Nations League leader Japan continues its winning streak after making an impressive comeback against Canada and winning 3:2(18:25,24:26,29:27,25:19,15:11) in a match from the third week of the tournament in Osaka.
The Canadians were very close to one of the biggest surprises in this year's VNL edition. They took a 2:0 lead in sets and were only two points away from victory at 27:27 in the third set, but the Japanese withstood the pressure and dramatically snatched the set 29:27 on their fifth attempt. After that, the "Samurais" asserted their dominance in the fourth set and the tie-break.
This is Japan's tenth victory in 10 matches, with the interesting fact that six of the Asians' successes came after a tie-break. With 24 points, the team remains the sole leader in the Nations League interim standings.
For Canada, the defeat brings one point. The North Americans now have 10 points, but remain in 16th place in the interim standings with only one victory this season.
Otsuka was the top scorer for Japan with 18 points, and Miyaura added 15. For Canada, Young finished with 21 points, and Howe scored 17.
The Japanese had an advantage in attack (74:66), serving aces (4:2), and capitalized better on opponent errors (28:24). Canada, however, was significantly stronger in blocking, winning by an impressive 16:5. In defense, the hosts recorded 91 digs against 73 for their opponent, which proved to be one of the key factors for the complete comeback.

photo:volleyballworld.com