Toyama, Japan, September 24, 2019 – Korea defeated Serbia 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 15-25, 25-23) in the first match on the eighth day of the FIVB Women’s World Cup at Toyama City Gymnasium on Tuesday.
Korea coach Stefano Lavarini: "It was a really tough match like yesterday and like most of the matches in this great competition. We faced Serbia and tried to use our weapons, such as serving as strong as we can and we respected tactically how we attacked them, and in many moments of the match we had success in this sense. It was hard for us to stop their attackers, as we knew, but in some moments we had two or three good balls that makes a difference, even if our blocking performance was not that good. I’m really happy that the players, after a bad third set when they switched off as happens sometimes, they had the strength and the will to come back and win an important match for us."
On team captain Kim Yeon Koung:
"She is making a lot of effort to help the team after a summer where she never had a chance to rest. Our balance depends a lot on our captain and with playing in every competition – Olympic qualifiers and the Asian Championship at home – she was always stressed by needing to be at the top level all the time. In this competition in which we have the aim of making some experiments and trying to improve our qualities, I want to give her some rest, as I have done, because I know she is really tired. But even in this condition, she tried to help the team as best she could especially in the big moments at the end of the match where she gave us that help to close an important win."
On setter Yeum Hye Seon:
"She was much better than yesterday, being ready to start from the beginning. Sometimes there is a little pressure to start from the beginning like today, but sometimes it’s a little easier than entering during a set where she has to replace another player. If yesterday she was not so ready, today she was really, really ready to play in the game. Apart from some precision she has to work on especially with our outside hitters, tactically she gave a perfect interpretation of the match. Yesterday, Lee Dayeong had an injury in the first set; she stretched a muscle a little, but I hope she will recover so she can play in our next matches."
Korea captain Kim Yeon Koung: "Today was a really difficult game and I’m very happy with the win. This is such a long tournament and some players have suffered injuries, but we are adapting to this. We played really well in the first two sets but our concentration dropped in the third set. In the fourth set, Serbia were good and it became a very difficult game, but we kept our concentration and won the match. Yesterday, the coach told me to take a rest, so today I resolved to put in a 100 per cent performance. I really appreciate the efforts of my team and my head coach."
Serbia coach Aleksandar Vladisavljev: "Korea played better today and deserved to win. In the first two sets, we were totally absent. I can’t remember not having a block or an ace for two sets. In the third set, we played much better, but in the fourth Korea’s experience and the quality of Kim decided the set and the match. Now, we have three matches left and I hope we will play better."
Serbia player Mina Popovic: "I think this wasn’t our best game. We didn’t play the game we’ve been playing until now in this tournament and I think the Korean team prepared really well. Maybe we are a bit tired but we can’t use that as an excuse because everyone else is tired. We hope we will have better games in the final round of this competition. In the first two sets I think we had a little problem with our serve and reception so it’s always hard to play your best game when you don’t have the ball close to the net. Also, the Korean defence was really good."
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