Toray Arrows Men's Volleyball Club

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Toray Arrows
Short nameToray (東レ)
Founded1947
GroundMishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Manager
Head Coach
Japan Shintaro Watanabe
Japan Ayumu Shinoda [ja]
CaptainJapan Yudai Minemura
LeagueV.League Division 1
2022–235th place
WebsiteClub home page
Championships
3

Toray Arrows (東レアローズ) is a men's volleyball team based in Mishima city, Shizuoka, Japan. They play in V.League Division 1. The owner of the team is Toray Industries.

History[edit]

The team was founded in 1947 as "Toray Kuryukai" at the Shiga Plant of Toray Industries, Inc. The name "Kuryukai" comes from the nine players in the team and the "Crane Wing Formation" in Sun Tzu's "The Art of War".

In 1961, the team won the title in the 9-player division of the All-Japan Championship and the 6-player and 9-player divisions of the National Sports Festival. In 1963, the team won its second title in the 9-player division of the All-Japan Championship and moved its home base to Mishima the following year.

In the Japan Industrial League (then V.Challenge League), the team was promoted in the 6th league in 1974 but was relegated five years later and returned in 1988. In the first V LEAGUE, the team advanced to the final in first place but finished fourth in the final league. After a slump, the team finished second in the 5th, 6th, and 8th V LEAGUE. In the 10th V LEAGUE, the team narrowly missed the relegation playoffs. However, in the 11th V LEAGUE, under the slogan "Total Power", the team achieved its first championship by continuing its winning streak of 20 games from the opening of the league.

In the 2008/09 season, the team won its second championship in four seasons by defeating Sakai in the championship game. The team won its third championship in eight seasons in the 2016/17 season. The team aims to be loved by everyone and grateful for the environment in which they can play volleyball. This season, under the slogan "BREAK THE TARGET", the team aims to break through the target of winning the championship.[1]

Toray Arrows joined Asian Club Championship to represent Japan for the first time in 2018 and ranked the 5th place.

Honours[edit]

Team roster[edit]

Current roster[edit]

The following is team roster of Season 2023–2024[2]

No. Name Date of birth Height Position
1 Takahiro Namba [ja] (1998-05-01) May 1, 1998 (age 25) 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Middle blocker
2 Kentaro Takahashi (1995-02-08) February 8, 1995 (age 29) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Middle blocker
3 Takumi Yamaguchi [ja] (1997-08-03) August 3, 1997 (age 26) 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) Libero
4 Keisuke Sakai [ja] (1996-08-25) August 25, 1996 (age 27) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Setter
5 Yuta Yoneyama (1984-08-29) August 29, 1984 (age 39) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Outside hitter
6 Shunsuke Watanabe (1988-04-11) April 11, 1988 (age 35) 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Libero
7 Yudai Minemura [ja] (c) (1994-05-19) May 19, 1994 (age 29) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Outside hitter
8 Koyu Manago [ja] (1998-09-14) September 14, 1998 (age 25) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Setter
9 Shoma Tomita (1997-06-20) June 20, 1997 (age 26) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Outside hitter
10 Tobias Takeshi [ja] (2001-02-08) February 8, 2001 (age 23) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Outside hitter
11 China Xu Ke (2001-03-01) March 1, 2001 (age 23) 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Outside hitter
14 Hungary Krisztián Pádár (1996-11-14) November 14, 1996 (age 27) 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Opposite
15 Haku Ri (1990-12-27) December 27, 1990 (age 33) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Middle blocker
16 Reimondo Kamijo [ja] (1999-09-16) September 16, 1999 (age 24) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Middle blocker
17 Hiroki Ozawa [ja] (1997-09-21) September 21, 1997 (age 26) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Outside hitter
18 Keigo Nishimoto [ja] (1998-10-27) October 27, 1998 (age 25) 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Middle blocker
Head coach: Japan Ayumu Shinoda

Former roster[edit]

Notable Players[edit]

Local Players[edit]

Japan Yuta Yoneyama (2007–present)
Japan Naonobu Fujii (2014–2023)

Foreign Players[edit]

United States Lloy Ball (1996-1999)
Russia Pavel Abramov (2003-2005)
Bulgaria Vladimir Nikolov (2006-2007)

League results[edit]

  Champion    Runner-up

League Position Teams Matches Win Lose
V.League 1st (1994–95) 4th 8 21 15 6
2nd (1995–96) 5th 8 21 11 10
3rd (1996–97) 6th 8 21 10 11
4th (1997–98) 7th 8 21 5 16
5th (1998–99) Runner-up 10 18 13 5
6th (1999-00) Runner-up 10 18 12 6
7th (2000–01) 3rd 10 18 13 5
8th (2001–02) Runner-up 10 18 14 4
9th (2002–03) 5th 8 21 12 9
10th (2003–04) 7th 8 21 10 11
11th (2004–05) Champion 8 28 25 3
12th (2005–06) 6th 8 28 15 13
V・Premier
2006-07 Ruuner-up 8 28 22 6
2007-08 Runner-up 8 28 17 11
2008-09 Champion 8 28 20 7
2009-10 3rd 8 28 19 9
2010-11 3rd 8 24 15 9
2011-12 Runner-up 8 21 19 2
2012-13 3rd 8 28 17 11
2013-14 4th 8 28 15 13
2014-15 7th 8 21 8 13
2015–16 3rd 8 27 18 9
2016–17 Champion 8 28 21 7
2017–18 5th 8 26 18 8
V.League Division 1 2018–19 3rd 10 34 20 14
2019–20 6th 10 27 12 15
2020–21 5th 10 33 17 16
2021–22 4th 10 36 25 11
2022–23 5th 10 36 23 13

References[edit]

  1. ^ "チームの歴史". 一般社団法人日本バレーボールリーグ機構. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  2. ^ "活動スケジュール・トピックス | 東レアローズ男子バレーボール部 | TORAY". www.toray-arrows.jp. Retrieved 2023-05-31.