Women's Volleyball Coach Cha Sang-hyun: "Everyone's Determination Was Extraordinary Against Vietnam"

Following a victory over Vietnam (ranked 32nd in the world) to advance to the quarterfinals as the top team in their group, women's volleyball national team head coach Cha Sang-hyun (ranked 28th) stated that he aims to defeat their quarterfinal opponent Kazakhstan (ranked 42nd) through teamwork and secure a spot in the semifinals.

After winning 3-1 against Vietnam in the Group D match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held today (the 18th) at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, head coach Cha shared his thoughts, saying, "Ahead of this tournament, we resolved that we absolutely had to beat Vietnam, and the players' concentration was incredible."

He continued, "Now we must put the Vietnam match behind us and focus on our quarterfinal opponent, Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is a tough team with many tall players, but we will definitely defeat them by prioritizing our teamwork."

Today's match was of great significance for the women's volleyball national team.

Had they lost to Vietnam, they would have advanced to the quarterfinals as the second-place team in their group, resulting in a quarterfinal matchup against powerhouse China (ranked 7th), the top team from Group B.

Three years ago during the group stage of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the national team stumbled against Vietnam, advancing to the quarterfinals as the second-place team, and ultimately failed to win a medal after losing to China in the quarterfinals.

The national team identified the match against Vietnam as a crucial turning point for this tournament early on and trained intensively.

Coach Cha explained, "This is the third time we've met Vietnam this year. Because we know each other so well, how effectively we could exploit the opponent's weaknesses was key."

He added, "We meticulously prepared aspects like blocking and defensive positioning, and the players demonstrated great concentration to win. In particular, setter Kim Da-in (Hyundai Engineering & Construction) delivered crucial serves at vital moments, leading us to victory."

Kim Da-in recorded 6 service aces, including turning the momentum of the game with service aces near the end of the first and second sets.

The national team also faced a crisis today.

After hard-fought wins in the first and second sets, they dropped the third set following a deuce.

During the group stage match against Vietnam at the Hangzhou Games, South Korea took the first and second sets only to suffer a shocking comeback loss by dropping the third, fourth, and fifth sets.

Coach Cha remarked, "It was a memory we shouldn't have been reminded of. I simply trusted and left it to the players, and everyone entered the fourth set with sharp focus in their eyes."

The national team will take a rest tomorrow and play their quarterfinal match the day after tomorrow.

Coach Cha said, "The organizing committee prohibited official training on the 19th, the day of the tournament's opening ceremony. We will have to play the quarterfinal without ball training, but for now, we will focus as much as possible on recovery and prepare for the match."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.