Korea falls to Russia in women's volleyball

South Korea has fallen to Russia in women's volleyball at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, unable to contain the opponent's relentless attack in the late stage.

After an early seesaw battle, Russia came out on top 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14) at Maracanazinho on Monday for its second consecutive victory in Pool A.

South Korea, which defeated Japan to open the Olympics, dropped to 1-1. It will next face Argentina on Wednesday at the same venue.

Neither team led by more than two points in the opening set until Russia went up 23-20, capitalizing on South Korean turnovers.

South Korea cut the deficit to 23-22, but down 24-23, Kim Yeon-koung served one into the net to hand the set to Russia.

South Korea, ranked No. 9 in the world, now has 45 losses and seven wins against No. 4 Russia. South Korea has never beaten Russia at the Olympics, where they have met eight times.  

South Korean coach Lee Jung-chul lamented that his team couldn't win a point when they needed one most, especially during the third set.

"In critical moments, one point equals five points," Lee said.

"If we got a point when we needed it most, we would have won the third set and the match result would have been different."

South Korean attacker Kim Yeong-koung said it's a pity that they lost to Russia, but players found a positive side to their performance.

"We played well," Kim said. "Although we had some difficulties in attack, I think we showed a good performance on defense."

Kim said she was reminded of a good lesson through the match.

The 28-year-old, who is 192 cm tall, said it was difficult to spike over the tall Russian blockers.

"I learned again that I have to step up in critical moments for my team to win," she said. "I think we should prepare harder for the next match." (Yonhap)