Heungkuk Life defeats GS Caltex for its second straight opening win.
Heungkuk Life, led by head coach Marcello Abondanza, swept GS Caltex 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 26-24) in straight sets in the first round of the Dodram 2024-2025 V-League Women’s Division at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Thursday. With the win, Heungkuk Life improved to 6 points with their second win of the season. GS Caltex, on the other hand, suffered its second straight loss.
Heungkuk Life was led offensively by Kim Yeon-kyung with 17 points and Tutku with 12, while Fitch and Jung Yoon-joo each had eight points and Kim Da-eun added six. GS Caltex was led by Silva’s 15 points, Wyler’s 11, and Oh Se-yeon’s 10, and was outblocked 8-3 and out-served 8-4, 파워사다리 but could not prevent the loss.
Heungkuk Life took the early lead in the first set. Tutku’s back-to-back kills, Igo Eun’s serve, and Kim Yeon-kyung’s quick opener gave Heungkuk Life a four-point lead, and the team added points from Kim Soo-ji’s kill and Kim Yeon-kyung’s back-attack to pull away from GS Caltex.
GS Caltex fought back through Kwon Min-ji and Wyler to close the gap to one point at 17-18, but Heungkuk Life broke the 20-point barrier for the first time after a Fitch kill and a Silva error. After holding GS Caltex to 20 points, Heungkuk Life took the first set with spikes from Tutku and Kim Yeon-kyung.
Heungkuk Life continued its momentum in the second set and went from 11-10 to 15-10 after a series of GS Caltex errors. With GS Caltex stuck at 14 points, Heungkuk Life reached the 20-point plateau and racked up points on a block by Fitch and an attack point by Kim Yeon-kyung to take the second set.
In the third set, GS Caltex took the lead early. At 2-2, Silva’s back-to-back service points and a back attack gave them a four-point lead. GS Caltex then extended its lead to seven points at 6-13 and 7-13 to pull away from Heungkuk Life. However, Heungkuk Life persisted through Kim Da-eun and eventually tied the game at 18-18.
The seesaw game continued and at 20-20, GS Caltex took a 23-20 lead on a Kim Joo-hyang service ace after back-to-back errors by Heungkuk Life. Heungkuk Life rallied, but a block by Oh Se-yeon saved set point. It looked like GS Caltex would close out the third set, but Silva’s attack went wide to make it 24-24 deuce, and Kim Da-eun made two clean attacks in a row to complete the thrilling victory.