“Every player is preparing hard to win the title.”
Kwak Seung-seok led Korean Air to a 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-18) set victory over Samsung Fire in the sixth round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Men’s Division at Incheon Gyeyang Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Murad Khan (real name Murad) led the team with a team-high 23 points, while Kwak Seung-seok, Jeong Ji-seok, and Kim Min-jae each added nine points. Kwak Seung-seok had a 69.23% attacking success rate and a 52% receiving efficiency. Together with Jeong Ji-seok, he took 25 targets, 토토 the most on the team, and delivered 14 of them accurately.
Despite the three points, it wasn’t a clean victory. It was a messy affair, with 26 unforced errors. Korean Air head coach Tommy Tillikainen said: “Our players know they can do better. We are happy to get the points and win, but we can do better. We know that and we will go back to the gym and work on it.”
Kwak Seung-seok, who continues to struggle in every match, said, “It gets harder with each round. We didn’t do much wrong, but it was hard because we had a lot of unforced errors,” he said.
There were some close calls in the fourth set. At 14-9, Kwak Seung-seok ran to break Yosubani’s serve and tripped on the bench, falling down and not getting up easily. He managed to get back on the court and played the rest of the match. “Fortunately, I only lost weight. I’m fine,” he said of his condition.
Earlier this season, Jung Jeong-yong was the first outside hitter in the lineup due to Jung’s back injury. Now that he’s back to full fitness, the three of them are taking turns to form the best lineup.
“As a team, it’s good to have strong depth,” Kwak said. One player can’t play well every day, and injuries can happen. If we help each other, I think we’re giving the team a lot of positive factors,” he said.
With 20 wins, 11 losses, and 61 points, Korean Air regained the top spot a day after beating Woori Card (20 wins, 10 losses, and 59 points). Korean Air and Woori Card have been swapping the top spot every day.
It’s hard to predict who will take the top spot until the end of the season. That’s why they need to manage their physical fitness until the end. Kwak Seung-seok said, “It’s not that I don’t feel stressed, from physical strength to mental strength. “I try to focus more on the game than the ranking,” he said, “but if I win, I can relax more. All the players are preparing hard for the championship,” he said, adding that they are eager to win their fourth consecutive overall title.
“They’ll think they can’t lose. I think we’ll have a clear outline against Woori Card. It’s important for us to keep winning points until we meet Woori Card,” he said, making no secret of his desire for the top spot.
Korean Air will welcome KEPCO to Incheon on April 27 for a match. After that, Korean Air will face Hyundai Capital and then Woori Card to see if they can hold on to the top spot.