‘Red flag’ U18 women’s volleyball loses 0-3 to Chinese Taipei…will await results of Taiwan-Australia match on Monday
The red flags are up for Korea to advance to the knockout stage.
The Korea U18 Women’s National Volleyball Team, led by head coach Kim Eui-sung, fell to Chinese Taipei 0-3 (21-25, 12-25, 16-25) in straight sets in their second pool D match at the 15th Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Women’s U18 Championship 2024 at Nakhon Pathom Gymnasium in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. (KST). The team was looking for its second straight win to open the tournament after a 3-1 victory over 메이저 토토사이트 Australia on Sept. 16, but fell short.
At stake in the tournament is a spot in next year’s World Junior Women’s Championships. They will need to finish in the final four to secure that spot. So far, Chinese Taipei leads Group D with a 2-0 record, South Korea and Australia are tied for second with a 1-1 record, and India is in last place with a 0-2 record. To qualify for the quarterfinals, South Korea will need to finish in the top two of their group, which is currently out of reach. It all depends on the results of the Korea-India and Chinese Taipei-Australia games on the final day of the group stage.
It’s too early to rest on your laurels if you’re headed to the quarterfinals. South Korea will be hoping to finish first in their group. If they finish second, they’ll have to play a quarterfinal match against one of the first-place teams in Group A, B, or C. Thailand in Group A, Japan in Group B, and China in Group C are the favorites. The ideal scenario for Korea would be to meet these teams after the semifinals. That way, they can secure their ticket to the World Youth Women’s Championship. Two years ago, South Korea won all four matches in the group stage of the tournament without dropping a set, topping the group and finishing third in the final.
Korea sent out setter Choi Yoon-young (Ilshin Women’s College), outside hitter Park Seo-yoon (Jungang Girls’ Middle), outside hitters Park Yeo-reum (Jungang Girls’ Middle) and Kim Ji-yoon (Jecheon Girls’ Middle), middle blockers Jung Ah-rim (Mokpo Girls’ Middle) and Ha Ye-ji (Sunmyeong Girls’ Middle), and libero Jung Sol-min (Geunyoung Girls’ Middle).
The first set went according to coach Kim’s plan. At 4-4, Korea took the lead with Park’s blocking and Chung’s serving. This, coupled with an attack error by Taiwan, widened the gap. The lead didn’t last long, however. Korea lost their focus and made a series of unforced errors. Shaken up, Korea was unable to deal with the Taiwanese attack. The score flipped to 15-18.
With the momentum in their favor, the Chinese Taipei piled on the pressure, but Korea refused to go away. At 17-19, Kim Jiyoon tied the score with two consecutive points. Chinese Taipei fought back to make it 21-21. However, in the second half of the set, Korea’s offense was overwhelmed by Chinese Taipei’s offense, especially the blocking line, which was completely ineffective. In the end, Korea did not score a single point after the 21st point to take the first set.
In the second set, Chinese Taipei stepped up their game. They had fun with clever hitting and scoring touchdowns. South Korea, on the other hand, continued to give away points with unforced errors. At 6-8, a toss error was followed by a fumble. Taiwan took the initiative and pushed Korea hard. Korea continued to struggle against the Taiwanese onslaught. At 10-13, they dropped six points.
Park Yeo-seom showed her intention to catch up with a quick center straight at 11-22. However, Korea’s offense was not able to break through. Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, had some luck. A lucky serve that hit the net at 23-12 earned them set point. The Chinese Taipei team responded well to Korea’s triple block in the last minute with a touchout to take the second set.
In the third set, Korea came out strong. Especially Park Yoon-seo, who came in as a substitute, did her part with 6-8, 7-9. Choi Yoon-young joined the hunt for points with a block, making it an 8-9 tug-of-war. But that was it. The Chinese Taipei offense was on fire again. They quickly went on a 15-8 run.
Korea couldn’t close the gap easily. Park Yeo-summ made it 13-18 with a service ace and Park Yoon-seo made it 15-20 with an open attack, but the gap soon widened again. At 20-16, Chinese Taipei scored five straight points to keep Korea at 16 and easily close out the match.