‘Jung Ji-seok and Lim Dong-hyuk’ Korean Air catches Bahrain Al Ahli and advances to the quarterfinals

 Korean Air, who is participating in the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championships as a representative of Korea, caught both the first two matches of the group stage and confirmed their advance to the quarterfinals regardless of the third match.

On the 15th (hereafter local time), in the second match of Group A of the tournament held at Isa Sports City in Manama, Bahrain, Korean Air played a big role in the left and right wings of Jung Ji-seok and Lim Dong-hyuk under the skillful management of Yoo Kwang-woo in the second match against Bahrain’s Al Ahli. They took the lead and won 3-0 (25-19 25-21 25-22).

Korean Air, who won 3-0 against Australia’s Canberra Heat the previous day, secured 2nd place in the group regardless of the result of their match against Indonesia’s Baankara in Jakarta on the 16th, accumulating 6 points through a 3-0 shutout victory for two days in a row. held the river advance.

Jakarta, who lost 2-3 to Al Ahli on the 14th, scored 4 points with a 3-0 win over Canberra on the 15th, and Al Ahli only accumulated 2 points in two matches on the 14th and 15th.

Korean Air loses without gaining points on the 16th, and even if Al-Ahli scores 3 points against Canberra, it cannot surpass Korean Air with 5 points. If they win against Jakarta, they can advance to the quarterfinals as first place in the group. The group stage rankings for this tournament will be determined in the order of wins – points – set goals and losses.

On this day as well as the previous day, 30 to 40 Koreans from Bahrain visited Isa Sports City and sent enthusiastic support. Al Ahli drew attention as Yosbani Hernandez (Cuba), who was nominated by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in the first place in the men’s foreign player tryout held in early May, joined the team on a short-term contract.

Yosbani, who also joined Korean Air as a substitute foreign player in the 2020-2021 season and won the championship match, shook hands with Kwang-woo Yoo and Jeong Ji-seok on the court before the game, creating a friendly scene.

Head coach Tommy Tillikainen selected Jung Ji-seok, who had not played against Canberra the previous day, as a starting outside hitter. It is analyzed that Al-Ahli, who brought in several players on short-term contracts, including Yosbani and Gabriel Candido (Brazil), who participated in the tryout, was formidable, so the team’s ace, Jeong Ji-seok, was scrambled. In addition to Jung Ji-seok, setter Kwang-woo Yoo, who started the previous day, Apposite spiker Dong-hyuk Lim, middle blockers Kim Min-jae and Jin Ji-wi, and Jeong Han-yong as a diagonal partner of Jeong Ji-seok.

At the beginning of the first set, both teams went one step ahead and went into a close match. It was Korean Air’s strong serve that broke the tight balance. Regardless of the spike serve and floater serve, he attacked Yosbani, who was the opponent’s outside hitter. Korean Air, who made the score 12-10 with Kim Min-jae’s serve, consolidated their victory by tying Jung Ji-seok’s quick open and Yosubani’s offense room to run away to 14-11. Afterwards, Jeong Ji-seok’s pipe attack (center back attack), Al-Ahli’s Beomsil, and Kim Min-jae’s fast attack burst out one after another, widening the score to 19-14 and bringing the first set to 25-19 without difficulty안전놀이터.

In the second set, as Yosubani adapted to the attack of the Korean Air servers, the battle continued for longer. Yosubani proved why he was chosen first in the tryout by showing how he got up right away, jumped to the front line, and succeeded in a quick open while receiving the serve while falling. The game, which had been tight 19-19 until the second half of the set, was divided by Lim Dong-hyuk’s 3 subs. Yosbani’s serve room and Lim Dong-hyuk’s two strong serves shook Al Ahli’s receive, leading to two offense rooms. Im Dong-hyeok, who had a better sense of serve, bombed the Al Ahli Court with his proprietary strong serve, and the score widened to 23-19 in an instant, and it ended 25-21 with Candido’s serve, who was replaced by Yosbani.

Korean Air, which gained momentum after taking the first two sets in a row, ran away to 4-0 at the beginning of the third set, and seemed to be winning the game as it was. However, as if Al-Ahli couldn’t lose as it was, he started the chase step by step, and Candido’s serve spewed fire and succeeded in tying the score 20-20 in the middle of the set. Afterwards, the match unfolded again in a close match, but Korean Air had an ace Jeong Ji-seok. Jung Ji-seok, who succeeded in a sharp quick open in 22-22, blocked the opponent’s attack from the defense, and created a 24-22 match point. Embarrassed, Al Ahli’s receive was shaken by Kim Min-jae’s serve, and the last attack hit the net and went out of the court, giving the last score.

Left and right aces Jung Ji-seok and Lim Dong-hyuk led the team’s attack. Jung Ji-seok scored 17 points, including two blocks. The attack success rate was high enough to reach 68%. Jeong Ji-seok received 31 receives, the most in the team, and delivered 15 over the head of the setter. He is very active in both offense and defense, and he clearly showed why he reigns as the best outside hitter in the country. Lim Dong-hyuk was responsible for the right side with 13 points (attack success rate 52%), including 1 block and 1 serve.