OSAKA AICHI GAMES 2026 was held at Panasonic Arena on Saturday, October 10, where OSAKA BLUTEON faced off against JTEKT STINGS Aichi.

[Set 1]
This marked McCarthy's first competitive match since joining the Bluteon. The team started strong with their serves, with Tomita scoring a service ace and Nishida's serves leading to consecutive points, allowing them to build a lead and control the game.
Entering the middle of the set at 10-6, they fended off the opponent's counterattacks with defensive transitions, and then scored consecutive points with Nakamoto finishing off a serve from McCarthy. The opponent called a timeout at 15-11.
They did not ease up on their attacks, with their serves and defense functioning well. Setter Nakamura kept the opponent guessing by incorporating quick attacks at key moments, and they took the set 25-17.

[Set 2]
Maintaining their momentum in this set, they targeted the corners with their serves from the start, and Evade-Dan's blocks helped trigger consecutive points. It remained a close contest, but they found their rhythm through libero Yamamoto's digs to score consecutive points and take a 12-9 lead.
From there, their high-precision blocking brought out the strength of their defense, and they continued to play while keeping the opponent off balance, though the gap narrowed to a single point at 19-18.
From this point, Nishida led the team by hammering in sharp spikes and racking up points. Despite losing points to sharp serves, they secured a side-out after calling a timeout.
Just one point away, they allowed a service ace, leading to a deuce, but Nishida maintained a high level of performance. However, they were pressured by the opponent's serves and lost the set 27-29.

[Set 3]
The early stages saw them fall behind as they were caught by the opponent's blocks, but the middle blockers became the core of their movement, with Evade-Dan's quicks and McCarthy's block points.
Successfully turning the game around to 9-8 early on, they applied pressure on the opponent with tenacious defense.
In the middle of the set, Nishida was active as a scoring source, and while a back-and-forth battle continued with McCarthy stopping blocks, they grabbed a two-point lead at 16-14 and extended it to 19-14 with Nishida's serves and Nakamura's two-attack.
In the final stages, the use of Kai as a relief server proved successful, leading to consecutive points from McCarthy's blocks, and they steadily added points to take back the set 25-21.

[Set 4]
The set unfolded as a close battle with both teams trading points.
Early on, Bagnas entered the game as a substitute.
McCarthy brought momentum to the team again in this set by scoring with a block, and they built up points with stable attacks centered on the wings, reaching 12-10.
Bagnas also utilized his height to rack up points.
After that, they were tied at 19-19, and Bluteon called a timeout.
As both teams continued to trade points, Kai entered as a relief server in the final stages. He disrupted the opponent's reception with his serve to create a chance, and finally, McCarthy landed a powerful spike to take the set 25-23 and secure the victory.