We Played Good Throughout Match but Set 2, Japan Coach Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Japan volleyball coach Yuichi Nakagaichi says that his team played well throughout the match, apart from the set they lost.
Japan claimed a solid 3-1 (25-16, 26-28, 25-13, 25-21) win over Iran at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup on Sunday, spurred to victory by 23 points apiece from Yuki Ishikawa and Yuji Nishida at Hiroshima Green Arena.
“We were able to win the first set easily, and then lost the second set - I think this is becoming something of a trend of late. We have been losing all deuce sets, which doesn’t give me a good feeling. It looks like since the Asian Championship we are not really winning through in neck-and-neck situations,” Nakagaichi said.
“In the match against Iran captain Masahiro Yanagida came on and disrupted service and had good passing, and then an unexpected mistake occurred and the set didn’t go our way. Mistakes like that cost us wins in the Asian Championship, and I think we have to be more solid in our final execution,” he added.
“In the first half our service was going swimmingly and our spikes were good. Here and there we suffered blocks, but throughout the match, apart from the set we lost, I would say we played good volleyball. As usual (Yuji) Nishida and (Yuki) Ishikawa showed solid performances, but (Tatsuya) Fukuzawa’s service reception really kept the team going,” Nakagaichi concluded.
