KOR
▲ The men's national volleyball team during a friendly match on the 22nd
The South Korean men's national volleyball team, ranked 26th in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) rankings, secured a thrilling come-from-behind victory in a friendly match against Brazil, ranked 7th.
Led by head coach Isanaye Ramirez, the national team won 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20) in the first friendly match against Brazil held at the Jecheon Gymnasium in North Chungcheong Province today (July 22).
Cheered on by 1,650 spectators today, South Korea played a tight match against world No. 7 Brazil.
Opposite spiker Shin Ho-jin and outside hitter Lim Sung-jin led the attack, scoring 20 and 18 points, respectively.
Brazil's Guilherme Sabino scored a match-high 23 points, but his efforts were overshadowed by the team's defeat.
In the first set, South Korea gave up 9 points to Brazil's Guilherme Sabino and lost the opening set 22-25.
In a tightly contested second set, South Korea took the set 25-21 after Brazil's Paulo Silva committed a service error at 23-21, followed by a service ace from Lim Sung-jin.
After trailing for much of the third set, South Korea turned the tide at 12-13 when Jung Han-yong fired consecutive service aces to make it 14-13.
Following a fierce battle, South Korea clinched the set at 23-23 with a powerful cross-court spike by Kim Yo-han and a successful direct attack by Lee Sang-hyun, turning the match around to a 2-1 set score.
In the fourth set, South Korea completely dominated the game fueled by Shin Ho-jin's 9 points, reaching the 20-point mark first.
At match point 24-20, Brazil's Gabriel Bieler committed a service error, sealing South Korea's 3-1 comeback victory.
The national team will play their second friendly match against Brazil at the same venue three days later.
Prior to today's match, a retirement ceremony for Kwak Seung-suk, who recently announced his retirement from active play, was also held.
Having finished as runners-up at the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup last month, the national team will compete in the 2026 East Asian Championship in August.
Following that, they will also participate in the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship held in Fukuoka, Japan, and the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.
(Photo courtesy of Korea Volleyball Association, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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