S. Korean women defeated in volleyball quarters

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) — South Korea bowed out of the quarterfinals in women’s volleyball at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics Tuesday, unable to end a 40-year medal drought.

The Netherlands beat South Korea 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 25-20) at Maracanazinho to reach the final four.

South Korea was pursuing its first Olympic volleyball medal — male or female — since the women’s team won bronze in 1976 in Montreal.

South Korean women’s volleyball players stay on the court after allowing a point to the Netherlands in their Rio de Janeiro Olympic quarterfinals on Aug. 16, 2016.

The teams traded points early on, before the Netherlands started to pull ahead. Up 8-7, Lonneke Sloetjes and Judith Pietersen went to work on offense and staked the Dutch to a 17-11 lead.

Sloetjes, who scored nine points in the opening set alone, was too much for South Korea, and soon it was 23-16 for the Netherlands.

South Korea made a late push with three straight points before Sloetjes’ spike and Pietersen’s ace ended the set for the Netherlands at 25-19.

Tied at 3-3 in the second set, Pietersen herself scored five straight points, three of them on aces, and the Dutch were in cruise control from there.

South Korea never got to within two points the rest of the set. The combination of the Dutch onslaught and South Korea’s poor receive game saw the Netherlands’ advantage increase to 18-9.

The Dutch promptly went ahead 23-12. Anne Buijs also got in on the act on offense and helped the team to a 25-14 set win.

South Korea showed some life in the third set, scoring the first three points. The key South Korean hitter Kim Yeon-koung went back to her usual, dominant self, piling up points to lead the rally.

South Korea, however, let the Dutch hang around and nearly paid the price.

The 12-6 lead became a slim 17-15 advantage. South Korea overcame a few turnovers to go up 24-20. But then the Dutch made it more interesting with three straight points, before Kim Hee-jin’s spike finally gave South Korea the 25-23 set victory.

The fourth set was a sloppy affair, though the Netherlands managed to get ahead 12-6 thanks to a series of kill blocks and South Korean mistakes.

The Dutch stayed ahead by at least four points the rest of the set, with Sloetjes and Buijs sending the South Koreans packing.

Kim Yeon-koung led all players with 27 points in the losing effort. Sloetjes led the balanced Dutch attack with 23 points, while Pietersen and Buijs chipped in 17 and 15 points.