The Korea U20 Men’s National Volleyball Team, led by head coach Kim Jang-bin, has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Championship.
Korea defeated Kazakhstan 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 25-13) on Friday afternoon in Surabaya, Indonesia, in the third match of Group D of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) 2024 Asian Youth Championships.
Earlier in the day, Korea defeated Vietnam and Thailand 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. They also swept Kazakhstan 토토 to complete a three-game sweep of the group stage.
The Kazakhs also won their first two games, beating Thailand (3-2) and Vietnam (3-1). They lost to South Korea, but finished the group with a 2-1 record.
South Korea and Kazakhstan, who finished first and second in Group D, punched their tickets to the quarterfinals.
South Korea and Kazakhstan will be paired with Iran and China, who finished first and second in Pool B, again in Pool F to battle for a spot in the quarterfinals. South Korea and Iran will face Group D runner-up Kazakhstan and Group B runner-up China in the quarterfinals, who are drawn side by side in Pool F.
The top four teams in the tournament will qualify for next year’s FIVB U21 World Championship. Kim Jang Bin Ho is also eyeing the world stage.
Korea started with setter Kim Kwan-woo (Cheonan High), outside hitters Yoon Seo-jin (KB Insurance), Lee Woo-jin (Vero Bali Monza) and Apojit Yoon-kyung (Namyang High), middle blockers Lim In-kyu (Suseong High) and Jang Eun-seok (Sokcho High), and libero Kang Seung-il (Korean Air).
The first set was tied at 7-7. Korea went on a 10-8 run, led by Yoon Kyung, and took a 12-9 lead after a successful back-row attack by Yoon Seo-jin. At 13-12, Yoon Kyung again showed her decisiveness to extend the lead. Lee Woo-jin scored on her serve for 16-13, and after a defense, Lee fought back with a back-row attack for a 17-13 lead. Kim Kwan-woo also scored on his serve. At 19-14, South Korea added a blocking point to reach the 20-point mark. The first set belonged to Korea.
The momentum continued in the second set. They took the first set 7-3, 8-4. Kazakhstan fought back hard. They quickly tied the game at 8-8 with a threatening serve. Both teams exchanged fierce offensive attacks. However, at 12-12, Korea’s fast attack misfired, giving them a 12-13 lead. Korea was clearly panicking. They struggled to put together a rally. Kazakhstan, on the other hand, gained momentum and scored points mainly on the left side of the court to take a 14-12 lead. At 16-14, Kazakhstan took the toss to the left in an attacking motion from the back row, and it was converted to make it 17-14. Kazakhstan then blocked a Yoon Seo-jin attack and went on a 19-15 run to take the set 23-16. Kazakhstan had the last laugh in the second set.
In the third set, Korea took an early three-point lead. Korea’s iron wall blocking worked. They roared to a 13-9 lead. Gilsera Kazakhstan responded with a back-row offense to pull within 16-18. Korea did not let up. An attack error made it 20-16, and another attack error made it 21-17. After 21-19, the left and right side hitters Yoon Seo-jin and Yoon Kyung came to the rescue. They scored the first 25 points to take the set 2-1.
The seesaw game continued in the fourth set. First, Korea started to increase the score to 10-8. Yoon Seo-jin, who was suffering from some pain at the beginning of the set, made it 11-8 with a left attack that took advantage of her opponent’s blocking. She also caught her opponent’s fastball to make it 12-8. Kazakhstan faltered. Kazakhstan’s fastball was also out and they hung their heads. Korea took advantage of the opportunity to make it 15-9, and Lee Woo-jin scored an attack point to extend the lead to 16-10 and 18-10. After a long rally, Lee’s finish made it a nine-point game at 20-11. The score reached 22-11, and South Korea maintained a comfortable lead to close out the fourth set.