Back on the scoresheet: fresh starts for Ruriko Uesaka, Shuka Kaneda and Aika Hayashida
Ruriko Uesaka, Shuka Kaneda and Aika Hayashida took different paths away from the court and back again. All three scored during the opening weekend of the women's SV League.
Ruriko Uesaka | 24 points from 54 attack attempts on her return
Astemo's No. 1 led the attack from the opening match.
Uesaka scored 24 points against Gunma on October 17: 22 kills from 54 attempts, a 40.7% attack success rate, plus two blocks. She started all five sets and helped her team win the five-set match.
Across seven regular seasons in the former V.League and the SV League, she had recorded 1,457 points in 148 matches before this season. An outside hitter who contributes in both attack and serve reception, Uesaka was announced to be undergoing left-knee surgery in June 2025 and missed the entire 2025-26 season. After treatment and rehabilitation, she returned for this season's opener as captain once again.
Her 22 kills in the opener were a team high, accounting for 31.9% of Astemo's 69 attack points. She also received 29 serves, taking responsibility for scoring and for handling the opposition's serve.
She played three more sets in Game 2 on October 18, bringing her opening-weekend total to eight. The returning captain contributed on both sides of the ball from the start.
Shuka Kaneda | A 572-point attacker starts again at Saitama Ageo
Kaneda's comeback was a fresh start after retirement.
In her 2024-25 season with Okayama, she played 158 sets and scored 572 points. She had 533 kills from 1,780 attempts and received 733 serves, combining a heavy attacking workload with serve-reception duties.
She retired at the end of that season, with Okayama announcing her retirement in May 2025. After not playing in the league in 2025-26, her signing with Saitama Ageo and return to active competition were announced in July 2026.
Her opening weekend came with a new team. After appearing as a substitute against Denso on October 17, she started all five sets the next day and scored 21 points: 19 kills from 52 attempts and two blocks. She also received 45 serves.
Kaneda had scored 533 attack points in her final season with Okayama. In her first start for Saitama Ageo, she put away 19 attacks. Alongside those 45 serve receptions, it marked her first step with her new team as an outside hitter contributing in attack and reception.
Aika Hayashida | An ace marks her return from a long injury absence
Toray Shiga announced that Hayashida had been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee after being injured against PFU on November 9, 2025. She stepped away to focus on treatment and rehabilitation. Her record last season was 39 points in 18 sets, including 14 blocks.
In 2024-25 with Gunma, she scored 212 points in 98 sets: 145 kills, 58 blocks and nine aces. Stopping opposition attacks at the net is one of her strengths.
PFU were also Toray's opponents for this season's opening fixtures. Hayashida returned in Game 2 on October 18, appearing as a substitute in all four sets. She served nine times without an error and recorded one ace.
Her first point of the season came from the service line.
The middle blocker who once recorded 58 blocks in a season began her scoring on this return with an ace. As she builds up appearances again, there is also her attacking and blocking to look forward to.