Japanese national team member Ran Takahashi (22-Vollei Milano) has been recognized by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
World No. 4 Japan defeated No. 15 Turkiye 3-0 (25-15 25-20 25-19) in straight sets in their Paris 2024 Olympic Games Men’s Volleyball Qualification Group B match on Oct. 4.
Takahashi had 11 kills, the third-highest total for Japan. He scored 10 points in the second set to help the Japanese take control of the match.
The official streaming service of the International Volleyball Federation, Volleyball TV, commented, “Takahashi is skillful and clever with her fakes. It looked like she was going to hit a powerful spike, but then she switched to a jump set.”
Takahashi was a student volleyball superstar in 2020, winning the high school championship (Haruko), MVP, and college championship runner-up and scoring leader. She was the youngest member of Team Japan to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
With these accomplishments, she joined Palavolo Padova in the 2021-22 season and spent two years with the team, which finished 11-5 in Serie A1 and 5-7 in the Italian Volleyball Association Cup. During this time, she also completed her second and third years at Nippon Sports University and played for her national team 메이저사이트.
Italy has been ranked No. 1 in the European Volleyball Federation (CEV) league rankings for six consecutive years. Their 37 CEV Champions League finals appearances (19 wins, 18 runners-up) are only surpassed by the USSR+Russia’s 32 (25 wins, 7 runners-up).
During the live broadcast of Japan-Turkey in the men’s volleyball qualification for the Paris Olympics, ‘Volleyball TV’ said, “Takahashi’s jump set is beautiful. It’s a truly exceptional play.”
Takahashi is a wingspiker (attacker). Her main position is outside hitter (left side), which requires a lot of defense and physical strength, but it’s still significant that she’s been recognized by the International Volleyball Federation for her trickery and jump set perfection while still in her early 20s.
In the 2023-24 season, Takahashi will move to Volley Milano (sponsored by Vero Volley Monza) for her third year in the Italian Serie A1. In addition to his busy fourth year at Nippon Sports University, Takahashi is also juggling a volleyball team schedule.
Japan’s men’s volleyball team finished third at the 2023 Nations League, which Takahashi participated in, marking their best finish in a FIVB-organized tournament since they were runners-up at the 1977 World Cup.