Korea end 2023 VNL with 12th consecutive loss

The Korean women’s volleyball team lost 3-0 to Poland in their last game of the 2023 VNL in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Sunday, ending the tournament with 12 straight losses and extending their overall losing streak to 24 games.

The Korean women's volleyball team, front, reacts after losing a Volleyball Nations League game 3-0 to Poland at West Suwon Chilbo Gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Sunday. [NEWS1]

SUWON, Gyeonggi — The Korean women’s volleyball team lost 3-0 to Poland in their last game of the 2023 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) at West Suwon Chilbo Gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Sunday, ending the tournament with 12 straight losses and extending their overall losing streak to 24 games.

Korea were on the back foot from the start, losing the first set 25-23. Kang So-hwi scored multiple aces during the set, but the team’s defense continued to show the same cracks that had been obvious in the previous 11 games.

Poland exploited that weakness in the second set, taking the score all the way to 20-12 and grabbing the set 25-18.

Korea attempted to bounce back in the third set to stay alive in the game, but Poland maintained their momentum through the set and won it 25-16, ending Korea’s last hope of securing a win this year.

Kim Da-eun and Kang were the most notable Korean players during Sunday’s game despite the 3-0 loss, scoring 13 and 12 points respectively. The team’s second top scorer Jeong Ji-yun, on the other hand, only managed four points.

The trio’s performance was still unimpressive compared to other top performers of the VNL, as the total points by the three — 210 points — was below current top scorer Li Yingying of China with 214 points as of press time Sunday.

Sunday’s loss was the ninth time Korea lost a game 3-0 during this year’s VNL. They only won three sets in the tournament in total, in 3-1 losses to Germany, Bulgaria and China.

The loss also made Korea the only winless side in this year’s VNL to finish the competition with the exact same result as last year — 12 consecutive losses.

The VNL results are concerning for Korea, who are looking to earn a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics, as the results will impact the FIVB ranking, determining the countries that compete at the Olympics.

Among the 12 countries that will participate in the Games, five will land in the competition based on the FIVB World Ranking by June 2024, prioritizing continents that do not have qualified teams in the competition.

Six other countries will reach the tournament through qualifiers, along with France, who will automatically join as host nation.

Korea can also reach the Olympics after going through the qualifiers, but that road will be tough, considering they have to beat teams like No. 1 United States and No. 2 Italy.

Korea has to improve on a number of factors to be in with a chance of securing a spot at the Olympics, with head coach Cesar Hernandez looking to reinforce the team’s attack.

“My main focus has to be attack,” Hernandez said after Sunday’s game. “We have to increase attack and efficiency. But our main focus is to find the best combination with the attack we have.

“Improve the quality of the first touch and pass and defense and we have to pass good. That will help us improve our attack.”

Having lost all their VNL games, the players are keen to display improvements in the Olympic qualifiers and Asian Games, both scheduled in September.

“I want to show more solid cohesion than now and I want to show a winning game not a losing game,” Korea’s top scorer Kim said.

She managed 74 points alone despite being only 22 years old.

Captain Park Jeong-ah also shared her takeaways from the VNL.

“It was the last game and it was tough since we didn’t manage a single win,” Park said. “But it was nice to see the young players get better and better.

“I learned a lot even as we continuously lost. I will keep utilizing what I learned and I hope I can play winning volleyball.”

The national team will take a break until the Korea Volleyball Federation Cup ends — running from July 29 to Aug. 5 — and then prepare for the Olympic qualifiers running from Sept. 16 through 24 in Poland.

Korea will then be back in action for the Hangzhou Asian Games, set to start in China at the end of September.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]