Wada shines as Japan end USA's unbeaten run in the VNL 2023

Japan ended their participation in the Week 2 of the Volleyball Nations League 2023 in great style as the Asians topped the United States in the tie-breaker in Brasilia on Saturday, taking down the last undefeated team in the tournament.

The Japanese were stronger in the fifth set to secure a 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-6) victory over the Olympic champions in a roller-coaster of a match held at the Nilson Nelson Stadium in the Brazilian capital.

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With the victory, the Japanese now sit in sixth place in the VNL 2023, with five wins and 16 points. The Americans could have ended the day in second, but are now fourth with six victories and 16 points.

Opposite Yukiko Wada was the unlikely Japanese hero against the Americans. The 21-year-old player, who had scored 22 points in the first seven matches of the VNL 2023, had arguably the best performance of her career, carrying the Asian offense with a whooping 32 points (28 kills, one ace and three blocks).

“I just tried to remain aggressive and don’t be afraid of their block,” she said after the match. “We had some pretty tough matches before this one. We had a meeting with the players and said to each other that we had to keep fighting for every single point. We still hadn’t won a tie-breaker in the VNL and we did it today, so I think that we need to keep this same mindset for the third week.”

Japan’s outside hitter duo of Mayu Ishikawa and Sarina Koga also played a big role in the team’s victory, with the 23-year-old Ishikawa registering 19 points (16 kills, two aces, one block) and team captain Koga adding another 12, all in kills.

The United States, who didn’t start setter Micha Hancock, opposite Jordan Thompson or middle blocker Haleigh Washington, had in outside hitter Khalia Lanier their top scorer with 20 points (15 kills, two aces, three blocks. Opposite Danielle Cuttino also produced well, tallying 18 (17 kills, one block).

The higher number of errors made by the Americans (29 to 19) proved to be a main factor in the Japanese victory as the teams' production in all other skills was similar, with the Asians getting more points from kills (69 to 65) and aces (five to three) and the Olympic champions dominating in blocks (11 to eight).

**Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results**

In the first match of the day in Brasilia, hosts Brazil claimed their third victory at home, dominating Germany to a 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17) win in front of their fans.

Olympic medallist opposite Rosamaria Montibeller came off the bench to lead the Brazilian victory with 19 points (18 kills, one ace), followed by rookie outside hitter Maiara Basso, who had 18. Germany had the top scorer of the encounter in opposite Emilia Weske, who produced 28 points.

The last day of the VNL 2023 in Brasilia, Sunday will begin with the highly-anticipated match between Brazil and the United States, at 10:00 local time (13:00 UTC). Thailand will face Croatia at 14:00 local time (17:00 UTC) before Germany and Korea play the last match of the tournament at the Nilson Nelson Stadium at 17:30 local time (20:30 UTC).

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