Heungkuk Life finished the first round in first place.
Heungkuk Life, coached by Marcello Abondanza, celebrated a 3-1 (26-24, 15-25, 25-19, 28-26) set victory over IBK in the first round of the Dodram 2023-24 V-League Women’s Division at the Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium on April 4. The 4,778 fans in attendance at the Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium applauded Heungkuk Life’s victory.
With the win, Heungkuk Life finished the first round in first place with 15 points (5-1). After winning three straight games to open the season, the team suffered a shocking 2-3 reverse sweep at Jungkwanjang Red Sparks on Oct. 26, but ended the first round on a high note with back-to-back wins over GS Caltex and IBK Business Bank.
Heungkuk Life’s vaunted duo of Kim Yeon-kyung and Yelena Mrazenovic (registered name Yelena) had another strong performance. Yelena finished with 19 points, while Kim finished with 17 points. Kim Mi-yeon also had 11 points and Reina Tokoku (registered name Yelena), who switched from outside hitter to middle blocker, added nine points, including one block and one serve.
Kim and Yelena had strong first-round performances. Kim recorded 119 points in six games with a 48.47% attack percentage and 38.81% receiving efficiency. She ranked first in attack percentage, sixth in scoring, and seventh in receiving. Yelena had 129 points in six games with a 41.58% attack success rate. She ranked third in serves, fourth in points, and ninth in attack percentage. 보스토토 주소
IBK finished the first round with five points (2-4). No. 1 outside hitter Brittany Abercrombie (registered name Abercrombie) and Pyo Seung-ju combined for 40 points, but it wasn’t a laughing matter.
Still, it was a better performance than the beginning of the season and a promising sign for the future. Thai setter Ponpun Gedpard (real name Ponpun), the No. 1 player in the Asian quarterfinals, has been integrating into the team, while Hwang Min-kyung and Kim Hee-jin have also returned from injuries to add to the team’s strength.
Meanwhile, in the men’s game, Hyundai Capital defeated KB Insurance for its first win of the season after opening six games. Hyundai Capital was led by Ahmed Iqbairi (real name Ahmed) and Heo Soo-bong, who combined for 33 points, in a 3-0 win over KB Insurance at Yugwansun Gymnasium in Cheonan.
After starting the season with five straight losses, Hyundai Capital picked up a valuable win at home. KB Insurance, despite 18 points from Andres Villena and 18 points from Hwang Kyung-min, could not come away with the win and fell into a five-game losing streak.