How it unfolded
This was the tournament in which volleyball made its Olympic debut, and the women's event was contested as a single round-robin of six nations, making the last match effectively the final. Japan and the Soviet Union both arrived undefeated in four matches. Japan's national team, carried over almost entirely from the Nichibo Kaizuka textile-mill company team, endured coach Hirofumi Daimatsu's late-night training sessions to perfect the rolling receive, diving to dig a ball and rolling back up, and had already beaten the Soviets at the 1962 Moscow World Championship. Significantly shorter than their opponents, Japan controlled the match by keeping their serve-receive unshaken. They took the first set 15-11 and the second 15-8, and though the Soviets rallied in the third, Japan closed it out 15-13 to complete a 3-0 sweep. Captain Masae Kasai handled the final ball. NHK figures suggested more than 80% of Japan's population watched the broadcast, and the nickname 'Oriental Witches' was cemented at this tournament.
Why it still matters
This match proved that defense and organization, not height, could beat the strongest team in the world. Japan's method, centered on the rolling receive and relentless repetition, became the defensive textbook for world volleyball for the next thirty years and helped root the sport in schools and workplaces across Asia. It was also the first match to show that volleyball had the box-office appeal to survive as an Olympic sport.