Yuki Ishikawa has written a new chapter in volleyball history. In Japan's 3-2 win over Canada (18-25, 24-26, 29-27, 25-19, 15-11), the Japanese captain and outside hitter surpassed 1,000 career attack points in the Volleyball Nations League, finishing the match on 1,004 — a tally no player had ever reached in the competition's history.
The milestone came during the opening set, before French head coach Laurent Tillie replaced him as the match unfolded. Already regarded as the best spiker in VNL history, Ishikawa thus moved to the top of the tournament's all-time attack-points chart, underlining a record built across years of continuous presence in the event.
The night in Osaka had more drama in store. Trailing by two sets, Japan mounted a remarkable comeback, squandering a 22-19 lead in the third set before winning it on their fifth set point (29-27) and then dominating the remaining two sets. Tatsunori Otsuka starred with 18 spike kills, while Kento Miyaura (15), Shoma Tomita (14) and middle blocker Larry Ik Evbade-Dan (12) rounded out the scoring.