The Asians got their first VNL victory since 2021
After their first win in three years, Korea are looking for more in the VNL 2024
Korea’s long wait for a Volleyball Nations League victory came to an end after almost three years on Sunday as they topped Asian rivals Thailand in Rio de Janeiro. Hosts Brazil and the United States also secured wins on the last day of the first week of the Preliminary Phase.
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The last match held at the Maracanãzinho stadium in Pool 2 reunited two national teams still looking for their first victories in the VNL 2024 and Korea came out on top, beating Thailand 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-16, 25-18) to feel the taste of victory for the first time in almost three years.
The Koreans, who were winless in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the VNL and had also dropped their first three matches in Rio this week, were on the losing side of their last 30 matches in the tournament entering the duel against Thailand, with their most recent victory dating back to June 14, 2021, when they topped Canada in the tie-breaker.
The victory also helped the team take its first step towards the goal set by new head coach Fernando Morales of climbing the FIVB World Rankings as the result earned the Koreans 13.69 points, moving six spots up, from 43rd to 37th, with 104.59 points. Thailand, on the other hand, now see their dream of qualifying for the Paris Olympics even more distant as they dropped to 14th place in the World Rankings with 199.90, expanding the gap between Canada, the last team inside the qualification zone, and them to 90.71 points.
Outside hitter So-Hwi Kang was instrumental in Korea’s victory, leading the team on the court with 22 points (21 kills, one ace). Opposite and team captain Jeong-Ah Park and fellow outside hitter Ji-Yun Jeong added 16 points each.
“It took us three years to get this win,” middle blocker Da-Hyeon Lee remarked. “We had a hard time with the changes we faced in the national team and it’s an honor to win against such a strong opponent. Thailand are a similar team to us in terms of physicality, so we knew this was a match we could win and we really wanted it. This victory gives us more confidence and we hope we can do better than we did in the last two years.”
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Thailand, who completed the first week of the VNL 2024 with four losses, no…
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