Jiangmen, China, July 2, 2024 – Korea managed a 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-7) shutout of New Zealand for two consecutive wins in Pool D to advance to the Round of last 8 at the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium here on Tuesday.
Middle blocker Lee Jiyun chipped in 12 points from 9 kills, 2 blocks and one ace for Korea, while Lee Jua and Jeon Dabin contributed 9 and 7 points respectively. Middle blocker and skipper Marnie Ursem scored 6 points on the New Zealand’s loss.
Fresh from 3-0 win against Chinese Taipei the previous day, Korea opened an early 13-11 lead in the first set, thanks to exception attacks from Jeon Dabin and Lee Jua. However, New Zealand gathered their courage and bounced back, with middle blocker and skipper Marnie Ursem carrying well-placed serves and Pippa Henderson and Chloe Kemble firing some good shots.
The Kiwis defended superbly to trail close behind 12-13 and 18-20, but the Koreans’ strong serving and team combinations made the big difference in the rest of the set. Opposite Charlie Vail produced an off-the-block kill 19-21 for the Kiwis before Korea found their rhythm and went on their good run to take the thrilling set 25-19, with setter Kim Daeun producing the first-tempo winner.
The second set was dominated by the Koreans. As the Kiwis still challenged seriously, Korea managed to hold on to their advantage. Jeon Dabin and Lee Jua unleashed a barrage of powerful attacks to help put the team away 20-10 and extended it to 24-13. Kim Daeun produced a powerful jump serve which went unanswered to lift Korea the 25-13 set win.
Again, the third set turned out to be one-way traffic as Korea played every part of the game well, jumping to a 16-point run at 17-1. Head coach Chang Yoon Hee rested her best players and fielded substitutions including Baek Chaehee, Song Eunchae and Lee Chaeyoung to win the comfortable set 25-7.
“I’m very happy that my girls made it to the last 8 teams. My team’s hard work paid off finally. Against Chinese Taipei yesterday and New Zealand today, I think Chinese Taipei are small, but very fast and we could cope well with their tactics, while today our opponents are tall, but not that fast and we then learned how to play them. In the round of last 8, we are likely to take on Japan. I think we can play well against them, but we have to work much harder and hope for good results,” Korea’s head coach Chang Yoon Hee said after the match.
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