South Korea Defeats Qatar 3-0 to Take Group Lead in Women's Volleyball with Second Consecutive Win

The South Korean women's volleyball national team, led by head coach Cha Sang-hyun and ranked 28th in the world, has risen to the top of Group D in the preliminary round of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after defeating Qatar, ranked 106th.

Korea secured a comfortable 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10) victory over Qatar in their second Group D preliminary match held today at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Having defeated Hong Kong, ranked 127th, 3-0 the previous day, Korea recorded their second straight win and 6 points, temporarily taking the lead in the group ahead of Vietnam, ranked 32nd, which has 1 win and 3 points after playing only one match.

Korea rested key players by starting Jung Ho-young (Red Sparks) instead of starting middle blocker Lee Da-hyeon (NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki) in the first set, and substituting Yuk Seo-young (IBK Altos) for captain Kang So-hwi (Korea Expressway Corporation) in the second set.

Taking the lead from the early stages of the first set, Korea seized early control of the game when they were up 11-4, scoring 10 consecutive points through attacks by Park Eun-jin (Red Sparks) and four service aces.

At 22-6, Korea easily claimed the first set at 25-6 following an attack by Na Hyun-soo (Hyundai Engineering & Construction), a direct attack by Jung Ho-young, and a center line violation by Qatar.

In the second set, leading 6-2, Jung Ho-young grabbed early momentum by landing three consecutive service aces targeting the back space of the opponent's court.

Korea scored 9 consecutive points from 16-6 to take the second set 25-6.

In the final third set, they once again widened the gap to more than 10 points by scoring 11 points from a 6-3 lead.

At 22-8, Park Eun-jin created match point with a block and a direct attack, and Park Eun-seo finished the game at 24-10 to secure 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, Korea's advancement to the quarterfinals will be confirmed.

This is because with both Korea and Vietnam securing at least two wins each, Hong콩 and Qatar can reach a maximum of only one win even if they win their remaining matches, making it impossible for them to surpass the top two teams.

Korea will play their final group stage match against Vietnam at 4 PM tomorrow.

If Vietnam defeats Hong Kong, the match between Korea and Vietnam will decide first place in Group D.

Finishing second in the group would likely result in facing China, ranked 7th and a top candidate for first place in Group B, in the quarterfinals.

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