Korean Air, the V-League champion, participating in the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, won a precious victory in the last game of the quarterfinals group stage, somewhat escaping from defeat against Korea and Japan.
On the 19th (local time), Korean Air defeated Bayanhongor, the Mongolian Volleyball League champions in the 2022-2023 season, 3-1 (25-1) in the last match of Group E in the quarterfinals of the tournament held at the ISA Sports City Stadium in Manama, Bahrain. 21, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19).
Korean Air, which failed to advance to the semifinals after being completely defeated by Japan’s Suntory Sunbirds the previous day, recorded 1 win, 2 losses and 3 points with a victory that day, confirming 3rd place in Group E of the quarterfinals. Korean Air will play a match against Kuwait Sporting Club (Kuwait), which is ranked 4th in Group F, for 5th to 8th places on the 20th. The winning team will advance to the 5th place match on the 21st.
Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikhainen gave the candidates a chance as he had predicted immediately after the failure to advance to the semifinals. Jeong Jin-hyeok played as a setter, Son Hyeon-jong as an apposite spiker, and Lee Joon as an outside heater. Kwak Seung-seok, Jung Ji-seok, Lim Dong-hyuk, Oh Eun-ryeol, and Cho Jae-young contributed to cheering in the warm-up zone.
In the first set, Bayanghongor played a seesaw game with Korean Air, with left-hander Apogit Kangal Tamira at the fore. Bayar Saihan, who is about to join OK Financial Group in the Korean V-League, stood out in blocking. Korean Air, who took the lead with Jeong Han-yong’s serve ace, won the first set 25-21.
The second set was also a close match. Bayanhongor led the game with Kangal Tamira and Bayarsaihan at the fore. Korean Air used Jeong Han-yong to pursue it, but Son Hyeon-jong and Jeong Jin-hyuk made mistakes and the flow was cut off. Bayarsaihan scored the last point and Bayanghongor took the second set.
Korean Air showed concentration from the beginning of the third set. With Jeong Han-yong’s goal, Korean Air took the lead. As Bayanghongor’s receive shook and the number of errors increased, the score gap widened. Korean Air, who did not lose the initiative, won the third set by 9 points.
Korean Air, which gained momentum, took the lead from the beginning of the 4th set to the opponent’s room. Ba Yanghongor was out of breath, revealing problems with his organizational abilities. In the end, Korean Air won with a score of 25 to 19. 안전놀이터
After the game, setter Jeong Jin-hyeok said, “It was a good experience because I felt the responsibility to lead the game. It was a satisfying game.” He continued, “I was able to play as much as I wanted to, so it was good to be able to do what I matched during practice in practice.”
Jeong Jin-hyeok and outside hitters Lee Joon and Jung Han-yong, whom he played full-time on this day, have been working together since their days at Hongik University. He laughed and said, “Even after joining the pros, we work together a lot during practice, but it was almost the first time we worked together full-time in a real game, so it reminded me of my college days.”
