Kobe, Japan — M-tto presents SV.LEAGUE ALL STAR GAMES 2025-26 KOBE kicked off with the women’s match held on Saturday in Kobe, between two teams featuring a mixture of players from the league, which meant some players were playing against their teammates. A crowd of 8,389 spectators gathered today at the recently built GLION Arena Kobe, setting a new attendance record for a DAIDO LIFE SV.LEAGUE WOMEN match.

The captains of the two teams — TEAM NICHIKA’s Nichika Yamada, coached by Kumi Nakada and TEAM YOSHINO’s Yoshino Sato, coached by Kodai Nakaya – were both from NEC RED ROCKETS KAWASAKI. The first and third sets were played according to regular volleyball rules, while the second set was a 15-point “entertainment” set, featuring such innovations as no four-touch rule, 3 on 3 teams, 14 on 14 teams, and points using the feet only.

TEAM NICHIKA won the match 25-19, 15-12, 25-14. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy of GUNMA GREENWINGS was named the Most Valuable Player; the Fighting Spirit Award went to Rui Nonaka of VICTORINA HIMEJI; the Best Entertainment Award was won by Miiku Iwasawa of SAITAMA AGEO MEDICS; and Yukiko Wada of NEC won the Speed King Award for the fastest service.

TEAM NICHIKA supported Tran Thi Thanh Thuy’s serve with a fun and energetic “Tran Thi” dance on the sidelines.©SV.LEAGUE

Vietnamese player Tran Thi Thanh Thuy wasn’t expecting to be named the Most Valuable Player. “I was really surprised,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to receive this. I want to say thank you very much. I’m very thankful that I had a chance to play with these wonderful players. It’s really a good thing in my career. I hope you guys will always support us and support volleyball.”

“Vietnamese fans follow us and watch almost all of our games and they also follow Japanese volleyball. Their support is my biggest motivation to keep playing. It would be great if the SV.LEAGUE could stretch to the Asian market. That would be a good chance not only for Vietnam, but also other countries to have a chance to play at a high level like Japan.”

American Brionne Butler had never played in an All-Star Game in any of the leagues she has played in and she enjoyed the experience. “Today was so much fun,” she said. “I loved it. Just being able to play with all the girls from the league. It was just an unbelievable experience. It was so crazy. The atmosphere was just unreal. I didn't think I would be able to participate in it, but I was so happy I was picked.”

Butler, who scored Team Nichika’s first four points with some impressive blocking, said she was really looking forward to playing alongside NEC’s powerful outside hitter Yukiko Wada: “I was really excited to play with Wada from NEC. I love watching her play. She's just a baller and it was a blast.”

Brazilian superstar Rosamaria Montibeller said she was honored to be playing her second All-Star Game in Japan and able to have so much fun. “It was amazing, beautiful, and the arena was beautiful and full, so it was really fun and a great experience. I love to be in Japan. I love to play here and being selected with all these amazing players we have in this league is such an honor. So I would like to thank all the fans and everybody that supports us during the league. It's really, really an honor for my career and for my life.”

Montibeller said the only other All-Star Game she has played in was also in Japan and she enjoyed the fun atmosphere and praised the organization. “I think this is what makes the game even more fun for who is watching and also for us because today is like a party for us. We had a lot of fun and it was really a great idea.”

She also was pleased to play alongside a player she admires, Yoshino Sato. “I admire her so much,” Montibeller said. “She's so young and she's doing so well. She's already one of the biggest outside hitters, so I was really excited when I found out I would play with her, because she's really a star in Japan and in all over the world. And I was really happy to be by her side because playing against her is so difficult. Finally, today we were on the same side of the court and I enjoyed it a lot. She’s such a good person.”

Belgian Lise Van Hecke had experienced an All-Star Game in Italy, where the Italian players faced off against the foreign players, but Saturday’s game was different for her and she was excited to take part in the event. “It was fun and completely different,” she said. “They put some nice, funny things in the (second) set, which makes it a bit more playful. I think also for the fans, it's fun to look at. And it's amazing how many fans there were today. Eight thousand, I heard. I'm really happy and excited to be here. It's an honor to be one of the All-Star members. If you look at all the great Japanese players and some foreigners, it's really an honor.”

Thai legend Nootsara Tomkom said she wish she could have played for both teams. When asked who she wanted to play with, she replied: “Actually, all of the players – my team and the opponents’ team. I wanted to play with them too. Sometimes, I wanted to set for the other team and come back to my team again, but I had no chance to do that, but I did enjoy it a lot today with the amazing players in the team. I was so surprised because I didn't expect they were going to pick me first. Right now in Japan, they have a lot of good players, so I'm very excited to play. I had a lot of fun today.”

Rui Nonaka said she was surprised to receive the Fighting Spirit Award. “I’m truly grateful to all the fans who voted for me to be selected as an All-Star, and it’s an honor to receive such an award, and I deeply appreciate your support. Although I’m not happy with the result, I truly enjoyed playing volleyball during this once-a-year All-Star event and spending time with teammates I don’t usually get to play with.”

M-tto presents SV.LEAGUE ALL STAR GAMES 2025-26 KOBE Men’s Match will be held tomorrow, February 1, in Kobe. The game will be streamed globally via VBTV, with the exception of Japan, which is excluded from the broadcast region.