South Korean women’s volleyball is struggling again on the international scene. They have lost 14 consecutive matches in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).

The Koreans lost their second match against Canada 0-3 (17-25, 16-25, 18-25) in straight sets on 3 March (KST) in Antalya, Turkey, in Week 1 of the VNL. Lane van Buskirk had 18 points and Grey Alexa 11 points for Canada. Not a single player scored in double figures for South Korea, with Ju Po Park managing just seven points.

This is the second straight loss for South Korea after the first match against Turkiye on 1 January. Neither match was won in straight sets. Including last year’s VNL, where they lost all 12 matches, this is their 14th straight loss.

South Korea was completely out-served in Canada. They were heavily outblocked, 3-11. Lee Da-hyun had two and Moon Ji-yoon had one. Other middle blockers (centres) such as Lee Ju-ah and Park Eun-jin were silent.

Korea was not outblocked in the first game against Turkiye (4-5), but lost the match by almost half (28-51).

The silence of the team’s captain and main shooter Park Jung-ah was also a reason for the loss. She scored just six points against Turkiye and seven against Canada. Backup Kim Mi-yeon scored the most points (eight).

Kim Yeon-kyung, the ‘volleyball queen’, joined the team as an instructor and legend Han Yoo-mi as a coach, but the team was still lethargic in the first two matches. The post-Kim era. The bar is still high on the world stage.

South Korea will play their third game against the USA on 3 March at 11pm. The Americans are currently on a two-game winning streak 안전놀이터.