'After losing a deuce set at 33 points in the first, we collapsed' Women's volleyball suffers complete defeat against arch-rival Japan without winning a single set... "A rough journey to LA"

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean women's Bae Gu (CEO) team lost to Japan in the second group stage match of the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship.

Led by head coach Cha Sang-hyun, the South Korean national team (ranked 26th globally) suffered a complete defeat against Japan (ranked 6th) with a set score of 0-3 (31-33, 19-25, 20-25) in the C group second match held on the 23rd at the Tianjin Olympic Center Gymnasium in China.

Unable to maintain the momentum from their victory over Vietnam the previous day, South Korea finished with one win and one loss (three points), placing second in the group behind Japan (two wins, six points).

In the first set, South Korea lost after a tense deuce battle exceeding 30 points. They held steady until the middle of the second set but collapsed after conceding six consecutive points at 14-all. In the third set, trailing 10-17, they fought back to 20-22 using Park Eun-jin's service aces and other strengths but ultimately failed to turn the match around.

Na Hyun-soo scored 15 points, Yuk Seo-young added 12, and Lee Da-hyun contributed 11 for South Korea. Japan secured victory with side attacks from Wada Yukiko (19 points) and Sato Yoshino (18 points), along with quick attacks by Shimamura Haruyo (10 points), who played in the Korean V-League last season.

The tournament champion will earn a berth to the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympic Games, while the top three teams will secure spots in the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup. The competition features 12 teams divided into three groups for the group stage, with the top two teams from each group and the two best third-place teams advancing to the quarterfinal tournament.

South Korea will play their final group stage match against Hong Kong at the same venue on the morning of the 26th at 11 a.m.

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*This content was translated by AI.