Japanese Men’s & Women’s All-Stars Announced

Before the first match of the women’s Japanese V.League Final, the V.League announced the players for the Men’s and Women’s All-Star Games to be played at the Ota City Gymnasium in Tokyo on March 24th (Women) and 25th (Men).

First the fans voted through the LINE app for their favorite players. For the women, Megumi Kurihara of Hitachi Rivale received the most votes with 16,200. Voting had ended before Kurihara had left the team on February 28th and is technically a free agent. It is expected that she will wear a Hitachi jersey in the All-Star Game.

As for the men, Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza’s Takuya Takamatsu was the leading vote getter with 24,708.

The V-League will break into two teams for the All-Star Game matches. One team is based on the Fan Vote, while the other team is the V-League Selection. The Selection team is chosen by the League from the remaining players after the fan vote. Below is the breakout for the Men’s and Women’s teams.

Men’s Fan Vote Team

• Setters
  • Shohei Uchiyama, Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza
  • Yu Yamamoto, Suntory Sunbirds
• Middle Blockers
  • Ryota Denda, Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza
  • Hirotaka Kon, Panasonic Panthers
  • Taichi Fukuyama, JTEKT Stings
  • Takaaki Tomimatsu, Toray Arrows
• Outside Hitters (including Opposites)
  • Takuya Takamatsu, Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza
  • Hiroaki Asano, JTEKT Stings
  • Kenji Wanaka, FC Tokyo
  • Dai Tezuka, FC Tokyo
  • Shohei Yamamoto, JT Thunders
  • Kenya Fujinaka, Suntory Sunbirds (replacing Tsubasa Hisahara, Panasonic)
• Liberos
  • Taichi Kawaguchi, Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza
  • Wataru Inoue, JT Thunders

Men’s V-League Selection Team

• Setters
  • Naonobu Fujii, Toray Arrows
  • Hideomi Fukatsu, Panasonic Panthers
• Middle Blockers
  • Hideyuki Kuriyama, FC Tokyo
  • Takashi Dekita, Sakai Blazers
  • Haku Lee, Toray Arrows
  • Takaaki Tomimatsu, Toray Arrows
• Outside Hitters (including Opposites)
  • Naoya Taano, Sakai Blazers
  • Tatsuya Fukuzawa, Panasonic Panthers
  • Daisuke Yako, JT Thunders
  • Yuji Nishida, JTEKT Stings
  • Masashi Kuriyama, Suntory Sunbirds
  • Igor Omrcen, Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza
• Liberos
  • Takeshi Nagano, Panasonic Panthers
  • Koichiro Koga, Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza

Women’s Fan Vote Team

• Setters
  • Miya Sato, Hitachi Rivale
  • Kanami Tashiro, Toray Arrows
• Middle Blockers
  • Shiori Aratani, NEC Red Rockets
  • Mai Okumura, JT Marvelous
  • Nana Iwasaka, Hisamitsu Springs
  • Haruyo Shimamura, NEC Red Rockets
• Outside Hitters (including Opposites)
  • Megumi Kurihara, Hitachi Rivale
  • Miyu Nagaoka, Hisamitsu Springs
  • Yuki Ishii, Hisamitsu Springs
  • Sarina Koga, NEC Red Rockets
  • Mizuki Yanagita, NEC Red Rockets
  • Risa Shinnabe, Hisamitsu Springs
• Liberos
  • Arisa Sato, Hitachi Rivale
  • Yumi Nakagawa, Toray Arrows (replacing Kotoe Inoue, JT)

Women’s V-League Selection Team

• Setters
  • Koyomi Tominaga, Ageo Medics
  • Misaki Tanaka, JT Marvelous
• Middle Blockers
  • Erika Araki, Toyota Auto Body Queenseis
  • Aika Akutagawa, JT Marvelous
  • Risa Ishii, Denso Airybees
  • Ayaka Matsumoto, Ageo Medics
• Outside Hitters (including Opposites)
  • Saori Takahashi, Toyota Auto Body Queenseis
  • Neriman Ozsoy, Toyota Auto Body Queenseis
  • Yurie Nabeya, Denso Airybees
  • Kenia Carcaces, Ageo Medics
  • Ai Kurogo, Toray Arrows
  • Yuka Kanasugi, JT Marvelous
• Liberos
  • Mika Yamada, Denso Airybees
  • Mako Kobata, JT Marvelous