A victory on a high. A dominant performance earned KEPCO three valuable points.
Kwon Young-min’s KEPCO finished the fourth round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Men’s Division with three consecutive wins after a sweeping 3-0 (25-16 25-20 25-16) set victory over KB Insurance in the fourth round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League at Uijeongbu Indoor Gymnasium on April 18.
With three points, fifth-ranked KEPCO (13W-11L-37P) reduced the gap between them and fourth-ranked Samsung Fire (14W-9L-38P) to one point. Meanwhile, last-place 바카라사이트 KB Insurance (4W20L-17P), who were lethargic at home, dropped their second straight game and became the first men’s team to lose 20 games this season.
Leading the way in the win was foreign player Taith Lesser Host (real name Taith). Tais scored a game-high 21 points and was focused with a 76% attack percentage. Shin Young-seok also chipped in with 11 points, including five blocks, and became the first player in V-League Men’s history to reach the 1200 block milestone.
For KB Insurance, Hwang Kyung-min and Andres Biyena (real name Biyena) split 13 points apiece, but the Korean players generally struggled. In particular, KB Insurance was out-blocked 4-15 by KEPCO and had to settle for a shutout loss.
The home team, KB Insurance, started the first set with setter Hwang Seung-bin, outside hitter Hong Sang-hyuk, middle blocker Kim Hank-min, outside hitter Hwang Kyung-min, middle blocker Kim Hong-jung, and libero Jung Min-soo.
KEPCO started the match with outside hitter Tice, middle blocker Park Chan-woong, setter Ha Seung-woo, outside hitter Lim Sung-jin, middle blocker Shin Young-seok, outside hitter Seo Jae-duk, and liberos Jang Ji-won and Lee Simon.
KEPCO was the first team to take control of the match, cruising from the start of the first set.
At 6-5 in the first set, KEPCO extended its lead to four points with back-to-back kills from Lim Sung-jin and a service ace from Tice. At 10-8, Bijena’s net touch bumble, Shin Young-seok’s block, and Seo Jae-duk’s opener sparked the momentum.
At 14-10, Bijena made a service error and Park Chan-woong blocked Hwang Kyung-min’s attack. Shin Young-seok shook his opponent with a service ace to make the score 17-10. KB Insurance‘s will to catch up was broken.
At 19-14, Hwang Seung-bin’s service error gave them a 20-point lead, but Shin Young-seok’s block and Tice’s back-attack made it 22-14, and at 22-15, Im Sung-jin’s quick opener and Bijena’s error brought set point. Shin Young-seok closed out the first set with a kill at 24-16.
The second set was also won by KEPCO, but it went a little differently than the first.
Leading 8-7, KB Insurance scored three straight points with two back-attacks from Bijena. However, KEPCO responded with a quick open by Lim Sung-jin, a kill by Bijena, and a back-attack by Tice to tie the score at 10-11 before Shin Young-seok blocked Bijena’s attack.
Not satisfied with the tie, KEPCO fought back with a block by Seo Jae-duk and went up 14-11 with a block by Lim Sung-jin and a fast attack by Shin Young-seok. Another block by Seo made the score 15-11.
Changing the mood, KEPCO widened the gap at 17-14 with a back attack by Lim Sung-jin and a block by Tice. At 19-15, the teams traded points and never allowed their opponents to catch up, and at 24-20, Hwang Kyung-min’s service error ended the second set.
After taking the first and second sets, KEPCO continued its momentum in the third set.
At the start of the third set, KEPCO scored back-to-back points on a net touch by Jang Harang and a block by Lim Sung-jin, and from 2-1, the score grew to 5-1 on back-to-back points by Shin Young-seok and a quick open by Seo Jae-duk. At 13-9, Seo Jae-Deok scored on an opening and Kwon Tae-Wook recorded a kill to extend the lead to 15-9.
At 16-11, a quick open by Tice, a block by Park Chan-woong, and a kill by Bijena cemented the victory for KPU, which reached the 20-point mark at 19-12 with a kill by Bijena. A service error by Liu Hongmin gave KEPCO match point at 23-16, and Im Sung-jin sealed the match with a service ace.
With the conclusion of the fourth round, KEPCO and KB Insurance will enter the All-Star break and have two weeks to recuperate. The two teams will play the first match of the fifth round on January 1 at Suwon Indoor Gymnasium.