Lausanne, Switzerland, May 29, 2018 - It's been a quarter century since Japan last beat USA (at the 1993 FIVB Grand Champions Cup), but they're giving it another try Friday in Goiania when the two sides clash for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Nations League with the Americans having won every single one of their last 18 encounters.
Head-to-Head
• Japan have only lost more matches in world level major encounters against Russia (58, including the Soviet Union and CIS) than versus the United States (32).
• World level major competitions are: the VNL, Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World League and Grand Champions Cup.
• Japan have lost each of their last 18 world level major competition encounters with the United States.
• Japan's last victory in a world level major competition against the United States came in 1993, when they won 3-1 in the Grand Champions Cup.
• Japan lost six of their last eight world level major encounters against USA in straight sets. The only exceptions are 3-1 defeats in the 2013 Grand Champions Cup and the 2015 World Cup.
• Coming into matchround 4, USA (288) and Japan (284) are the two teams to have won most points this VNL.
Japan
• Japan have won twice by 3-1, against Australia and Iran, and lost 3-1 against France this VNL.
• Japan have lost eight of their last nine matches in world level major competitions in Brazil, with the only exception a 3-2 victory against Canada at the 1990 World Championship. All eight defeats came in straight sets.
• Masahiro Yanagida's seven aces in the first three matches are joint most in the competition at this stage, together with Italy's Ivan Zaytsev.
• Yuji Nishida is Japan's top scorer on 51 points after three matches. Coming into matchround 4, he is in joint-fourth place on the top scorers list with Bulgaria's Nikolay Uchikov.
United States
• The United States can win the opening four matches of a world level major competition for the first time since the 2015 World Cup, when they won the first eight matches en route to the trophy.
• In each of USA's last six world level major competition matches, the team to win the first set, went on to win the match.
• USA have only made one excellent reception (by Kawika Shoji). In contrast, current opponent Japan made 57 excellent receptions.
• Only Italy's Ivan Zaytsev (69) and China's Jiang Chuan (56) have scored more points this VNL than Taylor Sander (54), coming into matchround 4.