The Hangzhou Asian Games men’s volleyball team, led by head coach Lim Do-heon, has bounced back from a shock loss to advance to the round of 12.
The Korean men’s volleyball team defeated Cambodia 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-15) in straight sets in the second match of the Men’s Volleyball Group C at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games at the Linping Sports Center Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Monday (21).
After suffering a shocking 2-3 set loss to India, ranked 73rd in the world, on the previous day (Feb. 20), Korea improved to 1-1 in the group stage with the win over Cambodia.
The Koreans were able to play without Jeong Ji-seok, who missed the previous day’s match against India due to back pain. Nevertheless, the first set was a close one. They struggled against Cambodia, whose world ranking was not counted.
In the first set, Korea was down 6-10 due to errors by Jeong Ji-seok and Heo Su-bong. Afterward, attacks by Na Kyung-bok and Lim Dong-hyuk were blocked by the Cambodian blocking line. Until the middle of the first set, Korea struggled with Cambodia’s unexpected offense. However, the Korean team managed to rally late. Na Kyung-bok and Jeong Ji-seok split up again, and Lim Dong-hyuk brought the score back to 19-18. Cambodia then took a 22-19 lead after a series of unforced errors on Jung’s serve.
However, Korea allowed Cambodia to catch up again with errors such as receiving errors and attack line violations. But Kim Min-jae’s fastball and Han’s exquisite serve, followed by Na Kyung-bok’s direct attack, gave Korea a narrow first set victory. Korea committed 11 errors in the first set alone.레고토토
In the second set, they started to dominate Cambodia again. Lim Dong-hyuk’s serve, Jeong Ji-seok’s block and attack points, and Kim Kyu-min’s fastball gave Korea a 10-4 lead. However, Korea’s reception became unstable again and they were shaken by Cambodia’s fast attack tempo. They fell behind 13-10. Still, Korea got back on track. Lim Dong-hyuk and Jeong Ji-seok found their groove on offense, and Cambodia’s errors skyrocketed. They took the second set.
The third set was not much different. Korea shook Cambodia with their serve and kept their offense from running smoothly. Their blocking scoring also came alive and kept Cambodia at bay. The scoring was evenly distributed, with Jeong Ji-seok scoring 11 points, Kim Min-jae 10 points, Lim Dong-hyuk 9 points, and Kim Kyu-min 8 points.
South Korea will play Pakistan, who clinched the top spot in Pool D, in the round of 12 on Nov. 22. Pakistan is ranked 51st in the world. At the Asian Championships last month, South Korea swept them 3-1 (26-28, 25-20, 32-30, 25-22) but struggled overall. A win over the rejuvenated Pakistan will revitalize their quest for a gold medal after a 17-year hiatus since Doha 2006.