The second-ranked men’s and women’s teams had mixed fortunes as they chased the lead.
Hyundai E&C won its Dodram 2023-2024 V-League home match against Korea Expressway Corporation 3-1 (25-19 17-25 25-17 25-16) at Suwon Gymnasium on Sunday.
After reaching the 10-win plateau for the second time this season after Heungkuk Life, Hyundai E&C (32 points) remained firmly in second place, closing to within one point of the leaders.
The team struggled on the day, with Yang Hyo-jin scoring just seven points and committing four errors, but another middle blocker, Lee Da-hyun, shined. Lee finished with 11 points, including a block at every critical juncture to stop the opposing offense.
The offense was led by “Ssangpo” Moma and Jeong Ji-yoon. The duo tore apart the DOT’s defense with 19 and 14 points, respectively, to lead their team to victory.
Wipawi, who returned to the country after a brief absence for personal reasons, paced the offense with 10 points. Wipawi had recently returned to his home country of Thailand following the death of his father.
Unable to stop the height of Hyundai E&C, the Roadrunners’ offense was largely led by Vukiric with a team-high 22 points, but the rest of the team was unable to pick up the slack. With their fourth straight loss, the Roadrunners remain in sixth place in the league with 12 points.
While Hyundai E&C continued to chase down leader Heungkuk Life in the women’s competition, second-ranked Korean Air dropped a crucial point against leader Woori Card in the men’s competition.
Woori Card came from behind to win 3-1 (24-26 25-23 25-23 25-22) in a big match against Korean Air at Jangchung Gymnasium.
It’s been a week since the two teams met. Woori Card followed up its 3-0 shutout win against Korean Air on March 30 with another victory to take another step towards the title. Woori Card has now won all three games against Korean Air this season.
Woori Card was paced by Jupo Matei with 25 points, while Kim Ji-han split the offense with 19 points and Han Sung-jung (11 points) and Lee Sang-hyun (10 points) also chipped in with double-digit scoring performances.
Korean Air, on the other hand, tried to fill the void left by the return of foreign player Lincoln to the lineup, but was unable to stop Woori Card’s surge. Korean Air had a one-man show with Lim Dong-hyuk scoring 29 points, but couldn’t get the win.