Busy women’s professional volleyball team Hyundai E&C was caught for the first time this season by lower-ranked Korea Expressway Corporation, as the ‘preview championship match’ and ‘de facto No. 1 match’ loom ahead.
Hyundai E&C lost the sixth round match of the 2023-24 Dodram V League Women’s Division against Korea Expressway Corporation 2-3 (13-25, 25-17, 25-18, 11-25, 10-15) at the Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium on Saturday. Moma Basoko led the way with 30 points, but lacked support from other players, including “Block Queen” Yang Hyo-jin, who scored 13 points but failed to record a single block.
Hyundai E&C added a point to its tally of 74 with the full-set thriller loss. The team regained the top spot a day after losing the same number of points (73) in a straight-set victory over IBK IBK. However, a heartbreaking loss against Doosan, who had won all five of their previous matches this season, dealt a blow to their bid for the top spot in the regular season.
Heungkuk Life will host bottom-placed Pepper Savings Bank on the 8th. It is likely to add three points. Hyundai E&C will play against IBK on the 9th and then meet Heungkuk Life on the 12th. Even if they pick up three points against IBK, they will still be trailing by one point heading into their most important game of the season (against Heungkuk Life on the 12th).
Hyundai E&C gave up 10 points in the first set to foreign player Vanya Vukiric alone. The 25-point deficit was the largest in a single set this season. The second set was won 25-17 thanks to 11 points from Moma alone and seven unforced errors by the opponent. In the third set, the offense of Yang Hyo-jin, Lee Da-hyun, and middle blocker (center) Jin came alive to push the lead back to seven points. However, in the fourth set, the team was unable to stop Jeon Sae-yan, Moon Jung-won, and DOT’s native attackers at all, and even MOMA struggled in the fourth set, breaking the record for the most points lost. A whopping 14-point defeat.
In the end, they couldn’t turn the tide. At 4-5, she allowed Bae Yuna’s move attack and Buri Richie’s back attack, and Moma and Lee Da-hyun 토토사이트 tied the game at 8-8, but at 8-9, Moma was blocked by Kim Se-bin, giving away the game. In a chaotic match that included a bum seal, the team fell behind 9-13 and eventually lost the fifth set by five points.
Hyundai E&C was shaken up after losing foreign player Wipawi Sittong to a shoulder injury on March 9. The team was unable to fill the void of the player who had been serving and receiving alongside libero Kim Yeon-gyeon. The team lost 0-3 against Heungkuk Life Insurance on the next day. After that, the team only added four points to its win total instead of six as it won in a full-set thriller against Doosan Corporation and IBK. They also lost in a full-set match against Jeonggwanjang on the 2nd, the second game of the 6th round, and couldn’t get over the hump in the fifth set. Hyundai E&C, which was strong throughout the regular season, is faltering at the end.
DOT showed a diverse offense with Vukiric, Jeon Sae-yan, Bae Yuna, Moon Jung-won, and Kim Se-bin all scoring double-digit points. Kim Se-bin recorded six blocks, breaking her career high for blocks in a single game. Veteran center Bae Yoo-na also scored in every period.