South Korea vs. France: 2011 FIVB World League, Match 2 – Volleyball update
South Korea posted a 3-1 (27-25, 19-25, 25-23, and 25-16) victory over France on Sunday, June 5. It was the 26th match of the 2011 FIVB World League, which rounded off the second-week games today. The Suwon Indoor Gymnasium hosted the thrilling performance, where South Korea took full advantage of the emotional support of the home crowed and pulled off success. France received their fourth defeat in a row. In the first-week game, France was defeated by Italy, while South Korea beat them in two matches on different days.
Match overview
The guest team from France opened the match with a strong lead over the Korean squad. France attacked from different angles and easily built a 5-point lead over the home team. However, French hitters committed a few mistakes and created a perfect chance for Korea to chase the score and even take the lead later on. The first continued for about half-an-hour and finally South Korea settled for more points. France dropped the first set with a margin of just two points.
Jenia Grebennikov, the libero of France, did a great job in the second set. He involved great tactics in receiving the difficult shots from the opponents. French team continued putting more and more effort and eventually surpassed South Korea. In the meanwhile, Korea suffered the set-back because of their weak blocking. As Korea’s block was not working, French strikers took full advantage of the situation and pushed the score to the finish line. France hit the equaliser in second set and posted 25-19.
Third set of the game was the real fight for supremacy. The local fans backed their team and urged them to make a come-back in the game. The happy slogans from fans’ worked its magic for South Korean team and put them in the lead. French team lagged behind and committed too many unforced mistakes. The haste of the French men resulted in Korea’s triumph in the third set, 25-23.
Choi Hong-Suk of South Korea was simply on fire in the fourth set. He threw long unstoppable spikes and created problems for French team. After an exchange of swift spikes, Korean team dug up success.
Top Scorer
Choi Hong-Suk was named the top-scorer of the match. He performed exquisitely and never missed a chance to score a point. His successful attack-attempts, solid blocking and defensive play allowed him to compile an individual score of 17 points. He played an instrumental role in making his team successful. On the other hand, France’s Samuele Tuia, was regarded as the high-scorer on his side. He paced things up with his 15 points. His efforts were commendable but the team could not achieve an advantage from his amazing act.
Quotes and comments
The mentor of French team, Philippe Blain, commented, "Before the match, we were a little bit nervous, but we were in good shape until the middle of the third set, after which we lost our concentration, I feel sad about it. In the fourth set, I changed the setter to change the flow of the match, but unfortunately it did not work well. I could see the passion and fighting spirit of the young Korean players, and they were in good shape physically. Also, the game speed was much faster than I expected."
The head coach of the victorious team, Park Ki-Won, praised the good work of his players. He commented, "Our excellent concentration and strong determination for victory as shown in the third set were the main factors for today's victory. I am satisfied with our concentration on service reception and our fighting spirit, despite a lack of stamina."
French captain Guillaume Samica regretted the loss of another match. Nonetheless, he congratulated his Korean counter-part and complimented their great style of playing. He said his team tried its best but lost the concentration and tempo at important points of the game, which caused major damage to them.
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