Russia pushed to five sets by Republic of Korea

(BEIJING, June 15) -- The team from the Republic of Korea nearly upset the Russians in front of a home crowd on June 14 in their first match of the FIVB World League 2008. The Russians prevailed after two hours, winning 31-29, 16-25, 18-25, 25-23, 16-14. The second match between the teams will take place on Sunday afternoon, also in Suwon, the Republic of Korea.

The impressive effort comes just one week after the Republic of Korea lost their bid to qualify for the Olympics at the final Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tokyo and further demonstrated that they're a team on the rise.

"The shock of disqualification for the Olympic Games made my players stronger," said Seo Nam-Won, head coach for the Republic of Korea, after the match. "I just tried to show vigorous performance to the volleyball fans. We could have gotten the match, but were short to get over the crisis in the last part."

The Russians see the World League not just as preparation for the Olympics but as an important competition itself. They expressed their admiration for the effort made by the Republic of Korea team.

"We made a lot of mistakes and it made the game harder," said Russian captain Vadim Khamuttskikh. "Winning is something that is always hard to achieve, but I'm quite satisfied with the result."

The team from the Republic of Korea has a bright future due to many young players and good team work, he added.