In the third week of the 2024 World Men's Volleyball League, who would have thought that Canada, ranked 12th in the world, would defeat the third-ranked Japanese team in an upset? Does this once again verify the old saying: "There is no trivial matter on the field, everyone can be a dark horse"?
The background of the competition is already quite interesting. The Japanese team's performance in the past two years can be described as the icing on the cake, and last year they even reached the semi-finals in one fell swoop, and finally finished third. Their quick attack and solid defense have made the Japanese team imposing on the international stage. Canada, on the other hand, although ranked below Japan in the world, has an overall strength that should not be underestimated, especially when it comes to critical moments. Both teams have already topped last year's Olympic Championships and qualified for the Paris Olympics, which undoubtedly adds to the excitement of this competition.
The first game of the game was full of suspense. The Canadians showed their quick attack at the start of the game, quickly taking a 7-2 lead. Although Japan then organized a counterattack, the Canadian team scored consecutive points on serve and block, and successfully locked the first game at 25-21. In the second game, the Japanese team adjusted their tactics, using their speed advantage and strong serve, gradually tied and overtook the score from 5-2 behind, and finally pulled back a game 25-20.
Entering the third game, the competition between the two teams was more intense. The two sides fought to a 5-5 draw in the opening stages, and then Canada used strong blocks and quick counter-attacks to regain the lead, and Japan tried hard to chase the points, but eventually lost 15-25. Not to be outdone in the fourth game, the Japanese team overtook the score through consecutive points and accurate serves, and finally won 25-20 to drag the match into the deciding game.
In the decider, the Canadians were more at ease, with their serve and blocking to the extreme, and finally sealed the victory 15-10, and completed an unexpected comeback with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Japan.
The game's stats also reveal the difference between victory and defeat: Canada scored 12 points on the net, while Japan scored just three. Although Japan had a slight advantage on serve, Canada's attacks and blocks were their killer features for victory. In terms of individual scoring, Canada's Marr was the game-high scorer with 24 points, while Japan's Yushi Nishida and Yuki Ishikawa contributed 19 points each, and Ai Takahashi also had 13 points.
With this match, Canada moved up three places in the world rankings to ninth, while Japan dropped to fifth. The match not only rewrote the rankings of the two teams, but also added more uncertainty to the upcoming Paris Olympics. Is this the beauty of sports? On the field, every minute and every second can be the difference between the game and the game. And for the Japanese team, will this defeat be the motivation for them to work harder at the Olympics? Let's wait and see.