The Japanese Volleyball League may not be the most competitive league in the planet. However, an 11 ace performance is rare at any level of play, and a fact worthy of recognition in itself. In comes Matey Kaziyski, currently playing for JTEKT Stings, who achieved the feat in only 3 sets of play against Tsukuba University, in a Emperor’s Cup Round of 16 match:
We at VolleyMob are aware of only two instances where this was reproduced in a top tier first division league: Mitja Gasparini‘s 11 aces performance in Italy’s Serie A1 in 2011, when playing for BluVolley Verona against Padova (Roberto Cazzaniga achieved the feat twice in Italy’s Serie A2) and COP Trencin’s Michal Petras’s 11 aces against VK Slavia Svidnik, in the Slovakian league (video below). For reference, Ekaterina Kosianenko broke the Olympic record for most aces in match in Rio’s 2016 games, with 8.
Matey Kaziyski has always been a serving phenomenon. He holds the record for fastest service ever, at 82 mpg (132 kmh – video below), which was recently challenged by Yoandy Leal in the FIVB Club WCH. Here are the tournaments in which he was crowned best server:
- 2004 FIVB World League – Best Server
- 2006 FIVB World Championship – Best Server
- 2007 CEV Champions League – Best Server
- 2011 FIVB Club World Championship – Best Server
Before taking his talents to Japan, the 33-year-old 6’8″ outside hitter achieved international fame as a member of Trentino’s Dream Team, which won three straight CEV Champions League (2009-11) and four straight FIVB Club World Championship (2009 – 12) titles. He also led Bulgaria to bronze medals in the World Championship (2006), World Cup (2007), and European Championship (2009). He seems to be doing very well in Japan, pouring one high scoring performance after another.
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