Japan booked a semifinals date with Vietnam following a 25-23, 25-21, 26-28, 25-16 victory over Iran in the AVC Cup for Women at the Philsports Arena on Saturday.
Mizuki Tanaka scattered six of her 13 points in the pivotal fourth set as the Japanese rebounded from a narrow loss in the extended third set to frustrate the Iranians in their quarterfinals showdown.
Looking for its first championship in the event hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation, Japan will take on Vietnam in this Sunday’s semifinal at 7 p.m.
“It was the whole team that made this win to make it to the semifinals. We competed as a team,” said Japanese captain Mika Shibata through interpreter Hawi Okumu.
The Japanese will bank on their familiarity with Vietnamese ace Tran Thi Tranh Thuy. Tran scored 25 points in Vietnam’s 19-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 15-10 quarterfinals win over Chinese-Taipei in the first match.
“She also plays in Japan (V.League) and we kinda know what she’s gonna what to do. Our key point is how we gonna defend her,” said Shibata.
Yuki Nishikawa scored all but one of her 18 points in the first three sets while Hiroyo Yamanaka had two blocks to finish with eight points for Japan.
Iran was able to extend the match but could not sustain the momentum of its third-set win.
Yamanaka and Miyu Nakagawa also produced key hits for the Japanese in the fourth set.
Mahsa Kadkhoda and Pouran Zare each scored 15 points to lead the Iranians, who will face the Taiwanese in the 5th to 8th semifinals bracket at 10 a.m.