Deuce After Deuce, KAL Beats Hyundai

The Korean Air Jumbos are flying high once again.

On February 4, at Yu Gwan-sun Gymnasium in Cheonan in the fourth round of the 2006-2007 Hillstate V-League, Korea’s professional volleyball league, Korean Air shut out the Hyundai Capital Skywalkers 3-0 (27-25, 30-28, 31-29), after they went to deuce in each set.

It is the Korean Air’s first-time win over Hyundai without losing a set. With the victory, the Jumbos now have 11 wins and six losses (11 winning points), narrowing their gap with the Skywalkers (12 wins, five losses, 12 points, second in standings) to a single point.

Ever since the professional league was established two years ago, Korean Air has failed to advance to the playoffs. Although the team made a sensational start this season by winning the first six games, it has been defeated continually in the second and third round by Hyundai and Samsung Fire Insurance Blue Fangs. While they marked three wins and two losses in each round, their standings plummeted to third as well.

The Jumbos, however, showed brilliant concentration yesterday as they encountered the Skywalkers, the defending champions. In the first set, when they lagged behind 24-25, Shin Young-soo (18 points) made two successful attacks with lofty spiking points, thereby tipping the game 26-25 in the Jumbos’ favor. It was Bobby (24 points), the league leader in points, who concluded the set with a backcourt attack.

After winning the second set, taking advantage of a series of errors committed by Hyundai’s left hitter Song In-seok, Korean Air faced a crisis in the third set. As Shin Young-soo’s spike was blocked by Hyundai’s middle player Ha Gyeong-min, the score became 24-22, putting the Jumbos on the verge of losing the set. However, the Jumbos managed to equalize the game again with Lee Young-taik’s blocking (three blocking points) and Hyundai’s error. With the game score tied 29-29, Korean Air finally beat Hyundai after Kang Dong-jin’s quick hitter and Bobby’s service ace.

The Samsung Blue Fangs, leading the league with 16 wins and one loss, easily defeated Korea Electric Power Corporation, 3-0 in 61 minutes at home, extending their winning streak to 12 games. The LIG Greaters (nine wins, eight losses, fourth in standings) won a 3-0 victory over the Korean Armed Forces Athletic Corps in their home game in Gumi. The KAFAC has lost all of its 17 matches this season.

jeon@donga.com