KB Insurance, the lowest in men’s professional volleyball, won points for the first time in five games, but postponed its first win of the season to the next opportunity.
KB Insurance, led by acting coach Martin Blanco, lost to Korean Air 2-3 (19-25 25-22 29-27 22-25 8-15) in the men’s first round away match of Dodram 2024-2025 V-League at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on Saturday, falling into the hole for the opening five consecutive games. KB Insurance, which earned one point, narrowed its gap with sixth-ranked OK Savings Bank (four points) to three points.
“Ace” Andres Villena (registered name Villena) made efforts to score 28 points, the most among the two teams, and Na Kyung-bok scored 19 points, the most in a single game in this season. However, she failed to prevent her team from losing, and thus swallowed up her disappointment.
KB Insurance suffered as it failed to block Jeong Ji-seok and Jeong Han-yong in the first set. Even though it had fewer errors (five) than its opponents (eight), it failed to secure the first set. Villena and Na Kyung-bok only scored five and three, respectively. 메이저사이트
KB Insurance pushed Korean Air hard as Villena scored as many as 10 points in one set. Setter Park Hyun-bin, who started instead of Lee Hyun-seung, picked up three blocks in the second set alone, raising the mood.
KB Insurance continued its trend through the third set. After four deuce matches with Korean Air, KB secured one point for the first time since the season opened. The result of the third set was affected by Korean Air’s self-destruction with 13 mistakes.
However, KB Insurance faced a crisis as it missed the fourth set, and its reception collapsed in the fifth set. Eventually, the team failed to overcome the gap and had to accept the defeat.
Martin, who entered the interview room after the game, said, “We fought well against a fairly difficult team and played well,” adding, “The main players from both teams were out, and I think we should have shown more confidence in difficult situations.”
“It seems difficult to say what kind of team KB Insurance was last season, and to talk about today’s game (5th), we had a lot of difficulties in receiving. Because Korean Air is a team that shows good serve, there seems to be a difficult part about serving consecutively in break situations,” he added.
As for setter Park Hyun-bin, who got the chance to start on the day, he praised him, saying, “I am proud of him for showing confidence and performance against the winning team last season. Currently, only Park Hyun-bin can play as a setter in our team. Lee Hyun-seung suffered a wrist injury in the previous match against Hyundai Capital, and Hwang Taek has not been discharged yet. I think Park Hyun-bin has shown his skills.”
After failing to escape consecutive losses, KB Insurance is aiming for its first win of this season once again in a home game against KEPCO on Tuesday. Hwang, who will be discharged from the military on Friday, is expected to participate. However, when asked if Hwang can play right away, acting coach Martin cautiously responded, “I don’t think I can tell you yet.”
