October10October 10, 2026

BANGKOK, Thailand — SAGA Hisamitsu Springs defeated ALEEZA AICHI 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 27-25) on Saturday in the opening match of the 2026-27 Daido Life SV.LEAGUE Thailand Games presented by Hisamitsu, marking the first official regular-season match played outside Japan in the league’s history.

The match at Indoor Stadium Huamark marked a milestone for Japanese professional volleyball as SV.LEAGUE brought its competition to Thailand for the first time, with the result counting toward the teams’ regular-season standings.

ALEEZA AICHI claimed the opening set 25-23, but SAGA Hisamitsu Springs responded with a 25-21 victory in the second to level the match.

The third set proved closely contested, with SAGA Hisamitsu Springs prevailing 26-24 to take a 2-1 advantage. The team then completed the victory with another narrow 27-25 win in the fourth set.

SAGA Hisamitsu Springs head coach Kumi Nakata welcomed the opportunity to compete in Thailand and credited her team’s ability to adjust throughout the match.

“First of all, I’m grateful that we were able to hold the first-ever SV League match overseas. I’m also very happy that we were able to secure a win in this valuable match,” Nakata said.

“We couldn’t get into our rhythm in the tense atmosphere of the opening match, and I will work on improving that for tomorrow’s game. On the other hand, I feel that the reason for today’s victory was that we were able to gradually adapt to our opponent and bring the game to our own pace by making adjustments during the match.”

Nakata also anticipated another challenging encounter in Sunday’s second match.

“I expect tomorrow’s match to be even tougher than today’s. We will give it our all, prepare thoroughly, and aim to get another win before returning to Saga,” she added.

ALEEZA AICHI head coach Shingo Sakai acknowledged the team’s difficulty in closing out tightly contested sets despite a competitive performance.

“I am delighted that we were able to kick off this season in Thailand, Nootsara’s home country,” Sakai said.

“Every set was contested until the very end, but I felt that our inability to secure those crucial points is a major challenge we need to address today.”

Sakai said the team would use the opening defeat as motivation ahead of the second match.

“The season has just begun, and we will continue to play matches, and I hope that we can become a team that can consistently win these close games,” he said.

“We will use today’s disappointment to motivate ourselves for tomorrow’s match, and the whole team will prepare together.”

Sakai also thanked Thai supporters for their warm reception at the venue.

The historic event also highlighted the presence of two prominent Thai national team players in Japan’s SV.LEAGUE. Hattaya Bamrungsuk, middle blocker for SAGA Hisamitsu Springs, and Nootsara Tomkom, setter for ALEEZA AICHI, are part of the opposing teams, adding significance to the league’s first official matches in Thailand.

Thailand was selected as SV.LEAGUE’s first overseas market as part of the league’s international expansion strategy, aimed at strengthening its presence in Southeast Asia and building closer connections with volleyball fans across the region.

Game 2 between SAGA Hisamitsu Springs and ALEEZA AICHI will take place Sunday, Oct. 11, at 4:05 p.m. local time, at Indoor Stadium Huamark.

The league’s international expansion will continue with men’s SV.LEAGUE matches scheduled in Bangkok on Jan. 23-24, 2027.

The Thailand Games are broadcast locally through Monomax and Monomax Sport TV.