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Korean women's volleyball team crashes out of VNL at bottom of table

Published: 14 Jul. 2025, 15:27 Updated: 14 Jul. 2025, 18:26

The Korean women's volleyball team reacts during a Volleyball Nations League match against France in Chiba, Japan, on July 13. [VNL]

The Korean women’s volleyball team finished at the bottom of the 18-team preliminary stage of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) on Monday, facing relegation to the Asian Volleyball Confederation Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup.

The national squad, who had finished their VNL run on Sunday with five points, stayed at the bottom of the table after No. 17 Thailand grabbed one point from their 3-2 loss against Canada and went one point clear of Korea the following day.

Korea will not be able to compete in the VNL next year, as a rule adopted this year stipulates that the last-place team loses its eligibility to play in the tournament and faces relegation to the Volleyball Nations Cup.

The squad, led by head coach Fernando Morales, has struggled throughout this year’s VNL, having collected only five points from a 3-2 win over Canada and three 3-2 losses against the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic and Bulgaria.

The losing side grabs one point from a 3-2 loss in volleyball, while the winners take two.

This year’s lackluster performance continues after Korea’s concerningly poor runs in the past three years of the VNL.

Korea lost every single match at the 2022 and 2023 editions, before securing two wins out of 12 matches last year.

The country’s poor performance contrasts with China and Japan, who have delivered convincing results in multiple international competitions in recent years, including the VNL.

China reached the knockout stage of the VNL last year and lost to eventual runners-up Japan.

The two Asian sides both secured nine wins in the preliminary stage this year, with Japan sitting in third and China in fifth.

Korea has not been successful in any international competition since Korean volleyball legend Kim Yeon-koung retired from national duty after leading the country to the semifinal finish at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, having also failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics last year.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PAIK JI-HWAN, KO BONG-JUN [[email protected]]