Men’s professional volleyball KB Insurance escaped from a long losing streak.
KB Insurance, led by coach Hu In-jeong, won an away game against Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in the Dodram 2022-2023 V-League men’s division held at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on the 13th with a set score of 3-1 (25-23 23-25 25-14 25-21).
With this, KB Insurance won a valuable victory after 8 consecutive losses. Although the ranking remained unchanged at 6th place, he seized the opportunity to change the team atmosphere that had subsided endlessly. On the other hand, Samsung Fire & Marine suffered 6 consecutive losses and could not get out of the 7th place of ‘last place’.
A long, long 8-game losing streak… KB Insurance’s Valuable Victory
KB Insurance’s early set 1 Korean people blocked Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s ‘Ssangpo’ Ahmed Iqbairi and Kim Jeong-ho’s attacks in succession, and even Son Jun-young’s back attack broke out and took the lead. . Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance narrowed the gap little by little as Iqbairi’s attack revived, and in the middle of the set, Iqbairi scored three consecutive points and succeeded in turning 14-13.
However, KB Insurance broke Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s pursuit with Shin Seung-hun’s serve. He led a direct kill with an exquisite serve, and soon after recorded a serve ace and ran away 20-18, bringing the first set at the end of a close battle.
In the second set, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance took the lead thanks to Ikbairi’s attack and opponent’s mistakes. KB Insurance 안전놀이터 also pursued tenaciously until the last minute, but Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance balanced the game by winning the second set with Hong Min-ki’s decisive quick attack.
In the end, the match was virtually decided in the third set. KB Insurance took the lead first with Han Seong-jeong’s consecutive points, and blocked Samsung Fire’s attack with as many as 6 blocks, bringing the third set with a large score of 25-14.
KB Insurance, whose confidence was revived, overwhelmed Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance by beating 21-14 in the 4th set. Samsung Fire & Marine players did not give up until the end, but they could not overcome the defensive anxiety. In the end, KB Insurance ended its losing streak with Hwang Gyeong-min’s quick open at the match point.
KB Insurance, Nicola finally exited… Viyena ‘comeback’
On this day, KB Insurance decided to break up with foreign player Nicola Mellagnac (registered name Nicola) and played the game only with domestic players, but after a hard struggle, it overturned expectations and won. Hwang Kyung-min scored 20 points, the most in the team, and Han Seong-jeong and Korea Min also added 15 and 13 points, respectively.
KB Insurance chose Nikola from Serbia as his successor as Keita Noumori, who led the runner-up last season, left for Europe.
Nicola was also selected as the MVP of the first round by leading KB Insurance to three consecutive victories at the beginning of the opening with a unique powerful attack. KB Insurance, which was worried about Keita’s vacancy, was pleased with Nicola’s performance.
However, as the match went on, Nikola’s attack, which relied on strength, revealed its limits, and Nicola, who was still in his early 20s and was the first to play in an overseas league, rapidly lost confidence. Amidst Nicola’s sluggish performance, KB Insurance fell into a losing streak and eventually drew his sword.
KB Insurance selected Andres Villena, a Spaniard who played for Korean Air in the past, as a new foreign player. Villena, who ranked first in scoring and attack success rate in the 2019-2020 season, left due to injury the following year, but returned to the V-League two years after being called by KB Insurance.
For KB Insurance, which needs to improve its performance immediately, Vijena, which has been verified in the V-League, was considered the best. Attention is focusing on whether KB Insurance, which has brought out the odds of replacing foreign players, will succeed in rebounding.