OSAKA MARVELOUS Beat NEC RED ROCKETS KAWASAKI 3-0 to Lead 2024-25 DAIDO LIFE SV.LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP Finals

OSAKA MARVELOUS breezed past NEC RED ROCKETS KAWASAKI 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-21) in the opening game of the 2024-25 DAIDO LIFE SV.LEAGUE WOMEN CHAMPIONSHIP Finals at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Friday.

OSAKA got off to a dream start, streaking out to an 8-0 lead behind the serving of Mizuki Tanaka and three consecutive blocks by Sachi Minowa (two) and Lise Van Hecke. Nothing NEC tried worked in the opening phase and it needed a couple of smart shots from Lorrayna Marys da Silva to put NEC’s first points on the board and reduce the deficit to 8-2. But OSAKA were eight points ahead – 12-4 – at the mid-set break and their progress was only halted by a couple of errors. Yoshino Sato and Yukiko Wada briefly put some spice in the NEC attack late in the set, but they were already 10 points behind at that stage. Setpoint came on a powerful line drive by Ameze Miyabe and OSAKA went 1-0 ahead when Wada put a serve wide for a 25-14 score.

NEC managed to take the lead early in the second set, going ahead 2-1 on a spike by Sato, but that was their only lead in the set. They did manage to keep pace with OSAKA to 6-6 with a couple of rare blocks from Da Silva and Sato, but coach Takayuki Kaneko was forced to call a timeout at 6-9 as his team fell behind again. NEC were 12-6 down at the break during a long run of serving by Haruka Oyama that saw OSAKA’s lead rise from 8-6 to 16-6. NEC were second best in almost all departments to their rivals from OSAKA and barely made it to double figures as the OSAKA turned up the heat again. Two mistakes ended the set after Sato hit a ball wide and Da Silva sent a serve long for a poor 25-10 score.

NEC Head Coach Kaneko shuffled the pack for the third set, starting with Wada for Da Silva and Yuka Sawada as setter (and later also bringing on Tsukasa Nakagawa), and the effect was immediate. Better setting gave the attackers – Sato and Wada – better opportunities and NEC found themselves in the lead early on. They were still ahead at 10-9 but NEC managed to pull level with some great defending and were a point ahead at the break. Kaneko was forced to call a timeout at 18-13 and NEC were able to claw back some of the deficit, prompting OSAKA Head Coach Daisuke Sakai to call his first timeout of the match. Match point came on a decision that was reversed by the judges after NEC hit the antenna and Van Hecke ended the match with a thumping crosscourt slam, securing the third set 25-21.


OSAKA MARVELOUS
Head Coach Daisuke Sakai (JPN): Our serves were effective and we were able to break down the opponent’s reception lineup. From there, our blocking and defense worked well. I believe our side-out percentage on the first ball was also high in the first and second sets, although I haven’t looked at the exact numbers, I think we were able to execute well in terms of side-out pace. In that sense, we had control over much of the game today.
(On Mizuki Tanaka’s streak of service points)
That streak was incredibly important for the team. I’m not sure what she said in front of everyone, but it was a great serve that gave us momentum and led to that scoring run. From the beginning of the season, we had decided as a team to focus on strengthening our serves. Regarding where to serve in different situations, we've been trying not to suppress the individual players' instincts and creativity. I think the effort to improve each player's serving ability is now showing results individually.
We also came into this after losing Game 1 last week by 3-0. The beginning of tomorrow’s match will also be crucial, but our approach won’t change. I want to remind the players again tomorrow morning of what we’ve been communicating throughout the season.

Lise Van Hecke (BEL): We’re very happy with the result. We couldn’t have dreamed of a better start. Our serve-receive was good and we were the better team. I think that was the key to the whole game and also in the second set we were pressuring them in receiving. We always made a gap and that’s why it seemed like an easy win. It was us pressuring them a lot and they couldn’t find a solution to get out of it, but they were better in the third set.

Sachi Minowa (JPN): As I said yesterday, everyone is just ready to play the Finals and ready to win. I felt really nervous before we got here, but also excited to play. Feeling nervous is really good for me. There’s always anxiety but it’s how you overcome it. We have been watching their videos and how they play and we were focusing on how we could connect our block and defense. I have a fire within myself that we want to win tomorrow. We want to get it and do our very best.


NEC RED ROCKETS KAWASAKI
Head Coach Takayuki Kaneko (JPN): We were completely shut down by OSAKA's high-quality serves, and although we tried to find a breakthrough, the gap only widened. We ended up falling right into the strategies they had prepared. The strength of OSAKA right now lies in their ability to execute what they've prepared, so tomorrow, we want to make the necessary adjustments to better utilize our offense.
Since we lost the first two sets by a wide margin, I was concerned that the players might lose confidence. So I told them that not everything was bad, beyond just the score. Our reactions to touched balls were unsettled, so I reminded them to approach each play carefully.
As a team, we've made the finals three years in a row. That said, not many players from last year’s finals are still on the team. I want us to turn today’s experience into strength and prepare to bring the game into an offensive showdown tomorrow.

Ajcharaporn Kongyot (THA): In the third set, we calmed down and tried to start again and win point by point. Tomorrow, we can come back.

Lorrayna Marys Da Silva (BRA): We didn’t really have problem. Today, OSAKA started very well and we were a little nervous, so it was difficult to control things. But tomorrow we start over and go to win. In the third set, we used other players to change the situation. All the NEC players are capable of starting the game and the change was good. It wasn’t just a setting problem; it was everything. We’ll be OK tomorrow.


Competition Overview Women:
Each club plays a total of 44 matches in a home-and-away format. The top 8 clubs advance to the championship. The championship follows a tournament format, where teams compete in a best-of-three format, with the first to win two matches advancing from the QuarterFinals to the Finals.

CHAMPIONSHIP Finals:
Women: Game 1: 18:40, Friday, May 2 at Ariake Arena
Game 2: 17:40, Saturday, May 3 at Ariake Arena
Game 3: 15:10, Sunday, May 4 at Ariake Arena
Please note that Game 3 will not be held if either team secures two victories