Korean Air Lines, which replaced its foreign player before the finals, showed the dignity of the regular season No. 1 in the first game of the championship series.
Korean Air Lines Jumbos defeated Hyundai Capital Skywalkers 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11) in the first game of the Jin Air 2025-2026 V League men's championship series (best-of-five) held at Incheon Gyeyang Gymnasium on the 2nd.
Regular season No. 1 Korean Air Lines seized the initiative against No. 2 Hyundai Capital, who advanced via the playoffs against Woori Card (2 wins), and grabbed a 75% chance of winning (15 out of 20).
Home team Korean Air Lines started with Han Seon-su, Jeong Ji-seok, Kim Gyu-min, Lim Dong-hyeok, Jeong Han-yong, Masso and libero Kang Seung-il. Masso, a former member of the Cuban national team who joined Korean Air Lines last month on the 19th to replace Kyle Russell, was included in the starting lineup. Hyundai Capital fielded Hwang Seung-bin, Heo Su-bong, Bayarsaikhan, Shin Ho-jin, Leo and Kim Jin-young with libero Park Kyung-min.
Korean Air Lines, overcoming concerns about match readiness, dominated Hyundai Capital in the first set. Jeong Ji-seok anchored the team with an 80% attack success rate and a team-high five points, and newcomer Lasso, who had four points including one block, boasted a 100% attack success rate. Korean Air Lines, which took the first technical timeout at 8-4, maintained a comfortable lead throughout. Hyundai Capital's errors at critical moments also helped preserve the gap.
Hyundai Capital countered in the second set with the Leo–Heo Su-bong–Shin Ho-jin trio. Unlike the first set, the three players showed an even scoring distribution, and with more opponent errors their momentum clearly shifted. After conceding two points at 21-16 and briefly being chased, Heo Su-bong rose to maintain control. Korean Air Lines, fighting back through Lim Dong-hyeok's efforts, was hampered when Lasso committed three crucial errors that broke their rhythm.
Hyundai Capital, whose trio had found its rhythm, carried that momentum into the third set. Bayarsaikhan joined the scoring with quick attacks, and Kim Jin-young thrilled away fans from Cheonan with a service ace. Although they conceded four consecutive points after leading 17-13 and returned to a seesaw battle, Leo and Heo Su-bong scored consecutively at 21-21, and after Heo Su-bong soared again at 24-23, they secured a 2-1 lead in the set score.
Korean Air Lines did not back down. Early on, Lim Dong-hyeok displayed devastating firepower from the back row while Masso attacked from the middle with high-altitude bombardment using his height. At 16-12, consecutive attack errors by Lim Dong-hyeok put them in danger, but Lim Jae-young succeeded with a valuable attack that stopped the opponent's momentum, and Jeong Ji-seok added to the scoring. Korean Air Lines announced the fifth-set showdown by combining Kim Min-jae's quick attack and Jeong Ji-seok's block at 23-20.
Korean Air Lines' flight continued. At a narrow 5-4 lead in the fifth set, Masso used his height for a direct kill and Jeong Han-yong stopped Shin Ho-jin's attack to seize the momentum. At 10-8, a fortunate foot fault by Leo on the service line went Korean Air Lines' way, and combining Kim Min-jae's quick attack and Lim Dong-hyeok's back attack they closed out the long match. At 13-11, when Heo Su-bong's attack went out, they sensed the victory.
Korean Air Lines led the victory with Lim Dong-hyeok scoring a team-high 22 points (attack success rate 54.05%). New foreign player Masso also contributed 18 points with a high attack success rate of 71.43%. Jeong Ji-seok had 15 points and Jeong Han-yong had 10 points in support. Leo's triple crown of 20 points did not help avoid the defeat.
The two teams will play the second game of the championship series at the same venue on the 4th after a day of rest. <
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