Osaka Blazers Sakai
 | |||
| Short name | Nippon Steel Sakai BZ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 | ||
| Ground | Sakai City, Osaka, Japan. | ||
| Manager Head Coach |  Mikiyasu Tanaka Shinya Chiba | ||
| Captain | Takashi Dekita | ||
| League | V.League Division 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | 5th place | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
Osaka Blazers Sakai is a men's professional volleyball team based in Sakai city, Osaka, Japan. It plays in the V.Premier League.
The club was founded in 1939 as part of the Kitakyushu, Fukuoka-based Yawata Steel athletic club which also included football club Yawata Steel F.C.[1] In 1969 the volleyball section split and moved to Sakai.
On October 2, 2023, the club changed its name into Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers.[2]
Honours[edit]
- Champions (17): 1967-1968 1973-1974 1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1977 1978-1979 1979-1980 1980-1981 1982-1983 1988-1989 1989-1990 1990-1991 1996-1997 1997-1998 2005-2006, 2010–11, 2012–13
- Runners-up (4): 1994-95,1995–96, 2008–09 and 2009–10
- Champions (14): 1952 1953 1957 1960 1967 1974 1975 1976 1977 1980 1984 1988 1989 1990
- Runner-up (2): 2007, 2021
Current roster[edit]
The following is team roster of Season 2023–2024.[3]
| No. | Player Name | Date of birth | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoshihiko Matsumoto |
January 7, 1981 | Middle blocker |
| 2 | Yuki Higuchi |
April 27, 1996 | Outside hitter |
| 3 | Kosuke Yasui |
December 8, 2000 | Outside hitter |
| 4 | Naoya Takano |
April 30, 1993 | Outside hitter |
| 5 | Tomohiro Horie |
June 23, 1997 | Libero |
| 6 | Aiki Mori |
April 19, 1998 | Libero |
| 7 | Takashi Dekita |
August 13, 1991 | Middle blocker |
| 8 | Naoto Akima |
September 19, 2000 | Middle blocker |
| 9 | Hiroshi Sakoda |
May 1, 1996 | Outside hitter |
| 10 | Cole Hogland |
April 6, 2000 | Middle blocker |
| 11 | Shigetome Hyuga |
October 25, 1999 | Outside hitter |
| 13 |  Sharone Vernon-Evans |
August 28, 1998 | Opposite hitter |
| 14 | Shohei Yamaguchi (c) |
July 21, 1994 | Setter |
| 18 | Rintaro Umemoto |
April 9, 1998 | Middle blocker |
| 21 | Yutaro Takemoto |
February 21, 1995 | Middle blocker |
| 22 | Akahoshi Shinjo |
January 19, 2000 | Setter |
| 23 | Yukiya Uno |
June 28, 1996 | Outside hitter |
| Head coach: Shinya Chiba
| |||
Former roster[edit]
| Team roster – season 2022/2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player Name | Date of birth | Position | |||
| 1 | Yoshihiko Matsumoto |
January 7, 1981 | Middle blocker | |||
| 2 | Yuki Higuchi |
April 27, 1996 | Outside hitter | |||
| 3 | Kosuke Yasui In |
December 8, 2000 | Outside hitter | |||
| 4 | Naoya Takano |
April 30, 1993 | Outside hitter | |||
| 5 | Tomohiro Horie |
June 23, 1997 | Libero | |||
| 7 | Takashi Dekita (c) |
August 13, 1991 | Middle blocker | |||
| 8 | Naoto Akima In |
September 19, 2000 | Middle blocker | |||
| 9 | Hiroshi Sakoda |
May 1, 1996 | Outside hitter | |||
| 11 | Shigetome Hyuga |
October 25, 1999 | Outside hitter | |||
| 13 | Sharone Vernon-Evans |
August 28, 1998 | Opposite hitter | |||
| 14 | Shohei Yamaguchi |
July 21, 1994 | Setter | |||
| 17 | Akihiro Fukatsu |
July 23, 1987 | Setter | |||
| 18 | Rintaro Umemoto |
April 9, 1998 | Middle blocker | |||
| 20 | Tomohiro Yamamoto |
November 5, 1994 | Libero | |||
| 21 | Yutaro Takemoto |
February 21, 1995 | Middle blocker | |||
| 22 | Akahoshi Shinjo |
January 19, 2000 | Setter | |||
| 23 | Yukiya Uno |
June 28, 1996 | Outside hitter | |||
| Head coach: Shinya Chiba
| ||||||
League results[edit]
Champion Runner-up
| League | Position | Teams | Matches | Win | Lose | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V.League | ||||||
| 1st (1994–95) | Runner-up | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 | |
| 2nd (1995–96) | Runner-up | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 | |
| 3rd (1996–97) | Champion | 8 | 21 | 14 | 7 | |
| 4th (1997–98) | Champion | 8 | 21 | 17 | 4 | |
| 5th (1998–99) | 6th | 10 | 18 | 10 | 8 | |
| 6th (1999-00) | 4th | 10 | 18 | 15 | 3 | |
| 7th (2000–01) | 5th | 10 | 18 | 10 | 8 | |
| 8th (2001–02) | 3rd | 10 | 18 | 12 | 6 | |
| 9th (2002–03) | 6th | 8 | 21 | 8 | 13 | |
| 10th (2003–04) | 4th | 8 | 21 | 12 | 9 | |
| 11th (2004–05) | 6th | 8 | 28 | 11 | 17 | |
| 12th (2005–06) | Champion | 8 | 28 | 17 | 11 | |
| V・Premier | 2006-07 | 6th | 8 | 28 | 9 | 19 |
| 2007-08 | 4th | 8 | 28 | 15 | 13 | |
| 2008-09 | Runner-up | 8 | 28 | 15 | 13 | |
| 2009-10 | Runner-up | 8 | 28 | 18 | 10 | |
| 2010-11 | Champion | 8 | 24 | 19 | 5 | |
| 2011-12 | 4th | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 | |
| 2012-13 | Champion | 8 | 28 | 17 | 11 | |
| 2013-14 | 3rd | 8 | 28 | 19 | 9 | |
| 2014-15 | 4th | 8 | 21 | 8 | 13 | |
| 2015-16 | 6th | 8 | 21 | 10 | 11 | |
| 2016-17 | 6th | 8 | 21 | 8 | 13 | |
| 2017–18 | 7th | 8 | 21 | 7 | 14 | |
| V.League Division 1 | 2018–19 | 6th | 10 | 32 | 16 | 16 |
| 2019–20 | 5th | 10 | 28 | 15 | 13 | |
| 2020–21 | 7th | 10 | 36 | 17 | 19 | |
| 2021–22 | 5th | 10 | 36 | 24 | 12 | |
| 2022–23 | 4th | 10 | 39 | 24 | 15 | |
References[edit]
- ^ チーム沿革 (in Japanese). Japan Volleyball League Organization. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
- ^ "日本製鉄 釜石シーウェイブスRFC、堺ブレイザーズの名称変更について | 日本製鉄株式会社". Digital PR Platform (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-10-02.
- ^ "堺ブレイザーズ2023-24シーズン体制・スローガンについて". July 3, 2023.
External links[edit]
- Official website (in Japanese)
- V.league (in Japanese)