Japan entered this important duel as the only undefeated team in the tournament yet. They lead the current standings on a 7-0 win-loss record and 20 points. After losing the USA on Saturday, China are on 5-2 and a fourth in the table.

Japan defeated China with; 25-19, 25-16, 25-23, 25-12 on Sunday for its 8 straight victory in the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL).

Li Yingying scored game-high 27 points for China while Japan’s Sarina Koga and Kotona Hayashi contributed 22 and 19 points respectively.

Olympians Kotona Hayashi and Haruyo Shimamura starred as they prevailed 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, and 25-23.

They also beat Poland, Bulgaria, and Thailand 3-0 helped by the attacking prowess of Sarina Koga who shot to second place in the overall scoring charts with 173 points with only Belgium’s Britt Herbots bettering her on 194.

Manami Kojima has also starred for Japan.

The 27-year-old has rescued her country with exceptional defensive displays and she currently sits second for digs with 116, behind Maria Stenzel of Poland on 129.

Unbeaten in the two weeks of competition, Japan continues to lead the VNL table, followed by the United States. China’s defeat sees them slip to fourth place.

The star spiker of NEC Red Rockets in Japan V.League thanked the Filipino fans, who loudly cheered for them, chanting “Nippon! Nippon!” during their match against the World. No.2 China, which also got a boost from its fellow citizens at the Big Dome.

What is the format of 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s National League?

In the preliminary round, 16 women’s teams will compete in pools of eight teams under the revised format. 

During the pool stage, each team plays 12 matches. Eight teams will then advance to the competition’s final knockout round. The Finals will include the seven strongest teams, with the finals host – Turkey – entering the knockout round as the top-placed team. It will consist of eight matches in total – four quarterfinals, two semi-finals, and bronze and gold medal matches.