NINGBO, China - Japan fell short of the Volleyball Nations League men's podium, losing 3-1 to Slovenia in the tournament's bronze medal playoff Sunday in Ningbo, China.
Bidding for its first Nations League medal since taking silver in 2024, Japan lost 25-21, 26-28, 25-22, 25-22 to Slovenia in front of 5,389 at the Ningbo Beilun Sports and Arts Center.
French head coach Laurent Tillie's Japan squad advanced to the finals in China with a perfect 12-0 record from preliminary play and continued unbeaten with a 3-1 quarterfinal win over the host nation.
But following a 3-2 semifinal loss to the United States on Saturday night, Japan was unable to overcome a powerful Slovenian outfit bouncing back from its semifinal defeat against Poland.
After dropping the first set, Japan rallied to take the second, with outside hitter Ran Takahashi making an impact.
The European side, spearheaded by towering 21-year-old opposite Nik Mujanovic, closed out the contest by winning back-to-back sets.
"It's really frustrating that we couldn't get those last two wins after making the semifinals," Japan opposite Yuji Nishida said.
"We were a little off at times, and there were makeable plays we didn't execute. In the finals we weren't able to do the little things that we usually do well."
