Korean Air finally beats Woori Card
For the first time this season, Korean Air swept an opponent.
Korean Air Men"s Professional Volleyball defeated Woori Card 3-0 (25-22 25-14 25-16) in straight sets in the fourth round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League at Incheon Gyeyang Gymnasium on Friday.
It was their first win against Woori Card this season. They lost the first three rounds. With the win, Korean Air snapped a two-game losing streak. They remain in third place with 38 points (12W9L). They also caught up to second-place Samsung Fire with 38 points (14W6L).
They dominated most metrics. They had a 55.7%-40.74% attacking success rate, 52.27%-21.88% receiving efficiency, 7-2 in blocks, and 5-1 in serves. They committed 16 errors to their opponent"s 19.
Lim Dong-hyuk led the way. He paced the team with 28 points (73.33% attack percentage), including four blocks and two serves. Jung Ji-seok, who started for the first time this season, added 12 points (52.38% attack percentage) with one block.
Woori Card fell to their second straight loss. They remain atop the standings with 42 points (15-6). Matei Kok (real name Matei) contributed 13 points (38.71% attack percentage) with one serve.
Korean Air: Setter Han, Outside hitter Jeong Jung-yong, Middle blocker Cho Jae-young, Outside hitter Lim Dong-hyuk, Outside hitter Jeong Ji-seok, Middle blocker Kim Kyu-min, Libero Oh Eun-ryul, Jung Sung-min.
Our card: middle blocker Kim Jae-hui - setter Han Tae-joon - outside hitter Kim Ji-han - middle blocker Park Jin-woo - outside hitter Mattei - outside hitter Han Sung-jung - libero Oh Jae-sung.
Lim Dong-hyuk poured in a whopping 14 kills (76.47% attack percentage).
Early on, Woori Card took an 8-6 lead thanks to a kill by Matei and an attack error by opposite hitter Jeong Ji-seok. Korean Air tied the score at 12-12 with a service ace by Jeong Jung-yong and an open and block by Lim Dong-hyuk. Woori Card regained the lead at 15-12 with an open attack by Matei and a follow-up attack by Kim Ji-han. They reached the 20-point mark first. Matei"s opener made it 20-19.
At 20-21, Korean Air quickly moved to 24-21 with a quick open from Lim Dong-hyuk, two back-row attacks and an attack error from Matei. Korean Air saved set point. At 24-22, Matei"s service error sealed the first set victory.
Lim Dong-hyuk led the way with five points (75% offensive success rate), while Jeong Ji-seok added five points (71.43% offensive success rate). Woori Card started Park Jun-hyuk in place of Park Jin-woo. The team struggled as the top scorers were Kim Jae-hwi and Song Myung-geun with two points each. They committed 11 unforced errors.
Korean Air scored four straight points at 3-2. Cho Jae-young shook the opponent with his serve and Jeong Ji-seok finished with an open finish. A block by Lim Dong-hyuk and an opponent error made it 7-2. Then, an open from Lim Dong-hyuk, two quick opens from Jeong Ji-seok, and a service ace from Lim made it 11-3. A quick open by Lim Dong-hyuk made it a 16-8 double score.
Kim Gyu-min"s fastball completed the 20th point and Kim Dong-min and Kim Jae-hwi"s service errors completed the 24th and 25th points, respectively.
Lim Dong-hyuk finished with nine points (66.67% offensive success rate). Woori Card returned Park Jin-woo to the starting lineup and utilized Kim Dong-min in place of Kim Ji-han. Matei was held to four points (36.36% offensive success rate).
Korean Air went on a 7-2 run at 2-2 with a fastball from Cho Jae-young, two open kills from Jeong Ji-seok, and a service ace from Jeong Jung-yong. A kill by Lim Dong-hyuk and a quick open by Jeong Ji-seok made it 16-10. Kim Gyu-min"s fastball made it 20-13.
Later, Cho Jae-young"s fastball made it 24-15 match point. The final point came via video replay. Lim Dong-hyuk touched the net with his body while landing after a staggered attack. Korean Air requested a video review of the net touch. The review confirmed that the ball was dead before the net touch, so Lim was awarded the point. Korean Air smiled.