On June 23, Beijing time, the 2024 World Women's Volleyball League entered the last match day, with the Italian women's volleyball team and the Japanese women's volleyball team competing for the championship.
Italy and Japan have both qualified for the Paris Olympics and are in separate groups. Italy played well in the World League, finishing second in the standings with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses, while Japan finished fifth in the standings with 8 wins and 4 losses. In the World League finals, the Italian team swept the United States and Poland in a row to advance to the final, while the Japanese team swept the Chinese women's volleyball team 3-0 and defeated the Brazilian team 3-2 in the semifinals. Both sides sent their main lineups to the World League Finals, aiming to compete for the World League championship and make final preparations for the Paris Olympics. The winner of this World League will receive a prize of $1 million, and the runner-up will receive a prize of $50.
Because in yesterday's semi-finals, Japan defeated Brazil 3-2, Brazil was deducted 8.66 points, Italy overtook Brazil to rise to the world's first, and Japan added 8.66 points to surpass China to rise to Asia first and sixth in the world. At present, the Japanese women's volleyball team has 343.03 points in the world points, only 1.14 points ahead of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
In the first game, the Italian team started with a 3-0 lead, the Italian team obviously held the lead firmly in the first half, with De Gradi's lob score, the Italian team expanded the lead 9-4, and then the Japanese team approached the score by actively adjusting it, but the Italian team with good offense and defense still relied on blocking and strong attacks to reopen the score, and in the second half of the second half Sarina Koga tried to help the Japanese team narrow the score, but Egnu's strong offensive was unstoppable, and the Japanese team lost too much at the end of the game, and the Italian team firmly controlled the rhythm on the field, Italy took the lead 25-17.
In the second game, the Japanese team started with a 3-1 lead, the Italian team used the blocking net to score consecutive points to overtake the score, as Egnu scored again, the Italian team scored 5 points in a row to lead 6-3, and then the Italian team always maintained the lead, Fakhel's score helped the Italian team lead 8-5, Sarina Koga scored two points in a row to close the score, Egnu also scored two points in a row, the Italian team led 11-8, and Egnu was in a hot state to help the Italian team stop Japan 13-9, After the pause, Miyabe Lanpyu's strong attack score helped the Japanese team stabilize the situation, the Italian team had an obvious net advantage, the Japanese team's attack was blocked and fell into a scoring drought, with the Italian team's double blocking score to lead 18-9, the Italian team's state was up and down in the second half of the game, the Japanese team continued to chase points to close the score at 16-22, Egnu's lob score helped the Italian team stabilize the situation, Serra's fourth-position smash score helped the Italian team get the game point 24-17, and the Italian team 25-17 went to the next city.
In the third game, the two sides played inextricably at the beginning of the game, the Japanese team led 6-5 with a double block, and then the two sides started a tug-of-war, the score alternately led, the Japanese team overtook the score 10-9 through the double block, Egnu immediately hit the slash to score and color, Inoue Arisa warmed up and scored consecutive points to help the Japanese team lead 12-10, and then the Japanese team that played momentum became more and more brave to stop Italy 15-12, and the Japanese team continued to expand its lead through continuous service points, Japan led 18-13, Italy scored three points in a row to close the score, Japan asked for a timeout, and Sarina Koga's strong attack score helped the Japanese team stabilize the situation, Danesi's fast break score helped the Italian team bite the score, and at the end of the game, the Italian team scored two points in a row to chase the score to 20-22, Egnu's service error cut off the Italian team's momentum of chasing points, and the Japanese team pulled back a game 25-21.
In the fourth game, Italy started with a 4-1 lead, Sarina Koga's strong attack helped the Japanese team stabilize the situation, the Italian team scored more points in a row to stop the Japanese team 6-2, and the Italian team scored twice after the pause, Egnu made a strong attack, and the Italian team led 8-4, after which the Japanese team chased the score to 6-8 through tenacious defense, Serra and Fakhr's scores helped the Italian team reopen the score, the Italian team led 11-6, Serra scored two points in a row, and the Italian team continued to expand its lead, Sarina Koga led the Japanese team to chase the score tenaciously, the Italian team blossomed more in the second half to firmly hold the lead, at the end of the game, the Japanese team chased 3 points in a row to close the score at 17-20, Egnu's strong attack score helped the Italian team stabilize the situation, Egnu scored continuously, the Italian team led 23-18, Posetti's lob score helped the Italian team get the match point, and the Italian team won the fourth game 25-20.
Italy defeated Japan 3-1, Italy won the World League championship, and Japan finished second. After this campaign, the Italian team increased its world points by 4.69 points, and the Italian team is firmly in the first place in the world, and the Italian team is a strong contender for the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The Japanese team was deducted 4.69 points, and the world ranking was overtaken by China, and the Chinese women's volleyball team returned to the first place in Asia and the sixth place in the world.