▲ South Korea's Na Hyun-soo attacks during the Group D preliminary match in women's volleyball against Qatar at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 17th.
The South Korean women's volleyball national team, led by head coach Cha Sang-hyun (world No. 28), defeated Qatar (No. 106) to move to the top of Group D in the preliminary round of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
South Korea claimed a dominant 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10) victory over Qatar in their second Group D preliminary match held today (the 17th) at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Having swept Hong Kong (No. 127) 3-0 the previous day, South Korea recorded two consecutive wins and 6 points, temporarily overtaking Vietnam (No. 32, 1 win, 3 points), which has played only one match, to claim the top spot in the group.
South Korea rested starting middle blocker Lee Da-hyeon (NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki) by putting Jung Ho-young (JungKwanJang) in the starting lineup, and managed key players' stamina in the second set by substituting Yuk Seo-young (IBK Altos) for team captain Kang So-hwi (Korea Expressway Corporation).
Taking the lead from the early stages of the first set, South Korea secured an early victory when they strung together 10 consecutive points—featuring an attack by Park Eun-jin (JungKwanJang) and four service aces—from an 11-4 score.
At 22-6, South Korea easily claimed the first set 25-6 following an attack by Na Hyun-soo (Hyundai Hillstate), a direct attack by Jung Ho-young, and a center-line violation by Qatar.
In the second set, from a 6-2 lead, Jung Ho-young seized early momentum by landing three consecutive service aces targeting the back space of the opponent's court.
South Korea took 9 consecutive points from 16-6 to secure the second set as well, 25-6.
The final third set also saw the team widen the gap to over 10 points by scoring 11 points from a 6-3 lead.
At 22-8, Park Eun-jin set up the match point with a block and a direct play, and Park Eun-seo finished it off at 24-10 to seal the victory.
Jung Ho-young led the team to victory by scoring a match-high 15 points.
Park Eun-jin contributed 14 points and Park Eun-seo added 10 points.
If Vietnam defeats Hong Kong in their match scheduled for 4 PM today, South Korea's advancement to the quarterfinals will be confirmed.
This is because with both South Korea and Vietnam securing at least two wins, Hong Kong and Qatar can achieve at most one win even if they win their remaining matches, making it impossible for them to overtake the top two teams.
South Korea will play its final group stage match against Vietnam at 4 PM on the 18th.
If Vietnam defeats Hong Kong, the South Korea-Vietnam match will decide first place in Group D.
Finishing second in the group would likely result in a quarterfinal matchup against China (No. 7), a strong candidate for first place in Group B.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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