 21 kills and two aces. Fabian Plak had nine kills, four blocks and three aces.Â
Japan’s Yuki Ishikawa hits over Brazil’s Fernando Gil/Volleyball World photo