Lausanne, Switzerland, May 19, 2018 - Japan host USA Tuesday in Toyota as Week 2 of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Nations League opens, with the Americans looking to extend their winning streak over their Asian opponents to eleven games. USA also lead the overall head-to-head series against Japan 35-21.
Head-to-Head
• United States have won 35 of their 56 previous major world level meetings with Japan, including each of the last 10, their longest winning streak against them.
• Japan had won the first seven matches against USA, from 1960 to 1978.
• The women's world level major competitions are: the VNL, Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, World Grand Prix and Grand Champions Cup.
• Their most recent meeting ended in a 3-2 win for USA at the 2017 Grand Champions Cup.
• Japan's last win against USA was a 3-0 victory at the 2011 World Cup.
Japan
• Japan claimed their first win in the VNL by seeing off Germany (3-1). This win ended a four-match losing streak at world level major tournaments.
• Japan can now win successive matches at a world level major tournament for the first time since winning their last two matches at the 2017 World Grand Prix.
• Japan have won at least two matches at each of their last 24 world level major tournaments they competed in, since recording only one win at the Grand Champions Cup in 2005.
• Sarina Koga is Japan's top scorer in the VNL on 51 points.
• Mai Okumura has scored a team high 14 points from blocks for Japan in the VNL.
United States
• United States have won two of their three matches in the VNL. They won three of their first four matches at their previous world level major tournament, the Grand Champions Cup in 2017.
• USA beat Italy 3-0 in their last match and they could now claim successive straight-set wins for the first time since 3-0 wins versus Italy and China at the 2017 World Grand Prix.
• In USA's last four matches at world level major tournaments, they won the first set in their two wins and they lost the opening set in their two defeats. The last time the outcome of the opening set was not the same as the final result, was in the 3-2 win against Japan at the 2017 Grand Champions Cup. USA lost the first set 22-25 in that match.
• Jordan Larson (36) and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (36) are USA's top scorers in the VNL.