Men’s Volleyball Shuts Out Mongolia to Advance to AVC Challenge Cup Quarterfinals

The South Korean men’s national volleyball team has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup.

Head coach Lim Do-heon’s men defeated Mongolia 3-0 (25-16 25-21 25-20) in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the AVC Challenge Cup on Wednesday at the National Taipei University Gymnasium in Taipei, Taiwan.

Following the draw, Korea advanced directly to the semifinals without a quarterfinal match.

Earlier in the day, South Korea topped Group B with back-to-back shutout wins over Thailand and Saudi Arabia to advance to the quarterfinals.

After struggling with Mongolia’s height in the early stages of the match, Korea took control with a series of spikes from apogee spiker Heo Su-bong (Hyundai Capital).

This was followed by a back-attack from Korean Air’s Jeong Ji-seok to take the first set.

In the second set, it was tied at 20-20, but the South Koreans came from behind to win it. Led by a service ace from Heo Soo-bong, Korea won 25-21.

In the third set, Korea eased to victory with quick passes from captain Hwang Taek-ui (KB Insurance) and attacks from Lim Sung-jin (KEPCO).

Korea will have a day off on the 13th and will play the quarterfinals on the 14th. Bahrain and the winner of Australia-Macau will meet in the quarterfinals, with the winner taking on Korea in the semifinals.

The winner of the tournament will qualify for the FIVB Challenger Cup in Doha, Qatar on May 28.

Eight teams will compete in the FIVB Challenger Cup, including host Qatar, Turkiye, Tunisia, 고스톱 Dominican Republic, Ukraine, Chile, the last-place team in the VNL and the winner of the AVC Challenger Cup. The winner will earn a spot in next year’s VNL.