Japan trumps India, enters Asian U23 Volleyball semis

Japan barged into the semifinals of the Asian U23 Women’s Volleyball Championship after making a quick work of India, 25-17, 25-17, 25-14, Thursday afternoon at Philsports Arena.

Nao Muranaga found the sweet spot to end the third set after Indians blundered on their receive that assured Japanese of a semifinals spot.

Japan head coach Kiyoshi Abo, even with the convincing win, said his squad struggled against India which has a different system of attack.

Abo singled out Indian team captain Muraleedharan Shyamala Poornima and Nirmala as the two players who gave them a hard time.

“It’s kind of a struggle against them,” Abo said through a translator. “India has a high-point of attack which is very difficult for us to defend.”

Japan was basically dictated the pace and never let India into its dance throughout the third set.

India head coach Vaishali Phadtare, meanwhile, said her team’s lack of experience was costly against the powerhouse Japanese team.

She added that her team has been training for roughly one-and-a-half months and the players don’ share a common dialect.

Nanaka Sakamoto and Kaori Mabashi led Japan with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Poornima led India with 12 points.

The Indians’ possible highest ranking in the tournament is fifth place, a seed they can get if the win all their remaining matches.