Japan stays unbeaten at 5-0, fends off Serbia

Japan in action vs Serbia during the VNL Women’s Week 2 at Philsports Arena.

MANILA, Philippines — Japan survived a gritty Serbia side to eke out a come-from-behind  20-25, 26-24, 18-25, 32-20, 15-7 win and preserve a 5-0 record in the Volleyball Nations League women’s week 2 on Wednesday at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Mayu Ishikawa and Yukiko Wada saved the Japanese from the brink of defeat, delivering the finishing blows to keep the solo lead of the 18-nation, nine-leg pool phase league.

READ: PH all set for VNL Women’s Week 2 hosting 

Ishikawa delivered 24 points and the last two in the fifth set to seal the comeback win, while Wada chipped in 20 points — all from attacks.

Japan squandered a 24-22 advantage in the fourth after Serbia took five match points. Haruyo Shimamura put Japan ahead with a clutch block, 31-30, followed by Yoshino Sato’s set-clinching hit to force a decider.

Sato’s ace kept Serbia at bay in the fifth with a 13-5 spread, as she finished with 12 points off seven kills, four aces, and a block.  Shimamura had 11 points.

“Today, it was a good comeback.Serbia played really great. Great match. And we were struggling during the match, but after a while, we get the rhythm. So it was a great comeback. It’s the fifth victory in five matches, so it’s so good. We need to continue in this rhythm,” said Japan coach Fehrat Akbas, who was thrilled by the cheers of the Filipino crowd. 

 “All crowd, I see, I hear, Nippon, Nippon, so they supported us really good. We were feeling like we are in Japan, so thank you to all Philippine fans. I hope they come and support us for the next matches too.”

Aleksandra Uzelac scored 21 for Serbia. Nina Cajic chipped in 18 points only for them to drop to a 1-4 record.

Hena Kurtagic had five of Serbia’s 15 block points, while Japan had only a total of four.

Japan returns to action on Friday against Czechia, while Serbia has a short turnaround before facing defending champion Italy on Thursday at 8 p.m.