The Italian national team defeated Japan B with 3:0 (25:23, 25:20, 30:28) in a friendly match played at "Todoroki Arena" in Tokyo.
This was the last match for the team led by Ferdinando De Giorgi during their training camp in Japan before departing for the final tournament of the Nations League in Ningbo.
Italy took the lead after a contested first set, won 25:23, then controlled the second for 25:20. In the third, the Japanese put up the strongest resistance, but the "Azzurri" prevailed with 30:28.
After the official end of the match, the two teams also played an additional set, won by Italy 25:23.
The top scorer for the winners was Alessandro Bovolenta with 17 points, Luca Porro added 11, and Tommaso Sani finished with 9. For Japan B, Rikuto Goto scored 17 points, and Yudai Arai - 11.
On Saturday (July 25), the Italian team will depart for Ningbo, where they will face the USA in the quarterfinals of the Nations League.
"We certainly received positive indications. Our training sessions, as well as the official and unofficial practices with Japan, helped us find our rhythm again. We also managed to catch our breath and enjoy Tokyo, which is a wonderful city. I believe we are fully ready for the USA. A very difficult quarterfinal awaits us against an extremely strong team. This Nations League has shown us that every match must be played as if it were the last. We are going to China ready for battle and will try to perform in the best possible way," Gianluca Galassi stated on the official website of the Italian Volleyball Federation.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov