# 2021–22 V.League Division 1 Women

The Volleyball 2021–22 V.League Division 1 Women's is the 28th volleyball tournament year and includes the 4th top level women's volleyball tournament of the newly branded and reorganized V.League (Japan) scheduled for October 15, 2021 to April 17, 2022.
The V.League Division 1 Women's teams compete in four tournaments each year:
* V.Summer League starts the season June 25 to July 4, 2021, and includes teams from V.League Division 2 Women's and two University selection teams. This is its 40th tournament year. Its main purpose is the strengthening and training of new and younger players.
* The main V.League Division 1 Women's tournament starts October 15, 2021, and ends April 7, 2022 with a winter break December 6, 2021 to January 7, 2022.
* The Empress' Cup Final Round is scheduled for December 10–19, 2021 during the winter break of the main V.League Division 1 Women's tournament. The Final Round is the culmination of a month's long qualification process where high school, university, business, and club teams participate in Prefectural and Block Round competitions for a chance to play in the Final Round. Sixteen teams will join the V.League Division 1 Women's teams in the Final Round. See also Japanese Wikipedia article: Reiwa 3rd Emperor's Cup / Empress's Cup All Japan Volleyball Championship (in Japanese) ja:令和3年度天皇杯・皇后杯全日本バレーボール選手権大会
* The Kurowashiki All Japan Volleyball Tournament opens in May every year in Osaka and serves as the final competition of the season.

## Clubs
### Personnel

2021–22 V.League Division 1 Women's Personnel :
| Club | Head Coach | Captain | City, Prefecture | Main Sponsor |
| Denso Airybees | Gen Kawakita | Fumika Moriya | Nishio, Aichi | Denso |
| Himeji Victorina | Kodai Nakaya | Riho Sadakane | Himeji, Hyōgo | Himeji Victorina Co., Ltd. |
| Hisamitsu Springs | Shingo Sakai | Mana Toe | Tosu, Saga | Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical |
| Hitachi Rivale | Asako Tajimi | Kanako Saito | Hitachinaka, Ibaraki | Hitachi Automotive Systems |
| JT Marvelous | Tomoko Yoshihara | Mako Kobata | Osaka, Hyogo | Japan Tobacco Ltd. |
| Kurobe AquaFairies | Takaya Maruyama | Sayo Masuda | Kurobe, Toyama | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| NEC Red Rockets | Takayuki Kaneko | Misaki Yamauchi | Kawasaki, Kanagawa | NEC |
| Okayama Seagulls | Akiyoshi Kawamoto | Aimi Kawashima | Okayama | Okayama Seagulls Co., Ltd. |
| PFU BlueCats | Masayasu Sakamoto | Ayaka Horiguchi | Kanazawa, Ishikawa | PFU Limited |
| Saitama Ageo Medics | Antônio Marcos Lerbach | Akane Yamagishi | Ageo, Saitama | Ageo Medical Group |
| Toray Arrows | Akira Koshiya | Misaki Shirai | Ōtsu, Shiga | Toray Industries |
| Toyota Auto Body Queenseis | Haruya Indo | Mioko Yabuta | Kariya, Aichi | Toyota Auto Body |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to one per club worldwide plus one per club from ASEAN nations.
V.League Division 1 Women's foreign players 2021-22 :
| Team | Worldwide | ASEAN |
| Denso Airybees | Roslandy Acosta (CSV) | Jarasporn Bundasak (AVC) |
| Himeji Victorina | Celeste Plak (CEV) | — |
| Hisamitsu Springs | Foluke Akinradewo (NORCECA) | — |
| Hitachi Rivale | Hannah Tapp (NORCECA) | — |
| JT Marvelous | Andrea Drews (NORCECA) | Thatdao Nuekjang (AVC) |
| Kurobe AquaFairies | Merete Lutz (NORCECA) | Pimpichaya Kokram (AVC) |
| NEC Red Rockets | Sarah Wilhite Parsons (NORCECA) | — |
| Okayama Seagulls | Xintian Fu | — |
| PFU BlueCats | Melissa Valdes | Trần Thị Thanh Thúy (AVC) |
| Saitama Ageo Medics | Lorenne Teixeira (CSV) | Alyja Daphne Santiago (AVC) |
| Toray Arrows | Jana Kulan (CEV) | — |
| Toyota Auto Body Queenseis | Kelsey Robinson (NORCECA) | Hattaya Bamrungsuk (AVC) |

### Transfer players

2021–22 V.League Division 1 Women's inbound transfers :
| Player | Coming from | Coming to |
| Nanami Asano | Kinrankai High School (ja) | Denso Airybees |
| Yoshino Sato | Yonezawa Central High School (ja) | Denso Airybees |
| Airi Takahashi | Kurashiki Ablaze | Denso Airybees |
| Roslandy Acosta | PFU BlueCats | Denso Airybees |
| Jarasporn Bundasak | Diamond Food | Denso Airybees |
| Kaya Watanabe | Nihon University | Himeji Victorina |
| Rimi Kaneda | Tokai Mermaids | Himeji Victorina |
| Celeste Plak | Aydın Büyükşehir Belediyespor | Himeji Victorina |
| Manami Mandai | University of Tsukuba | Hisamitsu Springs |
| Riho Ōtake | Denso Airybees | Hisamitsu Springs |
| Aya Watanabe | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis | Hitachi Rivale |
| Rino Murooka | Higashi Kyushu Ryukoku High School (ja) | Hitachi Rivale |
| Marina Takahashi | University of Tsukuba | JT Marvelous |
| Mana Nishizaki | Kinrankai High School (ja) | JT Marvelous |
| Manami Koyama | Kyoei Gakuen High School (ja) | JT Marvelous |
| Anna Kikuchi | Tokai Mermaids | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| Ami Yamashiro | University of Tsukuba | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| Miku Shimada | Juntendo University | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| Merete Lutz | GS Caltex Seoul KIXX | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| Pimpichaya Kokram | 3BB Nakornnont | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| Yuka Kanasugi | Himeji Victorina | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| Chiyo Suzuki | Beach volleyball | Kurobe AquaFairies |
| Riko Fujii | Shoin University | NEC Red Rockets |
| Hina Kawakami | University of Tsukuba | NEC Red Rockets |
| Sarah Wilhite Parsons | Nilüfer Belediyespor | NEC Red Rockets |
| Kotoe Inoue | Denso Airybees | NEC Red Rockets |
| Xintian Fu | Kyoei Gakuen High School (ja) | Okayama Seagulls |
| Maika Matsumoto | Shimada Commercial High School (ja) | Okayama Seagulls |
| Yuzu Nakamoto | Osaka International Takii High School (ja) | Okayama Seagulls |
| Megumi Sato | Hiroshima Oilers | Okayama Seagulls |
| Mari Morita | Miyakonojo Commercial High School (ja) | PFU BlueCats |
| Melissa Valdes | Furukawa Gakuen High School (ja) | PFU BlueCats |
| Kanoha Kagamihara | University of Tsukuba | PFU BlueCats |
| Airi Tahara | Denso Airybees | PFU BlueCats |
| Mikoto Shima | Juntendo University | PFU BlueCats |
| Sanae Watanabe | Okayama Seagulls | PFU BlueCats |
| Yurie Nabeya | Denso Airybees | PFU BlueCats |
| Trần Thị Thanh Thúy | VTV Bình Điền Long An | PFU BlueCats |
| Saki Kamata | NSSU | Saitama Ageo Medics |
| Aki Meguro | Aoyama Gakuin University | Saitama Ageo Medics |
| Hibiki Suzuki | Gunma Bank Green Wings (ja) | Saitama Ageo Medics |
| Akiho Kurisu | Osaka Superiors (ja) | Saitama Ageo Medics |
| Alyja Daphne Santiago | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | Saitama Ageo Medics |
| Lorenne Teixeira | Sesc/Flamengo | Saitama Ageo Medics |
| Yoshino Nishikawa | Kinrankai High School (ja) | Toray Arrows |
| Madoka Kashimura | Mito Girls High School (ja) | Toray Arrows |
| Yukiho Hara | Kansai University | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Haruka Kaji | Sundai Gakuen High School (ja) | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Aimi Okawa | Hachiojijissen (ja) | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Sakura Kurosu | Hachiojijissen (ja) | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Hina Koide | Shimokitazawa Seitoku (ja) | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Ayana Funane | Shimokitazawa Seitoku (ja) | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Natsuki Suda | Shujitsu High School (ja) | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Kelsey Robinson | Fenerbahçe Opet | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| Hattaya Bamrungsuk | Diamond Food VC | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |

## Venues

Regular Round 2021–2022 :
Adastria Arena, Mito
Ageo City Gymnasium (ja)
Baycom Gymnasium, Amagasaki (ja)
Brex Arena, Utsunomiya
CNA Arena, Akita
Fukuoka Citizens Gymnasium
Deai Dome, Gifu
Green Arena, Kobe
Higashiyama Gymnasium, Ichinoseki
Hiroshima Green Arena
Hitachinaka Sports Facility (ja)
Ikenokawa Sakura Arena, Hitachi
Kanazawa City Gymnasium
Kasaoka Gymnasium, Okayama (ja)
Kawagoe Sports Park, Saitama
Kitagas Arena, Sapporo (ja)
Komatsu City Gymnasium, Ishikawa
Konohana Arena, Shizuoka
Horaiya Koriyama Gymnasium
Kose Sports Park Gymnasium, Kofu (ja)
Kurobe General Sports Center (ja)
Kurume Arena, Fukuoka
Maruzen Intec Arena, Osaka
Muko Citizens Gymnasium, Kyoto
Nishio City Gymnasium (ja)
Okazaki Park Gymnasium, Aichi
Ota Ward Gymnasium, Tokyo
Saga Sunrise Park Gymnasium
Saiden Chemical Arena, Saitama (ja)
Saitama Prefectural Budokan, Ageo (ja)
Sanyo Fureai Park Gymnasium, Akaiwa
Shimadzu Arena, Kyoto (ja)
Shiwa Town Gymnasium, Iwate
Sky Hall Toyota
Sumiyoshi Sports Center, Osaka
Sun Arena Sendai (ja)
Sun Arena Wajima, Ishikawa
Todoroki Arena, Kawasaki
Toyama City Gymnasium
Toyama Seibu Sports Center, Tonami
Trim Park Kanazu, Awara (ja)
Ukaruchan Arena, Otsu
Wing Arena Kariya
Wink Gymnasium, Himeji
YMIT Arena, Kusatsu (ja
Yokkaichi City Gymnasium
Zip Arena, Okayama :
Final Stage 2021–2022 :
Konohana Arena, Shizuoka :
MitoAgeoAmagasakiUtsunomiyaAkitaFukuokaGifuKobeIchinosekiHiroshimaHitachinakaHitachiKanazawaKasaokaKawagoeSapporoKomatsuShizuokaKōriyamaKōfuKurobeKurumeOsakaMukōNishioOkazakiŌtaSagaSaitamaAkaiwaKyotoShiwaToyotaSatsumasendaiWajimaKawasakiToyamaTonamiAwaraŌtsuKariyaHimejiKusatsuYokkaichiOkayama :

## Schedule

Regular Round begins October 15, 2021 (Saturday) and ends March 27, 2022 (Sunday). Matches are played every Saturday and Sunday along with a couple Friday Night matches.
* Each team will play every other team three times for a total of thirty-three matches
* It is not a strict round robin
* A theme this season is for each team to host at least one opponent two nights in a row at their home arena
* Teams are ranked in the Regular Round by:
** Wins ->Points ->Set Percentage ->Scoring Rate
* The top three teams from the Regular Round will advance to the Final Stage
* Ranking of 4th to 12th place will be the ranking of the Regular Round and will be the final ranking. The 11th and 12th placed teams will compete in the V.Challenge Match.
Final Stage begins April 9, 2022 and ends April 17, 2022.
* Final 3:
** The 2nd and 3rd ranked teams from the Regular Round will play a one match playoff
** The 2nd ranked team is given a one win advantage
** There are no tie breakers
** If the number of wins is equal a 25 point Golden Set will be played to determine the winner
* Final
** The winner of the Final 3 tournament will play the 1st ranked team from the Regular Round in a two match Final
** No advantage points are given
** No tie breakers
** If the number of wins is equal a 25 point Golden Set will be played to determine the winner
V.Challenge Match (V1-V2 Promotion-Relegation Matches): TBD

## Season standing procedure

The team with the most wins will be ranked highest
Points awarded for a match as follows:
* 3 points: "3-0" or "3-1" victory
* 2 points: "3-2" victory
* 1 point: "2-3" loss
* 0 points: Lost in "0-3" or "1-3"
If a team abstains for some reason, it will be considered to have lost the game 0-25, 0-25, 0-25
Tie Breakers are as follows:
* If two or more teams have the same number of wins, the team with the most points will be ranked higher
* If the number of points is also the same, the team with the highest set rate will be ranked higher
* If the set rate is also the same, the team with the highest points rate will be ranked higher

## Regular round
### Final standing

* Qualified for the Final
* Qualified for the Final 3 playoff
* Will play the V.Challenge Match
2021–22 V.League Division 1 Women's Regular Round Final Standing :
| Rank | Team | Wins | Losses | Points | Sets Won | Sets Lost | Set Rate | Pts Won | Pts Lost | Pts Rate |
| 1 | JT Marvelous | 27 | 6 | 80 | 86 | 30 | 2.87 | 2774 | 2320 | 1.20 |
| 2 | Toray Arrows | 26 | 7 | 79 | 87 | 34 | 2.56 | 2814 | 2485 | 1.13 |
| 3 | Hisamitsu Springs | 23 | 10 | 72 | 82 | 44 | 1.86 | 2955 | 2711 | 1.09 |
| 4 | NEC Red Rockets | 23 | 10 | 70 | 78 | 43 | 1.81 | 2815 | 2508 | 1.12 |
| 5 | Saitama Ageo Medics | 20 | 13 | 60 | 72 | 55 | 1.31 | 2936 | 2748 | 1.07 |
| 6 | Denso Airybees | 20 | 13 | 56 | 67 | 57 | 1.18 | 2798 | 2744 | 1.02 |
| 7 | Hitachi Rivale | 14 | 19 | 41 | 54 | 73 | 0.74 | 2612 | 2917 | 0.90 |
| 8 | PFU BlueCats | 12 | 21 | 38 | 50 | 72 | 0.69 | 2583 | 2757 | 0.94 |
| 9 | Okayama Seagulls | 12 | 21 | 36 | 49 | 71 | 0.69 | 2650 | 2759 | 0.96 |
| 10 | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis | 10 | 23 | 29 | 43 | 78 | 0.55 | 2601 | 2826 | 0.92 |
| 11 | Himeji Victorina | 8 | 25 | 25 | 49 | 86 | 0.57 | 2854 | 3102 | 0.92 |
| 12 | Kurobe AquaFairies | 3 | 30 | 8 | 20 | 94 | 0.21 | 2220 | 2735 | 0.81 |

### Individual awards

2021–22 V.League Division 1 Women's Regular Round Individual Awards :
| Award | Player | Team | Achievement | # of Times |
| Top Scorer | Jana Kulan | Toray Arrows | Total Points = 789 | 3rd |
| Spike Award | Foluke Akinradewo | Hisamitsu Springs | Kill Rate = 56.5% | 4th |
| Block Award | Jaja Santiago | Saitama Ageo Medics | Blocks/set = 0.81 | 1st |
| Serve Award | Mioko Yabuta | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis | Serve Effect Rate = 13.4% | 1st |
| Receive Award | Mako Kobata | JT Marvelous | Reception Rate = 69.5% | 2nd |

### Match results

Round 1 October 15–17, 2021
Round 2 October 23–24, 2021
Round 3 October 30–31, 2021
Round 4 November 6–7, 2021
Round 5 November 12–14, 2021
Round 6 November 20–21, 2021
Round 7 November 27–28, 2021
Round 8 December 4–5, 2021
Winter break December 6, 2021 to January 9, 2022 Empress' Cup Final Round held December 10–19, 2021 (Hisamitsu Springs wins)
Round 9 January 8–9, 2021
Round 10 January 15–16, 2022
Round 11 January 22–23, 2022
Round 12 January 29–30, 2022
Round 13 February 5–6, 2022

## Final stage

| Final 3 | Final 3 | Final 3 | Final 3 | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | 1 | JT Marvelous | 1 |
| 2 | Toray Arrows | 1 | 0 | 3 | Hisamitsu Springs | 3 |
| 3 | Hisamitsu Springs | 3 | 1 | | | |
* Final 3 gives an advantage of 1 win to the 2nd place ranked team in the Regular Round.

### Match results

Final 3
FINAL
The 2nd round of the FINAL, scheduled for April 16, 2022, was canceled due to several players from both teams having tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Hisamitsu Springs, who won the first round of the final on April 10, 2022 with a set count of 3-1 will be ranked the highest, the victory will be confirmed, and they are given the Title of Season 2021-22 Champions. JT Marvelous are runners up.

