The early game of the professional volleyball men’s division is unpredictable. The two teams that advanced to the playoffs last season and battled to advance to the championship game ended up in last place, and the defending champion Korean Air also lost early.
Han, captain of last season’s winning team Korean Air, predicted that it would be an unpredictable season at the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Men’s Media Day held on the 11th ahead of the opening of the league. He predicted, “I can guarantee that the season will be more fun,” and “I think it will be difficult for all teams as they all go up and down.”
One player’s prediction was correct. With a series of surprises from the beginning of the season, the leaderboard has become completely different from last season.
On the 19th, champion Korean Air was defeated by last season’s last place Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, which advanced to the finals by defeating Korean Air in the semifinals of the Cobo Cup last August, caught another big catch.
Korean Air, which experienced one loss after a high-flying 5-game winning streak at the start of last season, lost in 2 games and ended up with 1 win and 1 loss.
Hyundai Capital and Korea Electric Power Corporation, which faced each other in the playoffs last season, are also not doing well in the beginning. Both teams suffered two consecutive losses in the opening game and fell to last place.
After losing to Korean Air in the opening game, Hyundai Capital lost again to Woori Card on the 18th. Both games were shutout losses without winning even a single set.
KEPCO was defeated by two teams that did not advance to spring volleyball last season. After losing to KB Insurance in a close battle with a full set, they lost again to OK Financial Group. In an uneasy atmosphere, with rumors of the club being sold, the early losing streak is not good news.
On the other hand, Woori Card, which was expected to perform poorly due to a large-scale team reorganization at the founding level, rose to first place with three consecutive wins in the opening game. They are creating a sensation in the early stages by defeating Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Capital, and KB Insurance one after another.
The women’s division is also having a rough start. Defending champion Korea Expressway Corporation suffered two consecutive losses in the opening game. On the other hand, Pepper Savings Bank, which had won only after losing 17 consecutive games at the start of last season, reported its first win early on by winning the road construction game in the second game.