Korean Air, the defending champion of men's professional volleyball, is shaking.
Korean Air, led by head coach Tommy Tilikainen, failed to secure a point as it lost a set score of 1-3 (14-25, 27-29, 25-14, 22-25) in an away match against KB Insurance in the fourth round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League at Uijeongbu Gymnasium on Sunday. Following the third round, Korean Air also lost in the fourth round, resulting in 12 wins and 10 losses (38 points).
Apogit Spiker Lim Dong-hyuk scored 29 points, the most in his team, and showed a 60.5 percent success rate in offense. Jeong and Jeong fought hard, scoring 18 and 10 points, respectively. However, their defeat after four close deuce matches in the second set after a complete defeat in the first set greatly affected the result of the match.
It is a little strange that Korean Air has recorded 10 losses in the middle of the season. Compared to the overwhelming 26 wins and 10 losses (76 points) in the 2020-2021 season, 24 wins and 12 losses (70 points) in the 2021-2022 season, and 26 wins and 10 losses (76 points) in the 2022-2023 season, the trend is not good.
Of course, there are some difficulties in forming the team compared to previous years. Jung Ji-seok, the main outfielder, started the season a little late due to an injury, and Lincoln Williams, a foreign player, has also been sidelined due to waist injury. Murad Khan, who joined the team as a substitute, is not good enough to fill Lincoln's absence.
Although the team is holding out mainly with Han, the main setter, and Lim Dong-hyuk, who leads the team's offense, the problem is that it does not have the "motor" to maintain the top rank. Moreover, Korean Air is not flowing as planned as it has been struggling with low-ranking teams this season. Coach Tilikainen's worries are inevitable.
In particular, Korean Air cruised to four wins and two losses in the first round and four wins and two losses in the second round, before slowing down to three wins and three losses in the third round, and is somewhat sluggish as of the fourth round with one win and three losses. In the fourth round, Korean Air did not have any significant achievements except for its first win in the match against Woori Card this season. Its pace is deteriorating more as time goes by.
The remaining schedule is also challenging. Korean Air, which ranks third in the league after Woori Card (15 wins, 6 losses, 42 points) and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (14 wins, 7 losses, 38 points), will face off against Hyundai Capital (9 wins, 13 losses, 31 points), which ranks fourth in the league, at the Cheonan Yugyeonsun Gymnasium on Wednesday. The team will wrap up its fourth round schedule with a home game against Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance at the Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on Tuesday.
In particular, the confrontation with Hyundai Capital is expected to be the most important. Although Korean Air has the upper hand in all three games in the opponent team this season, Hyundai Capital, which has won five consecutive games under acting coach Jin Soon-ki, is showing a strong upward trend. Hyundai Capital, which stayed in the lower ranks and came up to fourth place, wants to reduce the point gap with Korean Air to four points through this face-off. 스포츠토토
Before the opening of the season, Korean Air had only one goal: to achieve its fourth consecutive win in men's league. "I feel like I have a good opportunity. I have prepared a lot for a new history and a new jumbos," Coach Tilikainen said during the men's media day on Oct. 11 last year. Will Korean Air be able to set a turning point for a reversal.