25-Nov, start time: 18:00, end time: 19:29 - Attendance: 8,500

JPN	0	22	13	23	-	-	58
KOR	3	25	25	25	-	-	75

Match Description:

Korea Inflict Fifth Straight Defeat on Japan
Asian champions Korea brought parity to their win-loss record at the men's World Cup of Volleyball when they downed arch-rivals Japan in straight sets in the closing Site A match in Fukuoka. Led by their impressive captain and setter Choi Tae-Wong, Korea secured their fourth win from eight games with a 25-22, 25-13, 25-23 victory as the host nation slipped to their fifth straight defeat.

Japan made too many errors at the start of the first set to seriously trouble their opponents and quickly fell 8-4 behind, a deficit Korea soon extended to 15-9. A passage of powerful serving from Takahiro Yamamoto, which included an ace, highlighted what had been missing from the Japanese game as they won four straight points to close the gap to 16-13. But Korea regained their momentum and took a one-set lead courtesy of two more Japanese errors.

Japanese captain Yoichi Kato began the second set with more purpose and the host nation's defense tightened up to force some exciting rallies. But Choi produced some quick sets for Shin Sun-Ho to give his side a lead which they comfortably built on with some effective spiking from MIP Chang Byung-Chul and Yoon Kwan-Yeol. Choi and Shin also formed an effective block as Korea eased into a two-set lead.

Japan's Nobuyoshi Hosokawa and Yamamoto battled bravely as Japan reached 10-10 in the third set, but Korea's back-court defense, led by libero Yeo Oh-Hyun, was up to the challenge. Hosokawa kept Japan within sight of their opponents and there was no lack of effort from the Japanese as they fought back from 22-17 down to 23-20. Three match points were saved but Korea never looked like losing the set or the match.

Comments:

Official Result:

Match statistics (P-2) - PDF