Revenge of the big sisters: Women’s U20 Zhang Yun Hee-ho defeats Chinese Taipei to avenge U18 defeat

Jang Yoon-hee is off to a fresh start.

The South Korea U20 Women’s National Volleyball Team, led by head coach Jang Yun-hee, registered a comfortable 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-17) victory over Chinese Taipei in straight sets in their Pool D match at the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) U20 Women’s Championship 2024 Qualifiers in Jiangmen, China on Sunday (Jan. 1). The Koreans were dominant across the board, especially with their strong serve, which broke down the Chinese Taipei reception line and reduced the success rate of their back row attacks. The victory avenged their siblings’ sweep of Chinese Taipei at the U18 Women’s Championships.

Lee Ju-ah, Shin Eun-ji, Kim Se-bin, Lee Ji-yoon, Jeon Da-bin and Kim Da-eun started for Korea. Park Chae-min wore the libero jersey. For Chinese Taipei, Xu Fang-min, Lin Kaizhen, Lin Liang-tai, Weng Tsu-yun, Chang Chen-yi and Chang Yi-chi started in the middle. 안전한 파워볼사이트 Chen Yanjian was the starting libero.

In the first set, South Korea took the early lead. After a service error by Chang Yi Chi, Kim Da Eun scored on her own serve, followed by an attack error by her opponent, to take a 7-4 lead. The Korean team then added two more points on her own serve to extend the lead to more than double points early on. Chinese Taipei continued to struggle as Chang Yi-Chi’s right side back row attack was ineffective, while Korea continued to capitalize on Shin Eun-Ji’s attacking prowess.

Chinese Taipei tried to catch up with Weng Tzu-yun’s right-side move to make up for the lack of back-row offense, but Korea comfortably put the pressure on Chinese Taipei with back-to-back blocks from captain Kim Se-bin and Lee Ju-ah for another double point at 14-8. After easily reaching the 20-point mark with a net battle victory by Kim Da-eun, Korea closed out the rest of the set by shutting down any late attacks from Chinese Taipei, culminating in a left-handed slam by Lee Chae-young at 24-13 to take the first set.

After a faltering start to the second set, with an attack error by Chun Da-bin at 2-4, Korea quickly erased the deficit as setter Chang Chen-yi and her attackers found their rhythm, and a block by Lee Ji-yoon at 7-6 put them back on track. Chinese Taipei still couldn’t find an effective right side back row attack from Chang Yi-chi, and Korea took a four-point lead at 11-7 on a daring high ball from Lee Ju-ah.

The mid- and late-set continued to flow at Korea’s pace. With Chinese Taipei still struggling to find chemistry between their setter and attacker, they steadily racked up points. At 18-9, Shin Eun-ji’s trademark strong serve led to a 10-point lead. Later in the set, Kim Da-eun’s left passes to Lee Chae-young and Song Eun-chae faltered, but a Kim Se-bin kill at 24-18 sealed the second set for Korea.

In the third set, Korea pushed Chinese Taipei right from the start. At 4-2, Lee Ju-ah scored back-to-back service points, and at 6-3, Kim Se-bin had a neat direct kill. Add to that an attack error by Hwang Chunjia and a block by Lee Ji-yoon, and Korea quickly went on a 9-3 run. Another double score followed. At 13-7, Shin Eun-ji scored on a block.

There were no major crises after that. Korea continued to rack up points with Shin Eun-ji’s firepower and Kim Se-bin’s open center attack. At 19-13, Lee Ji-yoon’s man-to-man block of Pao Inch’s fast break brought Korea to 20 points, and at 24-17, Song Eun-chae’s attack in the paint sealed the shutout.