Korean wall blunts attack of brave Peru

Korea has blocked its way to a hard fought 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-21) win against a brave Peru, inspired by an outstanding individual performance from Yang Hyo-Jin.

Hyo-Jin was part of a defensive wall that blunted wave after wave off attacks from A Peruvian side which needed to win to improve its chance of Olympic qualification.

Teenager Angela Leyva was outstanding for Peru  in the opening set, not just with her rocket-like spikes, but also her menacing serve and, most importantly, her digging. 19-year-old Leyva was throwing herself around the court like a Libero.

Speaking of which, Peru’s Libero, Vanessa Palacios, has considerably enhanced her reputation during the qualifiers, and in the opening set against Korea she took it up another notch.

Captain Mirtha Uribe continued to lead from the front, while Carla Rueda was everywhere, as Peru took an early 6-2 lead and refused to yield, taking out the opening set with a shock 25-18 scoreline.

For Korea, Kim Yeon-Koung was working hard, but without her usual return on the scoreboard, while Hyo-Jin finished the set with four points. 

Having shocked its much more fancied opponents in the opening set, Peru picked up in the second set where it left off, moving to an 8-5 …

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