▲ South Korean national volleyball team players celebrate after securing a 3-0 shutout win against the Philippines in the men's volleyball preliminary match at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on September 27.
The South Korean men's volleyball team (world No. 25), aiming for its first Summer Asian Games medal in eight years, has advanced to the quarterfinals with its second consecutive win in the group stage.
Led by head coach Isanaye Ramirez, the South Korean national team defeated Taiwan (world No. 55) 3-1 (24-26, 25-10, 25-15, 25-23) in their Group D preliminary match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on September 28.
Having easily defeated the Philippines 3-0 the previous day, South Korea secured its second win (6 points) by beating Taiwan, taking the top spot in the group.
China, which also has two wins, defeated Taiwan 3-2 the previous day and holds 5 points.
South Korea will play its final group match against China at the same venue on September 29 to determine first place in the group.
As a member of Group D, South Korea will face the runner-up of Group B in the quarterfinals if it secures first place in its group.
Group B includes Iran (No. 19), Thailand (No. 52), Indonesia (No. 45), and Kyrgyzstan (No. 81).
In the South Korean offense, Huh Soo-bong (Hyundai Capital) scored a team-high 18 points, while Lim Dong-hyuk (Korean Air) added 16 points, combining for 34 points from the wings.
After narrowly losing the first set to Taiwan due to receive errors following a tight contest, South Korea turned the momentum around starting from the second set by neutralizing the opponent's receives with powerful serves.
Holding Taiwan to double digits in both the second and third sets to turn the match around to 2-1, South Korea faced strong resistance from Taiwan in the fourth set.
In the fourth set, trailing 21-22 late in the game, South Korea leveled the score with a powerful attack by Huh Soo-bong and took a 23-22 lead following a block by Lee Sang-hyeon.
Although momentum seemed to shift after conceding a tie due to a service error by Huh Soo-bong, Lim Dong-hyuk scored to reach match point, and the match was concluded by an opponent error.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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