"We tried our very best. We will set aside our loss and aim for the next Olympics."

Kim Yeon Koung, captain of the national women's volleyball team, shed tears of frustration after her team lost its hopes of attaining an Olympic medal for the first time in 40 years.

On Aug. 16, the Korean national team lost 1-3 to the Dutch in the women's volleyball quarterfinals, a result which ruled out Korea's chances of competing in the Olympic semifinals. Korea made an appearance at the semifinals at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and since the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, the team has yet to win a medal in 40 years.

Despite high expectations, the Korean team faltered on its serve receive alignments and lost the first and second sets to the Dutch. Korea held its ground in the third set as Kim Yeon Koung unloaded powerful hits to gain an advantage, but the Netherlands came in strong and kept its focus.

In the fourth set, Korea struggled to overcome some tough Dutch net defense. The team lost three points to its opponent in the beginning of the set, and after three consecutive mistakes made by the Korean side at 11-14, the tide turned in favor of the Netherlands.





"Just as we studied the game play of the Netherlands, it seems our opponents also knew a lot about our strengths and weaknesses," said Kim Yeon Koung after her team's loss. "It's hard to pinpoint one thing that went wrong. From our serves and serve receives, to marking the opposing team's offense, nothing went as we had planned."

Noting that, "It all comes down to experience," Kim said, "The players on our national team need to work hard on their skills, and not be satisfied with how they perform in the domestic playing field. You need to build up your global experience to be able to compete at international events. I would advise all my younger teammates to venture out into the bigger ocean and to gain as much experience as they can in the open waters."

By Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Yonhap News
hlee10@korea.kr