Set score 3-1 comeback win
Korean Air, the ‘defending champion’ of men’s volleyball, started the new season with a win.
Korean Air defeated OK Savings Bank with a set score of 3-1 (24-26 25-23 25-10 25-20) in the opening match of the Dodram 2024-2025 V-League men’s division held at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on the 19th.
Korean Air, which won the first four consecutive championships in V-League history until last season, showed off its unwavering ‘power’ by winning from the opening game.
Lee Jun of Korean Air scored 25 points, the most of both teams, with an attack success rate of 72.41%, and Yosbani helped with 24 points. Jeong Han-yong also added 15 points.
Korean Air overwhelmed OK Savings Bank with a score of 16-7 in blocking.
OK Savings Bank, which faced the defending champion from the first game, started the season with an upset loss.
A deuce battle unfolded from the first set.
OK Savings Bank, which was trailing 20-22, balanced the score with Song Hee-chae’s quick opening and Park Won-bin’s blocking.
Korean Air took the lead again with Yosbani’s rearguard attack, but immediately allowed the score to be tied again thanks to a counterattack by OK Savings Bank’s Jang Binglong.
OK Savings Bank showed great concentration in a match that eventually went to deuce.
After winning a point with Luconi’s open attack at 24-24, Zhang Binglong blocked Yosvani’s attack to win the first set.
The second set was also a close match.
The two teams fought fiercely until the last minute.
This time, Korean Air’s sincerity stood out even more.
At 18-19, Korean Air won 4 points thanks to Yosbani and Jeong Han-yong’s consecutive rearguard attacks and Lee Jun’s quick open, turning the tide to 22-19, and reached the set point at 23-22 thanks to Lee Jun’s time difference. At 24-23, Yosbani scored the 25th point with a quick opener.
After balancing the set, Korean Air took the lead by comfortably winning the third set.
From the beginning, thanks to the performances of Jeong Han-yong and Lee Jun, the team accumulated points and ran away with a 15-6 lead. On the other hand, OK Savings Bank was unable to prevent this and was busy being dragged along.
Korean Air’s onslaught continued. At 15-7, Lee Jun’s consecutive scores widened the gap again, and at 19-9, Yosbani scored in succession to put OK Savings Bank to sleep.
Korean Air, riding on momentum, ended the match in the 4th set.
Korean Air, who ran away at 15-14 due to the opponent’s poor serve and Yosbani’s attack, beat OK Savings Bank at 20-19 with Lee Jun’s quick open.
OK Savings Bank caught up to 20-21, but failed to change the flow as Shin Ho-jin’s serve deviated.
Korean Air scored another point at 22-20 when Lee Jun blocked Luconi’s attack, and ended the game at 24-20 with Kim Min-jae’s open attack.
In the women’s match held in Suwon, Heungkuk Life Insurance defeated Hyundai Engineering & Construction with a set score of 3-1 (25-19 14-25 25-22 25-16).
Heungkuk Life Insurance, which was defeated by Hyundai Engineering & Construction in last year’s championship game, won the first game of the new season.
Heungkuk Life Insurance Tutku scored 21 points, and Kim Yeon-kyung added 16 points. Fitch, who joined as a substitute three days before the opening, scored 9 points.
For Hyundai Engineering & Construction, domestic players only scored in single digits while Wipawi scored 20 points and MoMA scored 11 points.
Heungkuk Life Insurance, which lost the second set after winning the first set, raised the mood by winning the third set in a close match.
At 19-19, they reached 20 points thanks to Peach’s moving attack, and then balanced the score again with Kim Yeon-kyung’s attack at 20-21. At 21-22, ‘Solver’ Kim Yeon-kyung scored consecutive points to turn the tide, and then took the set point with Tutku’s quick open. Then, Kim Su-ji blocked MoMa’s attack and took the third set.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction kept the momentum going and settled the game in the 4th set.
At 15-13, Lee Go-eun and Kim Yeon-kyung widened the score gap, and at 18-14, starting with Kim Yeon-kyung’s quick open, they scored 4 points in a row to solidify their victory.
[서울=뉴시스]