IBK Altos pulls off a thrilling upset against Jeonggwanjang Red Sparks.
IBK Altos won the third round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Women’s Division at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon, South Korea, 3-2 (14-25 17-25 25-19 25-18 15-11).
With the dramatic victory, IBK improved to 6-7 on the day and moved to within one point of fourth-place Jungkwanjang (5-8).
IBK led the offense with 21 points and one block from Pyo Seung-ju and 20 points and three blocks from Abe Crombie. Yuk Seo-young chipped in with 16 points.
Chung Kwan-jang lost the match despite Mega’s 33 points and 1 block, Jia’s 19 points, and Chung Ho-young’s 12 points and 3 blocks.
In this match, Jung Kwan-jang seemed to take the first and second sets with ease. With the ‘one-two punch’ Mega and Jia, the team looked dominant.
However, IBK did not back down in the third set. At 16-16, Pyo Seung-joo took the lead and scored four consecutive points with a quick open, team success, and Abe Crombie’s open and team success to take the set by one point.
In the fourth set, IBK set the tone early with a 5-0 run, extending their lead to as many as seven points. After reaching match point with ease, Yuk Seo-young’s quick opener tied the set at 2-2.
In the fifth set, IBK made an early run. They came within one point of Chung Kwan-jang, but Pyo Seung-joo took the set point and won the reverse sweep.
In the men’s match on the same day at Suwon Gymnasium, the KEPCO Big Storm swept the KB Insurance Stars 3-0 (25-19 25-15 26-24).
KEPCO was led offensively by Taith with 18 points and one block, Im Sung-jin with 14 points and four blocks, and Seo Jae-duk, Shin Young-seok, Cho Geun-ho, and Kim Dong-young combined for 22 points.
KB Insurance lost despite 16 points and three blocks from Biena and 13 points from Hong Sang-hyuk.
The win was KEPCO’s sixth consecutive victory, dating back to last month’s win over the OK Financial Group Itmen.
KB Insurance, on the other hand, fell to a 12-game losing streak, tied for the longest since the opening game against KEPCO. It is the second-longest losing streak after the 2019-2020 season.