Korea overcame the aftermath of a disastrous first and second set in the third set, but it wasn’t enough to win the match.
The South Korea U20 Women’s National Volleyball Team, led by head coach Jang Yoon-hee, fell to China 1-3 (6-25, 4-25, 25-20, 17-25) in the semifinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s U20 Championship 2024 in Jiangmen, China, on Monday (Aug. 8). Sets 1-2 were devastating. They scored just 10 points in the two sets combined and were at their worst on both offense and defense. After recovering in the third set, Korea looked to be on the verge of a major comeback, but they lost the power battle in the middle of the fourth set and were unable to overcome the home team.
For Korea, Baek Chae-hee, Lee Ju-ah, Shin Eun-ji, Lee Ji-yoon, Jeon Da-bin, and Kim Da-eun started in the front row. The starting libero was Park Chae-min, while China’s counterparts were Shan Linqian, Li Chenxuan, Wang Indy, Chen Houyou, Zhu Hangting and Guo Xiangling. 카지노 커뮤니티 Shun Wanjun wore the libero jersey.
The first set got off to a chaotic start, with Korea committing a positional error at 0-1 and then losing a long rally to Li Chenxuan. China took advantage of this, pushing Korea with height and power to extend their lead to 7-2. The Koreans continued to fall behind as Zhu Hangting and Guo Xiangling’s left quick-opening duo continued to push forward, and the deficit grew to nine points when Chen Houyou served.
Coach Jang Yun-hee called for a timeout to stem the tide, but Shan Linqian blocked an attack from Zhen Dabin, followed by a center back-attack from Li Chenxuan to keep the Chinese flowing. With almost all of their attacking options ineffective, including Baek Chae-hee’s center open attack, mobile attack, and Lee Joo-ah’s back-attack, Korea fell to a shocking 4-21 deficit and never found a way back, giving up 25 points to Shan Linqian to take the first set 6-25.
The second set got off to a shaky start, with an attacking error from Lee Jia followed by a lucky serve from Guo Xiangling. This, coupled with a block from Li Chenxuan, allowed China to keep the momentum from the previous set. South Korea allowed the Chinese to finish off each long rally with no room to spare, falling behind 0-6 and never recovering from the worst of the set. The Chinese easily reached 10 points on Guo Xiangling’s serve, and South Korea’s inability to cover even a mediocre attacking game caused them to crumble.
The Koreans were unable to capitalize on any of their attacking options other than the occasional left attack from Lee Joo-ah and Song Eun-chae, and fell behind 3-14, with Lee Ji-yoon’s service errors coming at a time when they were falling behind. The Chinese were efficient in managing their errors, and Jang tried to turn the tide by bringing on Kim Yeon-soo and Goo Seon-ok, but the tide had already turned in their favor. China easily took the second set with a 24-4 run, thanks to Shan Linqian’s fast break.
South Korea’s performance in the third set was much better than the first two. They kept the rallies tight and improved their attacking decisions to counter China. At 6-6, they took a narrow lead when Kwak Sun-ok scored to end a long rally. Korea was able to keep pace with China until midway through the set, with Lee Ju-ah, Jeon Da-bin, and Kwak Sun-ok doing their part.
Kwak Sun-ok continued to play well, spearheading the team’s offense in the mid-to-late stages of the set, while Lee Chae-young’s light counterattacks and Kim Yeon-soo’s blocking helped Korea take a 19-16 lead. China’s reception and connection faltered, leading to their biggest crisis of the day, and coach Kwong Chi called for a timeout, but a direct attack from Kwak Sun-ok immediately after the timeout allowed Korea to reach the 20-point mark. A panicked Chinese side’s play quickly became erratic, pushing Korea to set point, where they finally broke back at 24-20 on a service error from Dong Eui-hwan.
After conceding the set point, China came out strong at the start of the fourth set. Quang Qi caught a Korean blocker’s touch on a video review, and Shan Linqian’s serve was converted to give China a 5-1 lead. But unlike in sets one and two, the Chinese were able to keep their composure and prevent the gap from widening.
However, the power disparity began to show as the set progressed past the midway point. China used their height and strength advantage to push Korea back, and a block by Li Chenxuan at 16-10 gave them a seven-point lead. After overwhelming South Korea in the firepower battle and reaching the 20-point plateau first, China continued to pressure South Korea with Li Chenxuan leading the team’s offense, and at 24-17, Dong Yihan scored the game-winning kill.