Japan crowned in FIVB Volleyball Grand Prix

The final of the FIVB Volleyball Grand Prix Macau 2014 resulted in two thrilling 4-set matches and saw Japan winning the Macau leg by beating China, who finished second place.
On the last day of the Grand Prix yesterday, the Japan team defeated the home crowd favorite China 3-1 (25-20, 25-
22, 18 -25, 28 -26) in an intense battle between the two Asian teams.
Taking place at the Macau Forum yesterday at 3:30 p.m., the venue was packed.
The atmosphere became fierce when Japan took a 2-set lead and China fought hard to level the score. The Chinese team gained 4-point lead above Japan before they made a draw at 10–10. Then the 4-point gap occurred again at the 2nd technical time-out, when China led Japan at 16 – 13. With good defense and some aggressive attacks, the Japanese narrowed the gap but did not succeed in surpassing in reverse.
Set 4 was a hard-fought affair for both sides. Japan took the lead from the beginning, taking advantage of their opponent’s errors. The Chinese team adjusted tactics after the second technical time out and the draw showed at 21-21. Scores of both teams seesawed until China made an error in the first passing, losing 26-28 to Japan.
Ms Lang Ping, the Chinese team coach, said in the press conference after the match that her team had tried their best. “Before the match we had prepared a lot. But till now, players’ endured great physical exertion. (…) The Japanese team presented a different combination today, which we’ve never seen before. Although the Japanese players are not very tall, they moved very fast and created difficulties for our blocking techniques. Despite the fact that our squad did not win in this match, our team members tried their best,” she said.
She noted that her team has many tall players: “Therefore during daily training and competitions, we required them to improve in the first pass and defense. The match allowed us the chance to learn and helps us to realize our strengths and disadvantages. I hope we can make progress in the next match.”
Mr Manabe Masayoshi, the Japanese coach, commented that the Chinese team did well in spiking and blocking for high positions. As for the Japanese squad, many players who are not often seen in the matches performed well.
Hui Ruoqi, captain of the Chinese team, said that the match merited reflection. “Today our team did not play a good game. As for the Japanese team, they moved very fast and even though they are relatively short, they defended well. And their on-court performance is good, we learned a lot from them.”
The Japanese team captain Kimura Saori said: “I think the Japanese team played very well and we exhibited the true essence of our team.”
It is the 22nd time the two squads have met in the World Grand Prix.
The other match also took place between South Korea and Serbia, with the former beating the latter 3-1. South Korea was consequently awarded third place.

Grace Yu