Manila: The Spikers' Turf Press Corps has named Kindai University's Haruka Misugi as Player of the Week for the period of Nov. 21 to 22. The 17-year-old open spiker delivered 16 points in the Japanese squad's 25-15, 25-12, 25-13 victory over ProVolley Academy of Australia at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the next day, Misugi finished with 14 points, 17 receptions, and seven digs as Kindai University pulled off a 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22 upset over Criss Cross at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. Kindai snapped Criss Cross' eight-game winning streak to share the lead with Savouge Aesthetics at 2-0.
"I appreciate being able to play volleyball in front of Filipino fans, and I feel it's a big challenge going up against the Philippine teams," Misugi said through an interpreter. He beat Mark Calado (Savouge), Jude Garcia (Criss Cross), and Jau Umandal (Cignal) to become the first player from a visiting squad to claim the weekly honor given by print and online reporters covering the pioneering men's volleyball league organized by Sports Vision.
Meanwhile, Kindai University takes on winless University of Santo Tomas-Gameville on Monday at 1 p.m. at the same San Juan venue. "From what I see, volleyball is more popular in Asia, especially the men's volleyball in Japan. We want to help spread better volleyball even more," Kindai coach Hideyuki Mitsuyama said.
