(Asian Games) S. Korea beats Indonesia to reach women's volleyball semis

By Yoo Jee-ho

JAKARTA, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- Defending champion South Korea reached the semifinals in women's volleyball on Wednesday with a straight-set victory over Indonesia.

Kim Yeon-koung paced the attack with 18 points as South Korea defeated the host nation of the 18th Asian Games 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-18) in the quarterfinals at GBK Volleyball Indoor.

Next up: Thailand, which knocked off Vietnam in the day's first quarterfinals match. The semifinal showdown will be 5 p.m. Friday.

Kim entered Wednesday's game as the tournament's third-best scorer with 72 points, while Indonesian attacker Aprilia Manganang was in tops with 86 points. Manganang had a team-high 17 points in the losing effort.

South Korea, world No. 10, is on a collision course with the top-ranked China, which is on the opposite side of the bracket. The two countries met at each of the past two Asiad gold medal games, with China winning in 2010 and South Korea coming out on top in 2014.

South Korean men's volleyball team is also in the semifinals. It will play Chinese Taipei there on Thursday.

South Korea opened a 14-6 lead in the first set, but Indonesia stormed back to take a 17-16 lead. South Korea regained the lead at 19-17 with a series of Indonesian miscues, and Kim Yeon-koung got the final two points of the set.

Once South Korea became steadier with serve receive in the second set, it was an easy ride to a 25-13 win.

South Korea saw its 17-12 lead in the third set turned into a 20-17 advantage, but outside hitter Lee Jae-yeong and center Yang Hyo-jin put the finishing touch on the win.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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