Former Olympic champion Dmitriy Muserskiy hit the winning points as Suntory Sunbirds Osaka took the inaugural men¡¯s title in the first season of Â鶹´«Ã½ ambitious SV. League on Monday, two days after Osaka Marvelous clinched the women¡¯s title.
The tall Russian made a string of blocks and spikes as the Sunbirds downed Jtekt Stings Aichi 29-27, 25-16, 25-22 to clinch the best-of-three game final series 2-0 in front of almost 10,000 fans in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.
A Muserskiy service ace put the Sunbirds two points from the title and the 2012 Olympic champion sealed the deal with a crunching finish.
¡°I feel amazing. We won the championship. That was our goal before the season,¡± said his Polish teammate Aleksander Sliwka, a silver medalist at the Paris Olympics.
¡°There were a lot of tough moments during the season, but we stayed together and believed in ourselves. So, we are really happy that we accomplished our goal.¡±
The SV. League was launched last year with the aim of becoming the world¡¯s most popular volleyball league by 2030 on the back of the recruitment of big-name players from around the globe.
¡°I¡¯ve heard that Suntory drew over 100,000 spectators this season,¡± said Suntory¡¯s Japanese outside hitter Ran Takahashi, who was named tournament MVP.
¡°That kind of energy is a great sign for both volleyball and the SV. League.¡±
In the women¡¯s competition, Osaka Marvelous overcame NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki 25-22, 25-21, 25-16 on Saturday to wrap up the women¡¯s final series after Game 2 at Tokyo¡¯s Ariake Arena.
¡°I think it¡¯s always an amazing feeling when you win a title and to be the first in history, it makes it only more beautiful,¡± said Belgian opposite spiker Lise Van Hecke.
¡°We¡¯re very happy, I¡¯m very proud. It¡¯s been a long season, but to finish it like this, it¡¯s the best way and I think we showed everyone we deserve to be the champion.¡±
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