2024 72nd Kuroshiki All Japan Men's and Women's Invitational Volleyball Tournament Semifinals

The semifinals of the 72nd Kurowashiki All Japan Men's and Women's Volleyball Tournament were held on Sunday, May 5th at Asue Arena Osaka (Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture), where the Panasonic Panthers (hereinafter referred to as the Panthers) faced off against the JTEKT STINGS.

[Set 1]
The team started off looking stiff overall, and after being caught by the opponent's block and conceding consecutive points to trail 1-6, Coach Tille took a timeout. Looking to counterattack, the Panthers saw Tarumi score with a block, and Nishiyama also began to regain the team's rhythm by landing sharp spikes. After Fukatsu scored a service ace, a defensive play by Nagano set up Nakamoto to score, narrowing the gap to one point, and Kodama shut out the opponent with a block to tie the game at 10-10. The team successfully turned the game around to lead 13-11 thanks to blocks by Nishiyama and Tarumi. However, after conceding four consecutive points, the game turned into a seesaw battle. The Panthers focused their attacks on Nishiyama to score, and a super receive by Tarumi led to consecutive points, giving them a two-point lead at 18-16. In the final stages, the defense, led by Nagano, held firm, and with contributions such as points from Nakamoto, they took the set 25-20.

[Set 2]
In the early stages, the team found their rhythm as key scorers Nishiyama and Tarumi were in full swing with their spikes and serves, taking a 7-3 lead thanks to a service ace from Tarumi and a block from Nakamoto. They reached the technical timeout at 12-10, and although the game continued to be a tight, point-for-point battle with intense rallies, they fought back with a quick attack from Kodama and high-hitting spikes from Nishiyama. Nishiyama maintained his high performance thereafter, bringing momentum to the team and securing an 18-16 lead. From 20-20 in the final stages, Nishikawa used his serves with varying speed to confuse the opponent, leading to five consecutive points and a 25-20 win to take the second set.

[Set 3]
The teams traded points back and forth from the start, but after being pressured by the opponent's strong serves and committing errors first, we called a timeout at 7-9. Looking to shift the momentum, the Panthers used a Kodama serve to set up a Nishikawa block, bringing the score to 9-11, followed by a sharp Nishiyama serve that dropped in along the line to narrow the gap to one point. After catching up to 12-12 with a Tarumi feint off a defensive play, a Nishikawa block put us ahead 14-13. Once we regained our rhythm, we took a 17-14 lead thanks to a Nishikawa service ace, and setter Fukatsu effectively used quick attacks to side out, reaching the final stretch at 20-18. Nishiyama maintained his focus until the end, scoring with spikes from a high contact point, and Tarumi drove a powerful serve into the opponent's court to take the set 25-20, securing a straight-sets victory and a ticket to the final.

Tomorrow, May 6th, we will face the Suntory Sunbirds in the final of the final tournament at Asue Arena Osaka (Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture).

Comments from Coach Tillie after the match

Post-match comments from Nishiyama