S. Korea secures 1st place in Pool D in women's volleyball

NAGOYA — South Korea defeated Vietnam on Friday in the final women's volleyball preliminary match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games to secure the top position in Pool D. The team won the match 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 26-28, 25-18) at Park Arena Komaki, just north of Nagoya, Japan. South Korea topped Pool D with three wins, while Vietnam finished second with two wins and one loss. Both teams had already taken berths in the quarterfinals. South Korea will play against Kazakhstan, the runner-up in Pool B behind China, in the eight-team knockout stage starting Sunday. The South Koreans finished with advantages of 101-88 in attack, with a 9-6 lead from the service line. The first set was a seesaw battle until South Korea fell behind 19-18. But setter Kim Da-in's two straight service winners helped the team regain the lead and induced some errors from Vietnam, allowing South Korea to close out the set 25-21. In the second set, South Korea extended an early 6-1 lead with diversified offensive plays, including a block by middle blocker Na Hyun-soo and an ace by Lee Da-hyeon. Entering the latter part of