'Hangzhou Nightmare' Erased by Kang So-hui's 20-point 'Furious Assault'... Women's Volleyball Defeats Vietnam, Secures First Victory at Asian Championship

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean Yeo Ja-bae-gu (CEO) team defeated Vietnam in their first match of the Asian Championship to record their first victory.

Led by coach Cha Sang-hyun, Korea (ranked 28th globally) dominated Vietnam (ranked 33rd) with a set score of 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17) in the Group C opener of the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship held on the 22nd at the Tianjin Olympic Center Gymnasium in China.

With this win, Korea avenged their consecutive losses to Vietnam from three years ago at both the Asian Championship and the Hangzhou Asian Games. Following Japan (ranked 6th), which defeated Hong Kong the previous day, Korea secured second place in the group.

Captain Kang So-hui of Korea Expressway Corporation led the offense with a team-high 20 points, while Na Hyun-soo of Hyundai E&C and Lee Da-hyun of NEC contributed 14 and 13 points respectively to secure the victory.

Korea took the first set by leveraging their blocking advantage but wavered in the second set after conceding five consecutive points late in the game, allowing the score to level at 1-1. In the decisive third set, with the score tied at 19-19, Korea seized momentum through consecutive points from Kang So-hui and Lee Ye-rim of Hyundai E&C combined with opponent errors, winning 25-21. Riding this momentum in the fourth set, Korea steadily extended their lead from 17-14 to close out the match.

This tournament features 12 participating nations. The champion will earn a berth at the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics, while the top three teams will qualify for the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup.

Korea is scheduled to face Japan in their second group stage match on the 23rd.

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*This content was translated by AI.