MATCH INFO
Korea breaks the curse and earns first win in a new five-setter against USA
Korean killer Na was once again the leading scorer with 23 tallies
Almirante Brown, Argentina, August 26, 2011 - In the fourth five-setter for the team in the tournament, this time Korea finished its losing streak by beating USA (25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-11). Nevertheless, the Korean side will fight for the 13th place, while USA's fate depends on the result between Russia and the already qualified Iran.
Korea's Gyeong-Bok Na notched the award of top scorer for fourth time in a row, in this case with 23 points. Teammates Myung-Geun Song and Jun-Young Kim finished in 17 and 16 kills. On the losing side, Aaron Russell, Matthew Tarantino and Nikola Antonijevic lined up with 16, 14 and 12 points respectively.
Wrong serves in both sides established the rhythm in the first set. USA scored with good blocks but the Korean spikes quickly started to avoid the blocking. Tarantino and Na engaged themselves in a battle of scorers and in that scenario the Asians arrived to the second stop 16-14. Later on, an amazing spike of Du-Yeon Hwang sealed the set 25-20.
The second chapter started very tied. Aaron Russell came from the bench and nailed three important spikes, carrying USA to the first TTO 8-6. The Americans kept rolling and arrived at the second pause 16-13, despite the good performance of Korean captain Song. Cody Caldwell and Antonijevic joined with spikes and blocks, respectively, and another great spike of Russell gave the set to the US 25-20.
Once again, Russell spiked his team through an 8-5 lead. Korea showed signs of weakness and the Americans took advantage with its serves to increase the gap to 16-8. Although Korea improved on the attack, USA's libero Andrew Sato remained active to keep his side on top. Ba-Da Jung missed his serve and USA won the set 25-18.
Korea bounced back and with a great contribution of Jong-Beom Cheon went to the first pause leading 8-3. Antonijevic scored some blocks (5 points for him in the department), but nevertheless the Asians stayed ahead at the second TTO 16-11. Na and Song shared the damage and Korea prevailed 25-19.
The American team could not recover and with unforced errors gave the lead to Korea. Good offensive play by Jun-Young Kim led the way for Korea to change sides on 8-3. USA tried a comeback, but this time the fate smiled to Korea. A clever tip by captain Song brought the match to an end by 15-11.
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