Coaches Slobodan Kovac, Ho-Chul Kim, Yuichi Nakagaichi and Joshko Milenkoski
Takasaki, Japan, June 8, 2017 - Turkey and Slovenia will look to improve on their winning runs in FIVB Volleyball World League Group 2 when they hit the court in Japan on Friday along with the hosts and Korea in Pool E2 in the second round of matches this year.
Korea went 2-1 in their first three matches, while hosts Japan are on one win against two losses.
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Latest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia GuidesThe team coaches expressed their optimism at a press conference held on Thursday ahead of the matches at the new Takasaki Arena.
"We had a very good start in Ankara," said Turkish coach Joshko Milenkoski. "We beat China, Egypt and the Netherlands. I expect that we will have a good performance here as well."
Slovenia coach Slobodan Kovac said his team is prepared for battle following wins over Finland, Korea and the Czech Republic in Seoul last week.
"The situation with my team is OK," Kovac said. "We arrived here two days ago and have adapted well. This is a strong tournament with good teams. We will do our best."
Korea coach Ho-Chul Kim explained that he will be fielding his first-line players here, following wins over Finland and the Czech Republic in the first round.
"We are happy to be here and playing with good teams," Kim said. "We would all like to do our best. We have brought our five main players this time."
Japan coach Yuichi Nakagaichi feels this round will help his youthful squad gain valuable experience after losses to Slovakia and Portugal last week..
"We started preparing for the World League on May 11 and have been building up the team," said Nakagaichi. "We have young team members who will improve their level in this tournament. We do have some injuries, but want to go in the right direction."
Kovac admitted that playing Asian nations can be a challenge.
"It is difficult to play Asian teams because they always enjoy to play on the court and have such positive energy," he said. "They also make it tough with a lot of substitutions."
Kim said he is hoping to bring his squad up to the save level as Korea's successful women's team.
"We have a strong women's team and want to strengthen our men's team so that we can play in the 2020 Olympics here," he commented.
Play will get underway on Friday afternoon when Slovenia takes on Korea. Japan and Turkey will face off in the evening match.