(Asiad) S. Korea beats Hong Kong in women's volleyball

KOMAKI, Japan, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean women's volleyball team opened its Asian Games campaign with a 3-0 win over Hong Kong on Wednesday, led by an effective performance by captain Kang So-hwi.

In the women's volleyball preliminary Pool D match at Park Arena Komaki in Komaki, just north of Nagoya, Japan, South Korea defeated Hong Kong 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-12).

Captain Kang led South Korea with a match-high 14 points.

South Korea is grouped in Pool D with Hong Kong, Qatar and Vietnam, with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

In another Pool D match held at the same venue, Vietnam routed Qatar 3-0 (25-3, 25-8, 25-9) in about 50 minutes.

South Korea held a commanding 75-24 advantage in attacks, as well as a 5-1 edge in blocks and a 10-3 lead in service winners.

South Korea gained an early advantage in the first set, extending its lead to 17-12 with two straight aces by Lee Da-hyeon, before closing out the set 25-23 with solid defense against Hong Kong's late attacks.

The second set was also dominated by South Korea, who took an 18-8 lead with seven straight points and did not allow Hong Kong to narrow the gap, eventually winning the set 25-12.

In the third set, South Korea surrendered an early 4-2 lead to Hong Kong for the first time in the match after the opponent scored with a service winner and spikes. South Korea regained the lead with a block by Jung Ho-yeong and went on to close out the match with a 25-12 win in the final set.