China - Japan | Volleyball VNL 2023

Receiving the final game from week one of the Volleyball Nations League here in Japan. And it's a very nice side out start from one, Yuan Yuan. The speed of this set. Crowd loving that. Inoue with work to do. Anything else can get to it, but Inoue might try and get on to it. But she was thinking Seki would get there, but not in time. Defense going back. Japan can't quite get back into it yet. Li Yingying says she didn't touch that, but there's no mid-rally challenge coming. On goal attack there in transition. As you take a look here. There's hardly any, any, any kind of touch. There's more options. And one of them is Li Yingying. It's going to be free ball for Japan. Three front court attackers. Koga available on time. Look at this. Floss for words. That set is magical. Madagascar's in the front row. Trying to get three attackers in that front row. Well, that was clever play. Not the high ball, just going a bit quicker. Oh, what a dig! Nishimura. Well, there's no stopping that one. An absolute thumper from Wang Yunlu. Unbelievable defense. One handed jab, dig. Step posing high and fast. Love it. Koga, the hands ready to strike. Koga, great swing. Pass, even though they have had a discipline block all game. Japan's just going high hand and fast arm swing. Oh, what a save. Seki, but it's free ball China. Three front court options hammered away to bring up the set point. I think it's pilotry in motion as we get the second set underway. China having taken the first. I think that's going to be it. What a shot. What a save. But it's still China. So I'm not going to get a free swing, but she had to be able to get a swing on it. She might do now, though. She does. That is Japan's game plan in a single point there. How are they going to be playing this? Dong Shengyu. Slightly interesting sort of situation for China because their serve. Chinese quick set. Still, we continue. Oh, yes. That's too tight. A transition play. I mean, what a dig. Sitting there. Off the net. It was not even a meter off the net on the cross court. From Seki. Clever play. Oh, it's still drawn. Not anymore. This is, it's haiku comes alive. It's watching animation here live. This is ridiculously good. How'd you make those digs? Oh, my goodness. With a smile on her face, nonetheless. Lovely. The pass as well. Very similar to the way Japan play at times that quick ball in. And this is Kamira Sawado from serve. She can do that. This is great. There's going to be a swing chance to turn it back in Japan's favor. Oh, the block's too good. It's too good. Chen Jin, Bohai Bank player. A number of the club side are here playing for China. Nicely done by Koga. Chases on, chases on. Brilliant! Hoisted high. Japan scurry back to sort their block defense out. And it might pay off. It does pay off. That's magnificent. Even in a weird overpass transition play, they're still running that fast offense. Anywhere else that set would have been a high ball to the right side attacker. But no, not for Japan. They stay true to what they know and what they do. It's what they try to do to wear teams down. Great, make great touches like that. And then look to play. Oh, I say, did that catch the block? It did! That door was shut very, very firmly. Great block from China. In front of her. She's made a couple of good solo blocks to shut the line down so far. That's another cracking hit. You watch the way that Wada gets out. Opens up the angle cross court and then with ease, hits court. This, well, you've taken away three quarters of the court, have you? All right, I'll just hit it over here in the other quarter then. What I love about Japan is that they're constantly talking with each other and constantly communicating in a positive manner. It's so great. A spike and an ace. Flatty corner, zone one. Well played. Gong Chengyu finds a free net. So China keep a little bit, so she's the opposite player, but she's stepping in to pass and Wada, who's the outside hitter, stepping out so she can run 10. Which works really well, means they can run a rather quicker ball. So it's a little variation on rotation three as you normally see. Saved by Li Yingying. It's another set that goes beyond 25. Great swing. There's going to be a swing chance here. Li Yingying does it and China have pinched it from Japan yet again. But this time taking the set 27-25, they've taken the match by three sets to nothing.