Japan defeated Slovenia in straight sets Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Nations League men's volleyball tournament for the first time in the history of the event, previously called the World League.
In-form Japan won 26-24, 25-18 and 25-22, setting up Saturday's semifinal against Poland, the host of the eight-team final who eliminated Brazil in the day's other quarterfinal match. The inaugural World League was held in 1990.
Japan fought off a set point at 24-23 in the first, and its captain Yuki Ishikawa scored a match-high 27 points, closing out the contest with a kill.
"It was an opponent that we had to defeat," Ishikawa said. "Now we've achieved our minimum goal. We'll prepare ourselves well to take home a medal."
Ran Takahashi, who scored nine points for Japan, said, "We made history. I'm so happy we achieved the goal we've been striving for."
The other semifinal will be played between the United States and Italy.
In the preliminary phase, Japan finished second behind the United States with a 10-2 win-loss record.