Bangkok, Thailand, August 2, 2021 – Korea proved no match against European powerhouses Serbia to go down in comfortable straight sets to end their preliminary Pool A campaign in third place in the Tokyo 2020 volleyball tournament at Ariake Arena in Japan on Monday.
With the formidable Serbians cruising comfortably through the first two sets 25-18, 25-17, coach Stefano Lavalini rested super star Kim Yeon Koung for the whole set in the third and instead fielded young talents to move on with their confidence boosted as they battled hard to learn from this tough match to prepare to next face rivals in the quarterfinals. Serbia showcased their brilliance to capture the lopsided set 25-15 and match.
Left-hander Tijana Boskovic chipped in with 13 points including 12 attacks for Serbia and Milena Rasic added 12 on the world No.10’s winning efforts. Kim Yeon Koung competed only in the first two sets to lead Korea with 9 points including 8 attacks. Kim Su Ji and Kim Heejin assisted with 6 and 5 points respectively.
Serbia, silver medallists at the previous Games in Rio de Janeiro, fared better in all elements, bagging 39 attack points against Korea’s 31. They also utilised their height advantage to produce several solid blocks for 10 points earned in this match against Korea’s 3. Furthermore, Serbia proved a cut above the Koreans to come up with great serves and collect 13 aces against the world No.14’s 4. On the other hand, Korea were prone with more unforced mistakes to hand the tough rivals 13 points throughout the match, while the Serbians lost only 12 on the ‘opponent error’ performance.
Despite the loss, Korea, having 7 points from 3 wins, joined Serbia and Brazil to the quarterfinals. The Koreans, who pulled off a stunning 3-2 victory over hosts and reigning consecutive two-time Asian champions Japan in the previous match on Saturday, finished third in Pool A, while Serbia temporarily surged ahead undefeated Brazil to the top of the standings with 12 points from 4 wins. Brazil are due to take on underdogs Kenya in their last preliminary match later on Monday.
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