It was an uphill victory. Korean Air, a men’s professional volleyball team that played without a foreign player’s presence, secured two points after a close game in the full set.
Korean Air, led by head coach Tommy Tilikainen, beat KB Insurance in the first round of the Dodram 2024-2025 V-League at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on Thursday last week with a set score of 3-2 (25-19 22-25 27-29 15-8). Korean Air (3-2 with 10 points) added two points along with two consecutive wins, bringing KEPCO (9 points) down to third place and jumping to second place.
Jeong Han-yong, who scored 26 points, the most in the team, became the main character of this season’s first triple crown (three or more each of back-attack, blocking, and sub-scoring) with five back-attack, three blocks, and four sub-scores. Jung Ji-seok, who was an outside heater for the first time since the opening of the season, scored 19 points and middle blocker Kim Min-jae scored 17 points, helping the team win.
Korean Air played without any foreign players on the day. Josbani Hernandez (registered name Yosbani) left the team due to injury, and Moradi Arev (registered name Arev) did not accompany the team to take rest to manage his condition. However, it was encouraging for Korean Air to see Jung Ji-seok, who was playing Libero in the early days of this season, return to his main position.
Korean Air took the lead with a first-set victory. Jung Ji-seok showed off his presence by scoring a serve ace from the beginning of the first set, and Jeong Han-yong, Kim Jun-ho, and Kim Min-jae each scored four points in the first set, leading the team’s offense.
However, Korean Air faced a crisis soon after. Korean Air had difficulty blocking Andres Villena (registered name Villena) in the second set, and was greatly shaken in defense, as it made 13 mistakes in the third set.
Korean Air, seeking to turn the tables with veteran Kwak Seung-seok, extended its victory to the fifth set with a four-set victory. Jeong’s powerful serve ace early in the fifth set sealed his victory, and Kim Min-jae scored five points in the fifth set alone, giving his team the victory.
“It was a tough game. It didn’t go the way we wanted. Overall, we caused ourselves difficulties and gave chances to our opponents. As a result, the game itself got longer,” Tilikainen said after the game. “I think this result was achieved because we failed to score points in the second half of the set, and Biyena did well in the second half of the game. I think it will be difficult because all the teams want to win against us.”
“As I said before the game, I know how to defend against us because Villena is always good against us, but Villena has come through it well,” he said. “But in the fifth set, our players showed their mental strength. I think Kwak Seung-seok came in the middle and showed his leadership.”
He also expressed regret over the formation of players on the day. “I think I made a mistake in the combination of players when other players from different positions joined the team. I think we need to decide how to better organize the players and manage the game,” he said. 안전놀이터
Coach Tillichainen, who constantly changed the composition of outside heaters and apogit spikers from the first to the fourth sets, overwhelmed the opponent with the combination of Kwak Seung-seok, Jung Ji-seok and Jeong Han-yong in the fifth set. Considering the player’s experience and skills, the combination of Kwak Seung-seok, Jung Ji-seok and Jeong Han-yong is the most stable combination of offense in the absence of foreign players.
What is the coach’s opinion? “There are things that come out when we invest a lot of time in training, but it’s hard for outsiders to know. Since a lot of things happen at the training site, we are focusing on those areas and forming players,” Tilichainen said. “I thought it was the best to start the game with that structure (outside heaters Jeong Han-yong and Jeong Ji-seok, and Apogit spiker Kim Jun-ho).”
Meanwhile, Korean Air will take a two-day break and play its last round match against Woori Card at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on the 8th.
