Hyundai E&C cruised to the top of the standings with four straight wins.
Hyundai E&C earned a 3-2 (30-28, 21-25, 25-16, 17-25, 19-17) home win over GS Caltex in the Dodram 2023-2024 V League at Suwon Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. With its fourth straight win, Hyundai E&C improved to 17-5 and 52 points, five points clear of second-place Heungkuk Life (17-5, 47 points).
GS Caltex, which lost its second straight match, dropped to 13-9 but added one point to remain in third place with 38 points.
Hyundai E&C was led by Yang Hyo-jin with a team-high 25 points, including seven in the fifth set alone. She reached 5505 points in her career, becoming the first KOVO women's player to surpass 5500 points. Four other players scored in double figures for GS Caltex, led by Moma's 24 points, Zheng Yun's 14 and Wipawi's 11.
GS Caltex was led by Silva with a game-high 36 points, Kang So-hwi with 17 and Kwon Min-ji with 12, but could not get over the final hurdle.
In the first set, HMC jumped out to an early 8-3 lead thanks to a service ace by Wipawi and a block by Moma, while GS Caltex steadily chipped away at the lead through Silva and Choi Eun-ji. Still, HMC maintained a steady lead and seemed to have taken the first set, 23-20, but a strong serve by Silva tied the set at 21-23. After Silva's spike made it 21-23, GS Caltex scored three consecutive points on Silva's strong serve to take a 24-23 lead and set point. Silva's fourth serve hit the net to make it 24-24 deuce, and the match was tied at 24-24 when Yang Hyo-jin slammed home a spike from Moma to give Hyundai E&C the first set 30-28.
In the second set, GS Caltex seemed to have the upper hand, scoring five straight points at 14-15, including a back-attack by Silva and a block by Kang So-hwi to take a 19-15 lead. However, Hyundai E&C fought back to tie the game at 19-19 thanks to back-to-back spikes from Kim Joo-hyang, who came in for Wipawi. However, GS Caltex regained the lead at 21-21 with a spike from Kang So-hwi and then used Kim Ji-won's serve to make it 24-21 with a spike from Kang So-hwi and an attack error from Moma before Kwon Min-ji blocked Moma's attack to give HMC no chance and take the second set.
The third set seemed to be the deciding factor, but unexpectedly, Hyundai E&C easily took it. With GS Caltex trailing by two points at 15-13, HMC took the lead with attacks from Moma and Yang Hyo-jin and a GS Caltex error, 바카라사이트 and quickly took a 19-13 lead with a timed attack from Moma and back-to-back spikes from Kim Joo-hyang, and GS Caltex quickly collapsed. Hyundai E&C scored through a variety of offensive routes, including fastbreaks from Lee Da-hyun and Yang Hyo-jin and attacks from Jung Jeong-yoon and Kim Joo-hyang, to easily win 25-16 and take the set 2-1.
The fourth set was the opposite of the third, with GS Caltex setting the pace at the beginning. Silva's back-to-back attacks and Han Su-ji's block and fastball gave them a 9-4 lead. GS Caltex maintained a steady lead of four to five points with Silva leading the way, and Hyundai E&C's defense faltered to take an eight-point lead at 21-13, effectively deciding the fourth set. Hyundai E&C tried to catch up with Hwang Yeon-joo, who came in for Moma, but it was too late. GS Caltex closed out the set with a 25-17 victory thanks to Kang So-hwi and Silva.
The fifth and final set. The early momentum was crucial, but it was close. Hyundai E&C started with a 2-0 lead thanks to a fastball and block by Yang Hyo-jin. GS Caltex tied the score at 3-3 with spikes from Yoo Seo-yeon and Silva, but HMC took the lead again at 5-3 with a spike from Jung Jeong-yoon and a direct kill from Kim Da-in. However, GS Caltex showed great concentration. A spike by Kang So-hwi and a block by Oh Se-yeon made it 8-6.
Hyundai E&C halted GS Caltex's momentum with a back-attack by Moma, but GS Caltex responded with a back-attack by Silva. Kwon Min-ji then blocked a spike from Wipawi to make it 10-8.
Hyundai E&C tied the game again at 10-10 when Yang Hyo-jin attacked and Kang So-hwi's spike was out. No one knew who was going to win. Spike attacks from both teams, 13-13.
GS Caltex reached match point first with a center spike by Oh Se-yeon, but HMC made it 14-14 with a touchout by Wipawi.
Yang Hyo-jin blocked an attack from Oh Se-yeon to make it 15-14 and set up match point, but GS Caltex responded with a back-attack from Silva to make it 15-15. A kill by Yang Hyo-jin and a spike by Kang So-hwi made it 16-16.
After a hard-fought rally, Silva's spike resulted in a net touch error, but she immediately scored a point to make it 17-17. Match point again for HHI with a push from Jung Ji-yoon. Silva's spike was blocked by Lee Da-hyun, and the ball fell into GS Caltex's court, making it 19-17 and ending the match.