Hyundai Capital's leading player is crazy! Eight consecutive wins, Heo Su-bong Triple Crown...Korean Air defeated 3 to 1

Dec 25, 2024

Hyundai Capital, which has won eight consecutive games. Photo courtesy =KOVO

Hyundai Capital Leo. Photo courtesy =KOVO

Hyundai Capital has begun to establish a leading solo system with eight consecutive wins.

Hyundai Capital won the third round match against Korean Air (25-16, 25-19, 25-21) in the men's team of Dodram 2024-2025 V-League at Cheonan Yu Gwan-soon Gymnasium on the 25th. Hyundai Capital, ranked first, scored 14 wins, 2 losses and 40 points in the season, beating second-place Korean Air by 8 points. Korean Air ended its two-game winning streak and remained at 11 wins, 6 losses and 35 points in the season.

Hyundai Capital gave the home fans who filled the stadium a victory with Christmas gifts. Yu Gwan-soon Gymnasium was hot with the enthusiasm of volleyball fans who wanted to watch the first- and second-place showdown held on Christmas day. When online reservations began, the war to secure tickets was so fierce that the serve was down, and online reservations were sold out in 30 minutes after restoring the server. 3,600 seats were sold out, including on-site sales. It is Hyundai Capital's first sell-out record this season.

Hyundai Capital's Huh Soo-bong scored 13 points, three blocks, three serves and four rear-end attacks to achieve a triple crown. Main gun Leonardo Leyva (Leo) was responsible for 19 points, the most in both teams. Hyundai Capital won the blocking match against Korean Air 12-3 in a landslide.

Hyundai Capital coach Philip Blanc prepared with the mindset that he would focus on one game rather than ranking. It would be nice to have the upper hand against Korean Air. It will apply to all teams, but I think serve is the key point. It's a game between two teams with good organization, so I think the team with more organization will win," he said, expressing his feelings ahead of the big match.

Hyundai Capital coach Philip Blanc (left) and Korean Air coach Tommy Tilichainen. Photo courtesy =KOVO

Hyundai Capital Heo Soo-bong. Photo courtesy =KOVO

Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikainen said "Hyundai Capital is a team with strong serve, and I think Heo Soo-bong and Leo are in first place with consistent good performance. Likewise, I think we showed a competitive performance to the end and fought a fierce battle. I think fighting spirit is important," he said, showing his willingness to pursue Hyundai Capital.

Hyundai Capital took the lead by scoring six consecutive points from 13-11 to 19-11 in the first set. Choi Min-ho took out the soul of Korean Air's Jung Ji-seok, who receives with a tricky serve. Amid the collapse of the reception, Korean Air was dragged away when even the main gun Maxim Zigalov failed to do the troubleshooter's mission, and Hyundai Capital laughed by lightly connecting the ball that Korean Air couldn't handle. Hyundai Capital completely overpowered Korean Air with a score of 25-16.

The second set was similar. Korean Air collapsed again as it failed to play on Hyundai Capital's strong serve. With Hyundai Capital leading 11-7, Heo Soo-bong and Leo were in the mood by blocking Jung Ji-seok and Maxim's attacks in turn. It became a 14-7 double score, and while Korean Air continued to be twisted due to frequent mistakes, Leo and Heo Soo-bong showed their determination and finished the set 25-19.

Hyundai Capital was dragged to 0-6 at the start of the third set, struggling with a serve by a Korean Air player. Then Heo Soo-bong returned it as it was. During the 1-6 Heo Soo-bong sub-time, he scored five points to balance 6-6. Heo Soo-bong roared with two serve aces. At 7-7, Jung Tae-joon blocked Maxim's open attack and turned it over 8-7, sending Cheonan home fans enthusiastic. Choi Min-ho and Heo Soo-bong's consecutive blocking points widened the distance from 11-10 to 13-10, and they beat Korean Air's chase and maintained the distance to secure a shutdown victory.