Hyundai Capital defeated KB Insurance in a full-set thriller to extend its winning streak to two games.
Hyundai Capital won 3-2 (25-18 30-28 23-25 15-25 15-11) at home against KB Insurance in the men’s Dodram 2023-24 V League on Thursday at Yoo Yoo-soon Gymnasium in Cheonan.
With their second straight win, Hyundai Capital remained in sixth place with a 4-11 record (15 points). They have now won all three games against KB Insurance this season.
On the other hand, KB Insurance, which failed to win its third consecutive match, dropped to 3-13 on the season (14 points) and remained at the bottom of the table.
Ahmed led Hyundai Capital to victory with 37 points, including four service aces. Hong Dong-seon also had a game-high 16 points, while Heo Soo-bong and Choi Min-ho chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
KB Insurance was led by Bijena (41 points) and Hong Sang-hyuk (13 points), but the lack of scoring support from other players brought them to their knees.
After winning the first set thanks to Ahmed, Hong Dong-seon, and Heo Soo-bong, Hyundai Capital had set point at 28-28 after a deuce in the second set, and Ahmed scored the last point to take the second set.
However, KB Insurance started to fight back in the third set.
Hyundai Capital took an early lead in the third set, but could not stop KB Insurance’s offense led by Bijena and lost the third set.
After allowing a comeback, Hyundai Capital’s offense faltered in the fourth set, giving the momentum to KB Insurance. Sensing defeat as the score gap widened, Hyundai Capital brought in its main players to prepare for the fifth set.
In the fifth set, Hyundai Capital had the last laugh. After taking a 2-0 lead with back-to-back errors, Hyundai Capital widened the gap at 10-8 with Ahmed’s back attack and Park Sang-ha’s open attack. At 13-11, Ahmed’s attack created a match point, which was blocked by Park Sang-ha to end the match.
In the women’s match, Heungkuk Life regained the lead with a 3-2 (26-24 22-25 25-18 22-25 18-16) set victory over IBK, led by ace Kim Yeon-kyung.
With the win, Heungkuk Life tied Hyundai E&C (11-4, 35 points) with a 13-2 record and 35 points on the season, but the team moved from second to first place in the standings by knocking Hyundai E&C off the top spot. It also extended its winning streak against IBK this season.
Dropping the match snapped IBK’s winning streak, but the bank earned a point and moved into fourth place with 8W8L, 23 points, pushing Jung Kwanjang (7W8L, 23 points) to fifth.
Heungkuk Life was led by Kim Yeon-kyung with a game-high 36 points.
In the third set, with the set score tied 1-1, Heungkuk Life awakened their offensive instincts, with Yelena scoring eight points on her own, to reach 25 points and take the lead.
However, Heungkuk Life was unable to close out the match. Trailing 16-22 in the fourth set, they fought back to tie the game at 23-23, but were forced to set point when Kim Yeon-kyung’s centerline infringement was caught on video review, and they allowed Pyo Seung-ju to attack and lose the fourth set.
However, Heungkuk Life used their concentration in the fifth set to sneak out the win.
Down 10-13, Heungkuk Life started to pull away with a timely attack from Kim Yeon-kyung, before Reina scored two consecutive points to tie the match.
The teams were tied at 14-14, and after three back-and-forth battles, Reina’s touchdown followed by back-to-back attacks sealed the match at 16-16.
