As men’s professional volleyball continues to battle for the top spot ahead of the spring season, KEPCO jumped from fifth to third place to close out the fifth round.

KEPCO defeated OK Financial Group 3-0 in the final match of the fifth round of the Dodram 2023-24 V-League at the Sangryoksu Gymnasium in Ansan, South Korea, on Monday. With the win, KEPCO tied with OK Financial Group with 47 points, 토토 but moved into third place with a slight advantage in set point margin.

The star of the victory was Lim Sung-jin. Lim scored a match-high 18 kills on the day. She also scored the final point of the third set. Foreign players Taith, Seo Jae-duk, and Shin Young-seok also had solid performances, scoring 17, 13, and 13 points, respectively.

KEPCO’s overall offensive success rate was 65.16%, far ahead of OK Financial Group’s 47.36%. Shin Young-seok’s offensive success rate was 92.31%.

“I think the good energy exuded by the players with bright faces and positive words between each other had an impact on the game,” said Lim after the match. “I think there will be fierce competition until the end of the league, so I will try to prepare well by thinking only about the next game every moment.” “Personally, my position is one where I receive a lot of balls, but it’s also one where I have to hit them, and I haven’t been receiving well lately,” he said, adding, “I’ll try to make up for it during the rest of the season.”

Kwon Young-min, the head coach of KEPCO, also commented after the match, saying, “The players moved well evenly and had a good will.” “In the second set, we were shaken by the opponent’s short serve, but when Kim Kwang-guk came in, we got over the hump. I think that was the winning factor in this match.” “Our goal is to reach the playoffs without any injuries,” Kwon said, but emphasized that he wanted to make the process fun and exciting for the players rather than putting pressure on them.

Meanwhile, OK Financial Group, which could have secured third place with a win, slipped to fourth overall after losing to KEPCO. “I think the collapse of our serve receive was a factor in our defeat,” said OK Financial Group head coach Masashi Ogino. “We didn’t get good performances from the players we expected, and our team rhythm didn’t flow well.”

“In the sixth round, we will prepare to play OK’s own volleyball again,” said Ogino. “There is no doubt that the players have grown individually and as a team, so I hope they will have confidence in that aspect.” “I want to convey that losing a match is the responsibility of the coach, not the players,” he said, adding, “There is a fierce ranking battle going on, and I hope we can overcome it with the players in a fun way.”