Men’s professional volleyball KEPCO overpowered both the leader Korean Air and the runner-up Hyundai Capital, turning on the green light to advance to ‘Spring Volleyball’ for the second consecutive year. KEPCO, which collapsed in the middle of the season with a 9-game losing streak, emerged as a ‘typhoon’ in the middle-ranking fight, riding an upward trend of 6 wins and 2 losses after the 4th round, including the recent 4 consecutive wins.
While OK Financial Group, which was aiming for the postseason, has been sluggish with four consecutive losses recently, KB Insurance, which was at the bottom, is also attracting attention by showing a completely different history after joining substitute foreign player Andres Vijena (registered name Vijena).
KEPCO won with a set score of 3-1 (20-25 25-22 25-21 25-23) in the Dodram 2022-23 V-League Men’s Round 5 home game against Hyundai Capital held at Suwon Indoor Gymnasium on the 5th.
KEPCO, which won its first 4 consecutive wins this season, recorded 12 wins and 14 losses (38 points), pushing OK Financial Group (37 points) to 5th place and rising to 4th place. KEPCO, which captured the leader Korean Air on the 2nd, gained momentum by beating even the runner-up Hyundai Capital.
KEPCO, which fell into a sluggish 9-game losing streak in early January, changed its mood on January 10th by breaking the chain of long losing streak against Woori Card. From the 4th round, 6 wins (2 losses) were harvested from 8 games, raising the possibility of advancing to the postseason.
The men’s division is currently competing fiercely for the middle ranks this season. Following leaders Korean Air (55 points) and Hyundai Capital (49 points), Woori Card메이저놀이터 (39 points), 4th KEPCO (38 points), 5th OK Financial Group (37 points), 6th KB Insurance ( All up to 30 points) are in a position where spring volleyball is possible.
If there are 3 points or less between the 3rd and 4th places in the men’s division, a semi-playoff will be held in a single game, and the winning team will play a playoff with the second-place team in the regular season in a best-of-three match. The championship match will be held in a best-of-five format.
In a phone call on the 6th, KEPCO coach Kwon Young-min cited the performance of young players as the secret to the rebound. Setter Ha Seung-woo (28), libero Jang Ji-won (22), and outside hitter Lim Seong-jin (24), who are showing fighting spirit despite a finger fracture, are showing their strength, and it is said that fixing left-handed striker Seo Jae-deok with an apositive spiker has had an effect. Diagnosed.
KEPCO’s left and right ‘double guns’ are exploding to Seo Jae-deok amidst the activity of Tais deul Host (registered name Tais), who steadily plays the role of the main gun, and veteran middle blocker Shin Young-seok is showing his presence in the center.
Coach Kwon said, “It is true that it was frustrating even when I lost 9 times in a row. However, I have played a full set many times, so winning even one point at a time was a source of strength when I look back on it.” thank you,” he said.
For reference, KEPCO accumulated 4 points in 4 matches during the 9-game losing streak with a set score of 2-3.
On the other hand, OK Financial Group fell into sluggishness after losing 4 consecutive times and was pushed to 5th place. Despite the return of Lee Min-gyu, who joined after being discharged from the military, he is highly dependent on Leonardo Leiva Martinez (registered name Leo). Woori Card is still in third place, but Riverman Agamez (registered name Agamez)’s physical problems were revealed and anxiety was exposed.
In addition, even KB Insurance, which seemed difficult to play spring volleyball in reality, is making fans more happy by coming back to life thanks to Viyena’s performance and the hard work of native strikers Han Seong-jeong and Hwang Kyung-min. KB is recording 5 wins and 3 losses, including defeating the leader Korean Air by shutout after the 4th round. Hu In-jeong, head coach of KB Sonbo, said, “If there is even a small chance of advancing to the postseason, I will never give up until the end.”
The competition for the men’s ranking in the V-League in the 2022-23 season, which seemed somewhat obvious, is becoming more and more interesting as it becomes a political situation in the fog.