Japan gives its fans one more night of ecstasy

Tokyo, Japan, May 22, 2016 – A raucous home crowd has lifted Japan to a gripping 3-2 (20-25, 25-13, 21-25, 32-30, 15-11) win over Netherlands on the final night of the Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tokyo.

Both teams could well have been forgiven for hanging their hats back on the peg after locking up Rio spots 24 hours earlier, but instead opted to slug out a five-set epic which left fans almost as exhausted as the players themselves.

It might have been a dead rubber, but it didn’t stop the Japanese fans once again packing the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium to cheers on their Olympic-bound team.

Both teams had found out 24 hours they were Rio bound, making it difficult to lift for one last game after a long, high-pressure week of volleyball.

The Dutch looked the more switched on, controlling the set from the opening, with Lonneke Sloetjes and Celeste Plak providing a power combination that would strike fear in most teams in the world.

Japan rallied late to make the score more respectable, but The Netherlands was never in any real danger of dropping the set once it led 15-7, eventually triumphing 25-20.

The second set could not have been more of a contrast. Japan dominated, helped in no small part by an error-riddled Dutch team (18 to 6 after two sets) and another strong leadership game from captain Saori Kimura (nine points).

Sloetjes was …

continue reading in source www.fivb.org