Kurashiki middle blocker Akane Hiraoka admitted that the Ablaze was rattled by the F2 Logistics crowd inside the Philsports Arena during their straight sets win in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference.
Even though the 10,000-seater Pasig arena only had 3,435 spectators during the match, Hiraoka said that the Filipino fans inside the venue still unnerved them during their collision against the Cargo Movers on Tuesday night.
The 23-year-old blocker also revealed that Kurashiki, a Division III squad in Japan, is not used to playing in front of such a big crowd.
“When we have matches in Japan, we don’t have this many audiences. Just a few, so I’m a bit nervous now,” said Akane.
Blocking off the noise, the Ablaze went on to complete its sweep of F2 Logistics with an impressive performance in the third set – moving up to 3-0 in the standings behind the finals-bound Creamline.
“During the last set, the F2 fans were shouting loudly, so my heart was beating fast. But in the end, our courage grew, and we won,” she added.
Hiraoka tallied nine points on six attacks, two service aces, and a block to spearhead Kurashiki’s 25-20, 25-22, 25-20 drubbing of the Cargo Movers, eliminating them from finals contention.
“I may lack height, but I thought about how to avoid the block. In this game, I was able to avoid the blockers nicely.”
