Women’s professional volleyball’s Heungkuk Life gets a shutout win over GS Caltex behind the play of Willow Johnson.
Heungkuk Life swept GS Caltex 3-0 (25-20 25-19 26-24) in straight sets in the fifth round of the 2023-24 Dodram V League Women’s Division at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on Sunday.
With their second straight win since the All-Star break, Heungkuk Life improved to 20-6 (56 points), chasing leader Hyundai E&C (61 points). Third-place GS Caltex (43 points) failed to close the gap on fourth-place Jungkwanjang (39 points).
Heungkuk Life was led by apogee spiker Willow, who came on as a substitute in Game 5, with a game-high 19 points and a 45.95% offensive success rate. Willow is the daughter of Major League Baseball legend Randy Johnson.
Heungkuk Life has won two straight games since Willow’s arrival, including an 8-0 record in blocked shots.
Heungkuk also got 15 points from outside hitters Kim Yeon-kyung and Reina Tokoku. Heungkuk libero Kim Hae-ran recorded 22 digs on the day, becoming the first player in the V-League to reach 11,000 career digs (11,103).
GS, on the other hand, was led by Giselle Silva’s 22 points, but struggled with their outside hitters, including Kang So-hwi (10 points, 27.03% attack percentage).
Heungkuk Life took control of the game early on thanks to the left-right duo of Kim Yeon-kyung and Willow. Reina also showed good offensive form.
Her concentration was also good at the end. With Heungkuk leading 20-18, Willow’s timeout gave them a breather and Kim sealed the win with back-to-back aces.
In the second set, Heungkuk Sinsaeng’s momentum continued. They racked up points through a variety of attacking routes to keep their opponents at bay and won the second set with a timeout from Kim Soo-ji.
In the third set, Heungkuk Life also reached 파워볼사이트 match point after a deuce battle, and Willow’s quick opener sealed the match after a rally.
In the men’s match in Ansan, Hyundai Capital put the brakes on OK Financial Group’s winning streak with a 3-2 (30-28 29-27 26-28 19-25 15-13) victory.
Hyundai Capital improved to 11-15 (36 points) and closed the gap on fifth-place OK Financial Group (40 points). OK Financial Group’s winning streak, which included all four rounds, came to a halt at ‘6’.
Hyundai Capital was led by Heo Su-bong’s 31 points and 68.29% offensive success rate. Ahmed Iqbairi added 25 points and Jeon Kwang-in 18 points.
OK, on the other hand, was led by Leonardo Martinez with 42 points, but came from behind in the final set.
They came within one point at 11-14 in the fifth set, but Leo’s serve hit the net, ending their winning streak.