16th Asian Senior Men's Volleyball Championship - Australia defeats Korea by 3-2 in a Pool D match
The Australian men’s national volleyball team were up against the Koreans on September 21, Wednesday in a Pool D match of the 16th Asian Senior Men's Volleyball Championship. Both sides were evenly matched for five sets after which Australia found themselves
on the winning end by 3-2. The venue of the competition was the Azadi Hall No.1 at Tehran, Iran.
The first set of the match was mostly dominated by the Australians as the Koreans took some time to get accustomed to the game. Once the Koreans were able to stabilise, they gave the Australians quite a challenge in the second and equalised the match with
a win. The Australians bagged the third but the fourth one was taken by the Koreans after another intense fight. However, the Koreans lost their steam in the fifth set as the Australians stormed forward with a win at the following final set scores: 25-20,
29-31, 25-20, 25-27 and 15-7.
The first set of the game started off with the Australians taking the lead and putting the pressure on the already struggling Korean side. The highly effective attack of the Australians was able to overcome the feeble defence of the Koreans and extend their
lead to the first technical time out at 8-5. The game was going in favour of the Australians but the Koreans managed to close in the gap. However, they could not overtake the Australians and lost the opening set at 20-25.
The loss of the first set did not deter the Koreans from coming out strong in the second set of the game. Korea was able to start off with a lead early on. This was mainly because of the talented Korean attacker, Kim Yo-Han, who was proving to be advantage
for the Koreans. However, Australia was able to neutralize Yo-Han by strengthening their defence and took the lead. Korea did not let them get too far and was able to step up their game that led to an eventual Korean lead. The final stages of the match were
thrilling as neither team was willing to let go of the set but it was Korea that proved to be the better side in the end by taking the set at 31-29.
The Australians stepped up their attack in the third set and hit hard on the Korean defence. Australia was able to maintain the lead and sailed smoothly towards a win at 25-20. The Koreans started the fourth set forcefully and they stayed in control from
the start to the finish at 27-25. However, the Australians won the fifth set in a dominating fashion at 15-7.
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