Women's national volleyball team head coach Cha Sang-hyun expressed his determination ahead of the Vietnam match, the biggest hurdle in the group stage of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, stating, "We will mentally arm ourselves once more and put on a great performance."

South Korea, led by coach Cha, completely defeated Qatar (world ranking 106th) with a set score of 3-0 (25-6 25-6 25-10) in the second match of Group D in the women's volleyball tournament held today (the 17th) at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Having defeated Hong Kong (127th) the previous day and now Qatar without conceding a single set, South Korea recorded two consecutive wins and 6 points.

Meeting reporters after the match, coach Cha said, "I think it's a relief that we won 3-0," but added, "Tomorrow's match is extremely important. We will hold a meeting this evening to mentally arm ourselves once more."

South Korea rested Lee Da-hyun (NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki) on this day and started Jeong Ho-young (Red Sparks).

Captain Kang So-hwi (Korea Expressway Corporation) only played the first set, managing the stamina of key players in preparation for the match against Vietnam.

Having struggled with a somewhat tense appearance in the first set of the match against Hong Kong (127th) the previous day, South Korea showed dominant skills from the beginning of the game against Qatar.

South Korea will play its final group stage match against Vietnam (32nd) at 4:00 PM on the 18th.

The first place team in Group D will face the second place team of Group B in the quarterfinals, while the second place team of Group D will face the first place team of Group B.

The team currently favored to finish first in Group B is China, ranked 7th in the world.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, South Korea suffered a 2-3 comeback defeat against Vietnam after winning the first two sets, failing to advance to the semifinals.

They also collapsed in the same manner at the 2023 Asian Championship, hurting their pride.

However, this year was different.

South Korea thoroughly defeated Vietnam 3-0 in the semifinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup last June, and also won 3-1 in the group stage of the Asian Championship last month.

Coach Cha said, "As we have won twice, the players will certainly have confidence," but noted, "The opponent will expect which positions we will target, and the same goes for us. How boldly we attempt our plays while avoiding unforced errors will be crucial."

He emphasized, "Which team seizes the momentum in the first set will be the key," adding, "Ever since the Asian Championship ended, I thought the most important match would be the one against Vietnam. I will do my best with the players to mentally arm ourselves once again and deliver a great performance."

(Photo: Yonhap News)