Volleyball Suntory and Marvelous give Osaka both titles in inaugural SV League

TOKYO - Former Olympic champion Dmitriy Muserskiy hit the winning points as Suntory Sunbirds Osaka took out the inaugural mens title in the first season of Japans ambitious SV.League on Monday.

The tall Russian made a string of blocks and spikes as the Sunbirds downed Jtekt Stings Aichi 29-27 25-16 25-22 to clinch the best-of-three game final series 2-0 in front of almost 10,000 fans in Funabashi.

A Muserskiy service ace put the Sunbirds two points from the title and the 2012 Olympic champion sealed the deal with a crunching finish.

I feel amazing. We won the championship. That was our goal before the season, said his Polish team mate Aleksander Sliwka, a silver medallist at the Paris Olympics.

There were a lot of tough moments during the season, but we stayed together and believed in ourselves. So, we are really happy that we accomplished our goal.

The SV.League was launched last year with the aim of becoming the worlds most popular volleyball league by 2030 on the back of the recruitment of big-name players from around the globe.Ive heard that Suntory drew over 100,000 spectators this season, said Suntorys Japanese outside hitter Ran Takahashi, who was named tournament MVP.

That kind of energy is a great sign for both volleyball and the SV.League.

Osaka Marvelous overcame NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki 25-22 25-21 25-16 on Saturday to wrap up the womens final series after game two at Tokyos Ariake Arena.

I think its always an amazing feeling when you win a title and to be the first in history, it makes it only more beautiful, said Belgian opposite spiker Lise Van Hecke.

Were very happy, Im very proud. Its been a long season, but to finish it like this, its the best way and I think we showed everyone we