Women’s professional volleyball leader Hyundai E&C extended its lead over second-place Heungkuk Life to five points, boosting its chances of winning the regular season title.
Hyundai E&C defeated GS Caltex 3-0 (25-19 25-21 25-23) in straight sets in the sixth round of the Dodram 2023-24 V-League Women’s Division at Suwon Gymnasium on Monday.
With the three-game winning streak, Hyundai E&C improved to 24-7 (72 points), five points clear of Heungkuk Life (67 points) with five matches remaining.
Fourth-ranked GS Caltex (48 points) failed to close the gap on third-ranked Jeonggwanjang (56 points), diminishing their hopes for ‘spring volleyball’. If the distance between third and fourth place is three points or less, a one-game semifinal playoff will be held.
Hyundai E&C dominated GS Caltex in the blocking battle, 9-3. In addition, Yang Hyo-jin scored 15 points to become the first player in the V-League for both men and women to reach 7,500 career points (7503). Moma also contributed 25 points in the win.
GS Caltex struggled, led by Silva’s 30 points, but had no other Korean players score in single digits.
Hyundai E&C took control in the first set, with Moma, Jung Jung-yoon, and Yang Hyo-jin leading the offense.
Leading 17-14, the team scored back-to-back points off a back attack from Moma and an open Yang Hyo-jin. With the momentum on their side, Hyundai E&C scored on an attack error, a block by Yang Hyo-jin, a service ace by Kim Dain, and a timeout by Go Ye-rim to take a 23-14 lead.
In the second set, Hyundai E&C came from behind.
The team fell behind 14-17 midway through the set, but rallied back to 19-17 with a combination of Moma’s back attack and back attack, Lee Da-hyun’s service ace, Yang Hyo-jin’s blocking and hitting, and an opponent error.
With the tide turning, HMC racked up points with Yang Hyo-jin and Moma leading the offense and earned set point at 24-21 on a timeout by Moma.
In the third set, Hyundai E&C struggled against GS Caltex’s counterattack, but won the battle of concentration in the final set. Trailing 23-22, an error on the opponent’s serve earned them a valuable point, and at 24-23, MOMA completed a back-attack to seal the win.
Third-ranked OK Financial Group pulled off a 3-2 (25-19 28-30 20-25 25-21 15-7) come-from-behind victory over second-ranked Woori Card in the men’s match at Jangchung 메이저토토사이트 Gymnasium in Seoul.
With the two points, OK Finance moved to 52 points, five points ahead of fourth-place KEPCO (47). The team also increased its distance from fifth-ranked Samsung Fire and sixth-ranked Hyundai Capital (44 points) to boost its spring volleyball prospects.
Woori Card (60 points), on the other hand, is tied for fourth with leader Korean Air (64 points), which has played one more game.
After taking the fourth set and pushing the match to a fifth set, OK Finance took an 8-4 lead thanks to kills from Bum Sil and Bayarsaihan. The lead grew to 12-6 after an attack by Shin and a block by Leo.
OK Finance earned match point at 14-7 with an attack error by their opponent to end the long game.
Leo exploded with 36 points, while Shin (19 points) and Bayarsaihan (13 points) also contributed their share.
For Woori Card, Song Myung-geun had 25 points and a 72.41% attack success rate, but it wasn’t enough to lead his team to victory.