Miyuki Takahashi scored a game-high 17 points Wednesday as host Japan defeated Costa Rica 25-9, 25-11, 25-14 for its first win in two matches at the Women's World Championship.
Coming off a shock defeat to Taiwan on the opening day on Tuesday, Japan outclassed Costa Rica in every department in Pool A action at Yoyogi national gymnasium in the round-robin first round.
Costa Rica fell to 0-2. Takahashi helped Japan win seven consecutive points early in the second set, winning four of them with jump serves.
"We made a fresh start, and we all played very well tonight," Takahashi said.
Earlier Wednesday, Poland beat South Korea in five sets, led by Anna Podolec's 20 points. Elsewhere, Russia beat Azerbaijan 25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20 in Pool B. Tournament favorite Brazil cruised to a 25-17, 25-13, 25-16 victory over Kazakhstan in Pool C.