SAARA . 🏐🇯🇵🇮🇹

Thank you Kento 🥰

Today’s prayer circle 🕯️

20260612 VNL Week 1 in Linyi RJN warmup core 😆

Linyi stir fried chicken & RJN🕯️with @imani_abdullah ❤️‍🔥

@zernonchew 🥰🥰

@one_dul_set The spread😍

Kuching ✈️ Kuala Lumpur ✈️ Shenzhen ✈️ Linyi for VNL 2026 Week 1 🇨🇳. See you tomorrow RJN ❤️‍🔥. (I don’t have Omi & Eiro’s photocards so I brought Sekita’s. And I brought Keihan’s too since he’s also my fave)

About to fly from Kuching to KL, where I’ll meet up with Imani for our flight to Linyi, connecting through Shenzhen. The thought of going to see RJN in Week 1 in China again makes me emotional in some ways. Xi’an was a wonderful experience and I look forward to seeing what kind of memories I’ll make in Linyi. And of course, I hope to see good plays from the boys.

❗️ JAPONIA W TRZECH SETACH! 🇯🇵 Podopieczni Laurenta Tillie wygrywają właśnie w trzech setach z reprezentacją Ukrainy, notując zwycięstwo na otwarcie fazy zasadniczej VNL 2026. ✅️ Dobre zawody duetu Ran Takahashi - Yuki Ishikawa, świetne wejście Kento Miyaury, dzięki któremu Japonia wygrała drugiego seta❗️ Foto: Volleyball World #VNL2026

And that’s on how to be an impact sub❤️‍🔥

I’ve missed this duo 🥺🥺 Kento & Ogapi 🤧🤧

halfway through the second set i was gonna say who's going to win 1 yanchuk or 5 yakiniku beefs then japan brought out their premium beefcake miyaura kento 👊🏻

[trans JPN/ENG] Post-match interview with Yuki Ishikawa for BS-TBS. -First of all, since this was the first match, there may have been different atmospheres, but what do you think about the fact that you won this first match in straight sets? Yuki: Well, as a win, I think it's fantastic that we managed to win 3-0, so I consider that positive. As for the content, there are still some things that aren't quite right, and also, I think there were too many aces on return today, so I think that's something we need to improve in the future. Masa: It's quite unusual for Ishikawa to join the Nation League in the first round and play, so what are your thoughts or feelings about it? Yuki: It's been a while since I joined the team in the first round, and even though the time to practice has been short, I'm happy to be able to play matches right from the first round like this. I haven't had many opportunities to play matches with my club this season, so I was looking forward to it. However, my performance today was only good in the first set, and then it dropped off a bit after that, so I hope to improve in matches and throughout the Nation League. Masa: You mentioned your performance earlier, but since today was the first match, were there any problems you noticed in this first match? Yuki: Yes, in addition to what I said before, I think we did a lot of trial and error. Our reception, so I think it's something we need to improve on. Even so, we managed not to lose a set, and although we were helped by our opponents' mistakes, I think we deserve credit for winning 3-0. -Captain, the next match is against Poland. Could you tell us about your aspirations for that match? Yuki: Poland is very tall and has many young players on the rise, so we'll keep that in mind, and we've identified areas where we can improve further compared to today. We'll approach the match against Poland by working on those aspects.

[Eng subs] Interview with Yuki Ishikawa before the JPN-UKR match

Match report for Japan 🇯🇵 vs Ukraine 🇺🇦 | 10/06/2026 | Week 1 | VNL 2026 (keeping this here for my reference)

Congrats on the first win of VNL 2026, RJN 🇯🇵❤️‍🔥

Special shoutout to super double sub Kento Miyaura + Motoki Eiro 👏🏻👏🏻. I especially enjoyed their run in Set 2, starting with Kento’s block, finished off by Eiro’s dump.

#バレーボール #ネーションズリーグ 2026予選ラウンド第1週、#バレーボール男子日本代表 はウクライナにセットカウント3－0のストレートで勝利しました。 次戦は日本時間12日（金）21：00からのポーランド戦です。 Photo: @volleyballworld #つなげ2026 #限界はまだ先にある #VNL2026 #バレーボール #volleyball

🇯🇵 MIYAURA, Kento VNL 2026 vs UKR [3 sets] 6 points — 5 attacks — 1 block limited yet quality minutes from miyaken!! #宮浦健人

Seated (via VBTV) for RJN’s first match of 2026. All the best guys 💪🏻❤️‍🔥.

Yuki Ishikawa revealed the "real reason" move to Turkey, three months ago ‼️ 🎤 : What are your plans for next season? Yuki : "It's already decided. I'm going to Ziraat, Turkey." "Some might think that I joined Ziraat in the Turkish league because of the money I have, but that's not the only reason. First and foremost, I wanted to gain various experiences in a new environment." "To be honest, other Italian clubs were appealing. But in terms of salary, they were lower than Perugia. Salary is a big factor in being valued as a professional player. I wondered if it was worthwhile to stay in Italy, a place I'm familiar with, even if it meant losing almost half of what I've built up so far. When I thought about what I could gain and what kind of growth I could achieve there, I had a pretty clear image in my mind. When I decided to join Perugia in the first place, it was a big step in the sense of a new challenge, a new team, let alone a top team, so at this point, there's nothing more I could ask for. I've reached the milestone age of 30, but I still think I'm in a growth phase, so I thought it might be good to take on another new challenge, and that's why I chose a different place." —— Regarding a large gap in skill compared to Italy and Poland : "That's not a concern at all. There are 14 teams, so of course there are differences in skill levels, but the Turkish league itself is improving, and even the mid-table teams are spending money to acquire good players. The level will definitely be higher next season than this season. In fact, the top teams have beaten Trentino (a strong team in Serie A), and if you finish first in Turkey, you can go to the Champions League. So I'm not too worried about the level of competition." "Living in an English-speaking environment is a new experience for me, and I have absolutely no idea what Turkey is like or what the environment is like. I felt that stepping into such a place would definitely lead to many different experiences, and that it would be interesting." "Through my time with the national team last season, I learned that you can't move things just by playing well. In that sense, I've always had this feeling in the back of my mind that I want to have more new experiences. So, I think this transfer will be a positive thing from the perspective of the Japanese national team." number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/870…

Yuki Ishikawa on what sets Simone Giannelli apart from other setters: "I'm not sure if 'mental strength' is exactly the right way to put it, but what's incredible about him is that he never changes who he is—not only in his play, but in every other aspect as well. He has a very strong sense of self. After playing on the same court with him for two seasons, I've felt that he never lets himself waver. No matter the situation, he stays true to himself." "What sets Simone Giannelli apart from other setters is his ability to grasp the entire situation on the court...Then he distributes his sets based on all of that information." "Another thing is that he's able to identify the opponent's weak points, decide on the best way to attack them, and then relentlessly exploit those areas." "That's what I think is really clever about him. It feels as though he raises the ball according to his own convictions, staying completely faithful to the game plan he's built in his mind."