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The losing coach and captain of the South Korean Olympic women's volleyball team agreed subpar serve receive was their greatest undoing in the quarterfinals loss to the Netherlands on Tuesday.
The Netherlands beat South Korea 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 23-25,
25-20) in a match that wasn't nearly as close as the set scores indicate. South Korea was often sloppy on both ends, and the Dutch, though shaky themselves at times, capitalized on it.
South Korean captain Kim Yeon-koung, who led all players with 27 points, said there were so many problems with the team that it was hard to pick just one thing that went wrong.
The Netherlands beat South Korea 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 23-25,
25-20) in a match that wasn't nearly as close as the set scores indicate. South Korea was often sloppy on both ends, and the Dutch, though shaky themselves at times, capitalized on it.
South Korean captain Kim Yeon-koung, who led all players with 27 points, said there were so many problems with the team that it was hard to pick just one thing that went wrong.
"We didn't do a good job of receiving serves and stopping the opponent's key offensive players," Kim said. "We know each other pretty well, but I think we were the one that panicked when the things didn't go well early on. I am disappointed we missed some opportunities to turn the tide in our favor."
Head coach Lee Jung-chul apologized for the lethargic performance, saying serve receive is one of the key fundamentals of the sport that his players failed to execute on Tuesday.
"When we faced taller opponents, we got by with our receive and defense," Lee said. "We're not that much smaller than some of the European teams today. But now we have to worry about basic volleyball skills."
Park Jeong-ah struggled mightily on the receiving end, and the usually reliable libero, Kim Hae-ran, also made mistakes throughout the match.
"I think the players all wanted to do well, but they tightened up too much and committed errors that they shouldn't have," the coach added. "We should have played our best game, but I think the players probably weren't ready mentally."
South Korea had a fine start to the tournament, beating Japan in straight sets in the first group stage match. South Korea finished third in Group A and drew the Netherlands in the quarters, a team the players felt they could beat.
Kim, widely considered one of the world's premier attackers, said she didn't have a word to describe her disappointment at a quicker-than-expected exit from the Olympics.
"I'd be lying if I said we didn't feel any pressure to win a medal," she added. "But we wanted to use people's interest and support to our advantage. In the end, we were just not good enough."
Head coach Lee Jung-chul apologized for the lethargic performance, saying serve receive is one of the key fundamentals of the sport that his players failed to execute on Tuesday.
"When we faced taller opponents, we got by with our receive and defense," Lee said. "We're not that much smaller than some of the European teams today. But now we have to worry about basic volleyball skills."
Park Jeong-ah struggled mightily on the receiving end, and the usually reliable libero, Kim Hae-ran, also made mistakes throughout the match.
"I think the players all wanted to do well, but they tightened up too much and committed errors that they shouldn't have," the coach added. "We should have played our best game, but I think the players probably weren't ready mentally."
South Korea had a fine start to the tournament, beating Japan in straight sets in the first group stage match. South Korea finished third in Group A and drew the Netherlands in the quarters, a team the players felt they could beat.
Kim, widely considered one of the world's premier attackers, said she didn't have a word to describe her disappointment at a quicker-than-expected exit from the Olympics.
"I'd be lying if I said we didn't feel any pressure to win a medal," she added. "But we wanted to use people's interest and support to our advantage. In the end, we were just not good enough."
