The Day Kento Miyaura Shocked the World

A couple of aces for him in this tournament. Tomita receives, oh yes, Miyaura, that's the start that he and his team really want. Credit to Oya as well, lovely hand on the set, just shows the ball's going forward, flicks back, Duets bites on the seven. 3-3, oh the Japanese handmade signs, superb, another nice set and Miyaura is two from two. Miyaura's adjustment of timing on this is textbook, he finds a way to slow down and still arrive at the right time for him to contact the ball exactly where he wants it. Here is Duets, up off the net, Larry with the first touch, out to Kai, off the hands, good hand on that from Oya, Miyaura, well he's in the mood today and I for one am here for it. You had to work super hard against Bulgaria, didn't get a lot of luck for a lot of effort, making hay while the sun shines at the start. We'll call that one Hypertackle, great block, reflexes were good by Diaz but Thor couldn't finish it, that cannoned off the hands of Larry. No shortage of heat. It's coming very fast. Adrenaline spiking as a receiver though and you know what he can do. Tomita, Miyaura and that is what he can do. There was virtually nothing wrong with the French block, they're 97% correct on their move, on their timing, on their hand position and Miyaura says. Good pass by Kai, Miyaura, exceptional. He's running almost away from the court and still manages to bring the angle back inside the block. It's a really tough long ball set, that is incredible body control and hand control. Uye, Ogawa, Oya, good touch on that, Brizard back out to Thor, gets blocked, oh Brizard, that's superb. Oh that is unbelievable by Kento Miyaura, he makes the first contact, has almost no approach time and rifles this ball back past the block. This is phenomenal. Give the ball to Kento. The Japanese blockers, 2-4. Goes all or nothing but that's well dealt with by Tomita, Miyaura for the set. He's back in business, Kento Miyaura and so are Japan. It's a long way to go in this game but they felt like a team that really needed a set like that, just a reminder of the quality that they possess against quality opposition. Fantastic defense, good stability in reception, not necessarily high, perfect number to be able to beat the block. Something I like about Ogawa is not only does he make the great touches, he always finds a way to leave the scene. He is an underrated part of libero play in the tempo right, being neat, being organized. Uye, Miyaura, oh welcome back. They have to keep finding a way to get him into the offense because they haven't got enough width. They can't really expect to dominate the position four. Reception's been stable but not a lot of first. 3-1 Kai with the pass. Cannot get through that block Masato Kai. Uye, Miyaura, well he can. The block is split. So far pressed into Judy as the middle. It's all too big a seam. Quits, three-meter line, Miyaura just gets a lot on that. Clever though, thought he had a little bit more time. The right matchups, they want to get the right solutions. Diaz, Tiziwalu, not a great touch from Masato. Larry, Uye, Miyaura, 7-7. Larry a little bit tangled up with Uye. Laconic flick off the shoulder and sitting at eight meters. That's what they're there to find out where his limits are. He's looking very comfortable. Miyaura, speaking of looking comfortable, with that is. There are a lot of players with ability, especially at these formative ages, whatever 18, 19, 20, 21, 22. A big thing I'd imagine from a coach's perspective and you're in a perfect position to tell us this. 78, slightly more threatening at the net. Does mean there is no setter on court for Japan. They'll hope not to need one. They will not need one because Kento Miyaura finally gets it right. For a player who has such technical consistency, it's really interesting that he hasn't been able to put together a good series of serves so far. France, we want to take a time to disrupt his rhythm. Uye, decent game so far. Five points on attack, three blocks. Miyaura off the back of the ace. Two in a row. Kento Miyaura keeping Japan in business. Great cut on the serve. Brings it across the shoulders of Femeno. Second time out. Here's Potswana. Well received by Yamazaki. To the middle, back over on one. Ogawa's got to play it. Kento Miyaura. This will be a challenge for a center line fault for sure. Well there's no point looking at the second referee, Trevor. You've just got to challenge it. The ball was definitely up. Yeah, well interesting. Great service. Kento Miyaura rips an ace for a five-point lead. This time goes the other side of the scene of six. The 6-5-6-4 now rips the hand through. Kento Miyaura in the line. Time out. 16-12. Potswana, good ball in. Brizard. Potswana off the hands. Ogawa's there. Miyaura. Brizard from what, six meters from the net. Ogawa again. What a touch. Brizard through calm. Collected. Thought he was going to swing on that, but four got their first jump set from Ogawa. Miyaura. Exceptional. Ogawa fantastically produced. Leaves it inside for Miura to choose his shot. Akito Yamazaki. Doesn't go full send. Clever. No. Early break point. This is big. Four touches called there against France. Brizard called into action with the save set. We're so used to seeing. Kento Miyaura. Time for the serve receive to switch on. Great touch by Cleveno. Miyaura. He will join Trevor Cleveno on 20 points. Benavides has landed pretty roughly for these pancake attempts. Oh, that's a big spine stretch for Diaz. Disappointing one for France. They have an opportunity to sue. Goes for the top spinner. Miyaura. Side of the net if you're Japanese. The wrong side if you're French. It was very close. Falling off after the move. It's a big part of the court. There's too much space for four on the line. This has to be good from Cleveno. He's relying on the block. And a one-on-one with Miura. Arena Burgas on their feet. Larry the chief cheerleader. Because Japan have the match points against France. Miyaura. Kento Miyaura is back. Japan are, and just like last year, they've defeated France in the pool stages of the VNL. Three sets to two. A game that had a little bit of everything. We saw the best of both France and Japan.