Ruse, Bulgaria, July 7, 2017 - Led by Kim Heejin and Kim Yeon Koung Korea overcame a one-set deficit to defeat Germany by 3-1 (19-25, 25-25-23, 25-18, 25-23) in the opening match in Pool A2 in FIVB World Grand Prix.
Yeon Koung Kim was the top scorer for the winners, with 20 points, while Kim Heejin contributed 15 points. Germany's Louisa Lippmann finished the match with 23 points.
Germany started the opening set with a lot of confidence and scored six points in a row to go 6-0 up. Korea tried to come back but with good serving and blocking, but the Europeans managed to win the set by 25-19. Louisa Lippmann was the most dangerous player in the Germany squad and contributed 7 points.
Despite the tough first set Korea started to play better and better in the second set and won it by 25-23. The Asians didn’t make easy mistakes in reception and led by Kim Heejin and their superstar Kim Yeon Koung who were absolutely perfect in the key moments of the set they made a great come back. Captain Kim Yeon Koung scored the last point in the set with great diagonal spike.
Another great spike on the line by Kim Yeon Koung against huge double German block marked the most exciting moment in the third set to make it 23-15. And just like in the previous set the captain Yeon Koung was the preferred choice for the Korean setter in the last point as she finished it with technical spike. Germany started to play better in the fourth set and the Europeans were one point ahead by 14-13. In the next minutes Korea took the right decisions in the difficult moments and closed out the match after 25-23 in the fourth set.
