Korean women's volleyball take VNL losing streak to year four

Led by a new head coach, Korea lost 3-0 to China in their first 2024 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) game on Tuesday, extending their losing streak in the annual tournament to 28 games.

The Korean women's volleyball team, in white, in action during a 2024 Volleyball Nations League game against China in Brazil on Tuesday. [FIVB]

The Korean women’s volleyball team led by new head coach Fernando Morales lost 3-0 to China in their first 2024 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) game on Tuesday, extending their losing streak in the annual tournament to 28 games.

The VNL is an annual international competition in which 16 countries participate across multiple locations around the world.

In Tuesday’s game held in Brazil, Korea failed to dominate from the start. The Morales squad scored multiple points during the first set, but their defense was incohesive, failing to make proactive movements and conceding point after point.

China, on the other hand, was better in nearly every area — sharper and quicker in attack and displaying proper positioning in defense.

The difference in attack during the whole contest was clear, as four Chinese players — Yingying Li with 17 points, Mengjie Wu with 14, Xinyue Yuan with 12 and Xiangyu Gong with 10 — recorded double-digit points, while only Kang So-hwi did so for Korea at 12.

Even after Korea lost the first set 25-15, they failed to react quickly to China’s attack in the second set, losing it 25-16. Korea did not bounce back in the third quarter and lost it 25-14 for a 3-0 loss in Morales's first game in charge.

Korean women's volleyball team head coach Fernando Morales reacts during a 2024 Volleyball Nations League game against China in Brazil on Tuesday. [FIVB]

Morales took the helm in March after former head coach Cesar Hernandez was sacked in October last year following a fifth-place finish at the Hangzhou Asian Games last fall.

Tuesday’s loss matched the result from Korea's last clash with China, at the Asian Games.

The loss stretches Korea’s losing streak in the VNL to 28 games. The team lost three straight games in the 2021 VNL, before losing all 24 games in the 2022 and 2023 tournaments.

Another failure in this year’s VNL would push Korea further down the FIVB rankings, where Korea fell one place to 41st after Tuesday’s contest. Korea’s ranking has plummeted since finishing the Tokyo Olympics as semifinalists, falling from 14th in 2021 to 41st.

Korea will next take on No. 3 Brazil on Thursday, before facing No. 8 Dominican Republic on Saturday and No. 13 Thailand on Sunday.

The Thailand game will wrap up the first week of the 2024 VNL schedule, with Korea flying to the United States for the second week running from May 28 to June 2 and heading to Japan for the third week from June 11 to 16.

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