Hyundai E&C has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup Professional Volleyball Tournament (the Cup) with two straight wins.
Hyundai E&C swept Pepper Savings Bank 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) in straight sets in the second match of Group A at the Gumi Park Jung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, on Nov. 31.
After defeating KGC Ginseng Corporation 3-0 two days earlier, Hyundai E&C became the first of the four teams in Group A to post two wins to reach the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinals of the Cup will be played between the first and second place finishers in Group A and the first and second place finishers in Group B. Hyundai E&C finished first in both sets won and points allowed, which are the next most important factors in determining the rankings, and secured at least second place in the group regardless of the remaining matches.
Pepper Savings Bank was eliminated after losing back-to-back matches to Korea Expressway Corporation and Hyundai E&C.
Armed with effective serving and error-free play, Hyundai E&C played a seesaw game with Pepper Savings Bank in the first set before taking control after the 20th point.
At 21-20, Yang Hyo-jin’s fastball and Kim Joo-hyang’s service ace came in quick succession. Left-handed hitter Hwang Yeon-ju closed out the first set with an open score on set point.
HHI found its groove at the start of the second set, scoring six straight points on setter Kim Dae-in’s serve, including quick kills from Yang Hyo-jin and quick openers from Hwang Yeon-ju and Kim Joo-hyang to take an 11-5 lead.
The three frontline attackers – outside hitter Hwang Yeon-ju (4 points), outside hitter Kim Joo-hyang (6 points) and middle blocker Yang Hyo-jin (4 points) – combined for 14 points in the second set alone.
In the middle of the third set, two blocking blocks by Lee Da-hyun and Yang Hyo-jin gave HMC a 16-12 lead over Pepper Savings Bank’s Chang and ended the match with a straight-set victory.
Yang Hyo-jin scored 18 points, Kim Joo-hyang 13, and Hwang Yeon-ju 12.
Park “Clutch Park” Jung-ah, who Pepper Savings Bank signed for a total of $2.325 billion over three years, was rested against Roadworks and did not score on the day as a substitute.
Pepper Savings Bank finished with a team attack success rate of 31.4%, 15 percentage points lower than Hyundai E&C.
In the second match of Group A, KGC Ginseng swept last season’s championship finalists, Korea Expressway Corporation, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 27-25) for their first win after one loss.
Ginseng easily won the first set thanks to its blocking advantage, and then came close to victory in the second set by holding DOT to a 17% attacking success rate and forcing them to hit twice and score once.
In the third set, when the road construction company woke up, it was back-and-forth, and a lucky score at 25-25 deuce saved match point.
Lee’s shot was effectively blocked by Doosan, but no one was able to save the ball.
Soon after, Jung Ho-young blocked Moon Jung-won’s attack to end the match.
Ko Eui-jeong led the offense with 15 points, followed by Park Eun-jin and Lee Sun-woo with 10 points each. Ginseng out-blocked DOT 11-2 in the match.
Ginseng will play Pepper Savings Bank in the final group match on August 2 to challenge for a spot in the quarterfinals, 먹튀검증토토사이트 while Doro will play Hyundai Engineering & Construction in the final group match.