TOKYO, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Tuesday beat Russia 3-1 (25-20, 26-28, 25-16, 26-24) in the FIVB Women's Grand World Champions Cup in Japan's Nagoya city.
The hosts were led by Ishii Yuki who scored match-high 22 points, while Russian best scorer is Natalia Malykh who gained 16 points.
The winners took a huge advantage on serve point with 11-2, while the Russian has a 14-6 edge on blocking points.
Japan coach Masayoshi Manabe fielded a team which included five members of the 2012 Olympic bronze medal squad against the European champions.
Both sides played tight in the first set and Japan held the chances after the second technical timeout and finished the set with two serves by Akari Oumi.
The Russians won a 6-2 lead at the beginning of the second set and the two sides leveled the score at 15-15, 17-17, 24-24 and 26-26. The Russians finally claimed the set with 28-26.
Japan took the initiative in the third set with some outstanding defense and fine passing as Russia had problems receiving and the final set proved highly entertaining with Japan staging a late rally to claim the match.
Russia will play Dominican Republic Wednesday and Japan contest the United States.