Bulgarian star Alex Nikolov symbolically handed over the baton to Japanese national Ran Takahashi in the fans' poll for Player of the Week in the Volleyball Nations League.
After Bulgaria's outside hitter won the vote after the first week of the tournament, fans have now chosen one of Japan's big stars as the most impressive volleyball player during the second tournament.
The VNL organizers announced the winner through the official profiles of Volleyball Nations League and Volleyball World on social media. The post emphasizes that Ran Takahashi impressed fans with the fluidity of his play, consistency, and the kind of volleyball that gets the crowd on its feet.

The Japanese national was indeed among his team's leading figures during the second week. Japan finished the tournament in Orléans undefeated, and the culmination came in the last match against host France.
The "Samurai" made an impressive comeback and defeated "Les Bleus" 3:2 (28:30, 19:25, 25:17, 35:33, 15:12), after trailing 0:2 in sets. The fourth set was particularly dramatic, won by Japan 35:33, after which the Asian team completed the comeback in the tie-break.
Interestingly, the award has no official statistical character but is determined entirely by fan voting. This is how Alex Nikolov became the winner after the first week, whose strong performances for Bulgaria won the admiration of volleyball fans worldwide.

photo:volleyballworld.com
Now fans have cast their vote for Ran Takahashi, who enters the third week of the VNL with even greater confidence. And the award once again showed how strong a presence both Japanese stars and Bulgarian nationals have in the global fan community of the tournament.