Woori Card regained the top spot in the men’s volleyball league with a win over Korean Air.
Woori Card defeated Korean Air 3-0 (25-19 25-23 26-24) in straight sets in the Dodram 2023-2024 V League Men’s Division at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on Tuesday.
Woori Card, who had been leading the league but briefly lost the top spot to Korean Air after two consecutive losses, leapfrogged Korean Air back into the lead with the win.
Both teams have 25 points, but Woori Card (9-3) has the edge in wins over Korean Air (8-4).
Woori Card, who won their first-round matchup in a 2-hour, 45-minute battle – the longest men’s match in history – with a 3-2 set score, eased into the second-round rematch.
Woori Card’s first-set comeback set the tone for the match.
Down 16-19, the team scored nine straight points to take control of the match.
The protagonist was Woori Card’s 19-year-old setter Han Tae-joon.
At 16-19, Han Tae-joon intercepted Jeong Jung-yong’s attack, scored a blocking point to take the serve, and then broke down Korean Air’s strong reception with his colorful serve.
From 17-19, when Han Tae-joon started serving, Woori Card scored eight consecutive points, including three unforced errors and three blocking points for Korean Air.
Woori Card continued its dominance in the second set after Korean Air regrouped.
Down by one point at 23-20 with two unforced errors, Matei Kok (real name Matei) closed out the set with two celestial kills.
Woori Card continued the back-and-forth drama in the third set.
Down 21-23, Matei’s two kills and an ace from one-point server Jung Sung-kyu made it 24-23 and match point.
On the 24-24 deuce, Matei’s hard hit hit the court, and finally, Korean Air’s Lim Dong-hyuk committed a trailing attacker foul to give Woori Card the match point 3.
Woori Card held an absolute advantage in blocks, 13-5, with Matei and Kim Ji-han leading the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Korean Air got a team-high 17 points from Im Dong-hyuk, who came off the bench to replace struggling foreign player Lincoln Williams, but he made a costly mistake in the final minute.
In the women’s match at Gimcheon Gymnasium in Gyeongsangbuk-do, visiting Hyundai E&C came from behind to defeat Korea Expressway Corporation in straight sets 3-1 (23-25 25-20 25-22 25-21).
With its fourth straight win, Hyundai E&C concluded its second round schedule with 8 wins, 4 losses, and 26 points to remain in second place.
The gap to league leader Heungkuk Life (10-1, 28 points) is two points.
Roadworks (3 L, 9 D, 12 P), which lost its third straight game, failed to escape the bottom half of the table in sixth place.
Hyundai E&C was led by Leticia Moma Basoko (née Moma) with a game-high 32 points, while Yang Hyo-jin (15 points), Wipawi Sithong (née Wipawi – 11 points), Jeong Ji-yoon (10 points), and Lee Da-hyun (8 points) scored evenly.
For Roadworks, Vanya Vukiric scored 30 points and Bae Yoo-na added 15 as the duo combined for 45 points, but the rest of the team’s performance was lackluster. 파워볼