## Final ranking

| Rank | Club |
| | Hisamitsu Springs |
| | JT Marvelous |
| | Toray Arrows |
| 4 | NEC Red Rockets |
| 5 | Saitama Ageo Medics |
| 6 | Denso Airybees |
| 7 | Hitachi Rivale |
| 8 | PFU Bluecats |
| 9 | Okayama Seagulls |
| 10 | Toyota Auto Body Queenseis |
| 11 | Victorina Himeji |
| 12 | KUROBE Aqua Fairies |
| Qualified for the 2022 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship | Hisamitsu Springs |
* 2021–22 V.League Division 1 Women's Champions
| Team roster | Setter: Misaki Inoue, Manami Mandai, Erika Sakae Libero: Yuka Ikeya, Mana Toe MB: Ayaka Araki, Shion Hirayama, Asuka Hamamatsu, Foluke Akinradewo, Riho Ōtake OP: Miyu Nakagawa, Miyu Nagaoka, Akari Shirasawa OH: Arisa Inoue, Yuki Ishii, Hikari Kato, Rika Nomoto, Yuka Imamura, Megumi Fukazawa, Saki Nakajima, Mika Yoshitake |
| Head Coach: Shingo Sakai | |

## Awards
### Regular round

* Best scorer
** Jana Kulan
* Best spiker
** Foluke Akinradewo
* Best blocker
** Alyja Daphne Santiago
* Best server
** Mioko Yabuta [ja:藪田美穂子]
* Best receiver
** Mako Kobata
* Fair play award
** Alyja Daphne Santiago
** Mami Yokota
* V.League Special Award
** Aimi Kawashima (Okayama Seagulls)
** Erika Sakae (Hisamitsu Springs)
** Aya Watanabe (Hitachi Rivale)
** Kotoe Inoue (NEC Red Rockets)
** Fumika Moriya (Denso Airybees)
* Outstanding personal records
** Foluke Akinradewo (Hisamitsu Springs)
* ↑ For playing more than 10 seasons and more than 230 games

### Final stage

* Most valuable player
** Arisa Inoue (Hisamitsu Springs)
* Best Six
** Andrea Drews (JT Marvelous)
** Jana Kulan (Toray Arrows)
** Arisa Inoue (Hisamitsu Springs)
** Erika Sakae (Hisamitsu Springs)
** Erina Ogawa (Toray Arrows)
** Foluke Akinradewo (Hisamitsu Springs)
* Director Award
** Shingo Sakai (Hisamitsu Springs)
* Best libero
** Mako Kobata (JT Marvelous)
* Receive Award
** Mana Toe (Hisamitsu Springs)
* Fighting Spirit Award
** Andrea Drews (JT Marvelous)
* Best Newcomer Award
** Melissa Valdes (PFU BlueCats)
* Matsudaira Yasutaka Award
** Shingo Sakai (Hisamitsu Springs)

## V.Challenge tournament

V.Challenge Match Women's tournament held April 9–10, 2022
* V1 11th vs. V2 2nd (two matches)
* V1 12th vs. V2 1st (two matches)
If a V2 team does not have an S1 license, they will not play the tournament, and their V1 opponent remains in V1 unchallenged.
Teams with the most wins will qualify for next season's V1 League. In the case of 1 win and 1 loss, the following will be used as tiebreakers:
* Points
* Set rate
* Score rate
Points are awarded as follows:
| Conditions | Points awarded |
| Win by set count "3-0" or "3-1" | 3 points |
| Win by set count "3-2" | 2 points |
| Lose by set count "2-3" | 1 point |
| Lose by set count "1-3" or "0-3" | 0 points |

### V1 Women's 11th - V2 Women's 2nd

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
| 1 | Himeji Victorina | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2.000 | 202 | 183 | 1.104 | 2021-22 V1 League |
| 2 | Gunma Bank Green Wings [ja] | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0.500 | 183 | 202 | 0.906 | |
Match Results

### V1 Women's 12th - V2 Women's 1st

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
| 1 | Kurobe AquaFairies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1.250 | 198 | 187 | 1.059 | 2021-22 V1 League |
| 2 | Brilliant Aries [ja] | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0.800 | 187 | 198 | 0.944 | |
Match Results