Once languishing at the bottom of the league, men’s volleyball’s KEPCO has gone on a deceptive winning streak to move up to third in the standings.
KEPCO swept the visiting Samsung Fire of the Dodram 2023-2024 V League with a set score of 3-0 (25-22 25-21 25-22) at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on Monday.
Riding a seven-game winning streak, KEPCO jumped from fifth to third place with 8 wins, 6 losses, and 24 points, knocking Samsung Fire (9 wins, 5 losses, and 23 points) off the top spot.
The game was highlighted by the matchup of two teams on the rise.
Samsung Fire, which finished last in the men’s competition last season, has undergone a generational change this season and is looking to rebuild its reputation in the top tier.
KEPCO swept Samsung Fire and continued their cruise.
KEPCO’s Im Sung-jin, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the men’s game in the second round, led the team to victory with 13 points.
KEPCO outblocked Samsung Fire (9 blocks) with a team-best 6 blocks, with Shin Young-seok and Park Chan-woong collecting 4 blocks apiece.
Shin Young-seok added 11 kills and a 100 percent attack success rate.
In the first set, with the score tied at 20-22, KEPCO scored five straight points to close out the set and take control.
After a service error by Samsung Fire’s Yosvani Hernandez (registered name Yosvani), KEPCO scored four straight points with Im Sung-jin as the server.
A quick opener from Tys Dull Host (registered name Tys) and a block by Park Chan-woong led to two points, and Im sealed the set with two service aces.
Leading 19-17 in the second set, KEPCO scored three straight points on a fastball by Shin Young-seok, a hard hit by Tice, and a follow-up attack by Lim Sung-jin to take a 22-point lead.
With the momentum on their side, KEPCO secured the second set with a quick open from Seo and Tice and a back-attack from Seo.
At 22-20 in the third set, KEPCO scored the three points they needed to win the match with a quick open from Tice, a hard hit from Lim Sung-jin, and an opponent serve error.
Yosubani struggled with 13 points, a 34.29% attack percentage, and 11 errors. As a team, Samsung Fire was unable to break through KEPCO’s tight defense and finished with a team attack percentage of 40.44%.
Rookie setter Lee Jae-hyun served as the one-point server and had two service aces, but it was not enough to make up for the loss.
In the women’s match at Gwangju Pepper Stadium, Jung Kwan-jang defeated Pepper Savings Bank with a set score of 3-1 (25-23 22-25 25-16 25-19) to earn three points.
With 20 points (6 wins and 8 losses), Jung Kwan-jang moved up one spot from fifth to fourth.
Pepper Savings Bank (2W-12L-6D) remains in last place.
Jungkwanjang main hitter Megawatti Putthiwi (registered name Mega) led the offense with 23 points to go along with two blocks and one service point.
Jung Ho-young, a middle blocker, set a new career-high with 16 points, including six blocks.
Pepper Savings Bank was led by Yasmin Bedardt (real name Yasmin) with 21 points, but the rest of the team was not as strong.
Pepper Savings Bank captain Park Jung-ah didn’t live up to expectations with just two points. 토토