The post-Kim Yeon-koung era is not easy. The South Korean women's volleyball team, which is searching for a second Kim Yeon-koung, is facing relegation in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
The South Korean women's volleyball team (world ranking 34), led by coach Fernando Morales, lost to Poland (world ranking 3) in the first match of the third week of the 2025 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) VNL held in Chiba, Japan, on the 9th, with a set score of 1-3 (25-18, 19-25, 14-25, 26-28).
South Korea is trapped in a four-match losing streak in the VNL, recording 1 win and 8 losses, while Poland, led by coach Stefano Lavarin, who was the head coach during the Tokyo Olympics, improved to 8 wins and 1 loss.
South Korea's Lee Sun-woo contributed a team-high 21 points including 1 block and 1 serve, while Lee Da-hyun had 13 points including 3 blocks, and captain Kang So-hwi also scored 13 points, but they could not shine in the reversal defeat.
Leading with Lee Sun-woo, who scored 5 points in the first set, South Korea initially dominated, but after losing a close second set, they suffered a crushing defeat by 11 points due to a large number of points conceded starting from the early third set.
In the fourth set, South Korea fought evenly with Poland and achieved a deuce. However, after Yook Seo-young made an attack error at 26-26, Kang So-hwi's crucial attack was blocked by the opposing team's defense, leading to their defeat.
With 1 win and 8 losses, South Korea remains at the bottom among the 18 participating countries. The lowest place in this tournament will not be able to participate in next year's VNL, so they must secure at least 1 win in the third week matches.
South Korea will face Japan (world ranking 5) in the second match of the third week on the 10th. They are also scheduled to compete against Bulgaria (world ranking 17) on the 11th and France (world ranking 20) on the 12th.
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