Jumbos hold on to top spot as V League season nears end

Volleyball

Published: 15 Mar. 2022, 16:46

Jumbos hold on to top spot as V League season nears end

The Incheon Korean Air Jumbos celebrate after beating Suwon KEPCO Vixtorm 3-2 on March 9 at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon. [YONHAP]

The Incheon Korean Air Jumbos and Uijeongbu KB Insurance Stars remain in first and second place in the men's V League after both picking up three points over the weekend.

With a victory over Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon in three straight sets on Sunday, the Jumbos are now on a five-game winning streak. While the Jumbos get to stay at the top of the table, the Skywalkers fell to last place as Sunday’s loss was their seventh in a row.

The Jumbos are the defending champion in the men’s V league after beating Seoul Woori Card Wibees in the championship series last season to take both the regular season and championship titles for the first time in the club's history. It was also the first time in seven years that the V League has seen one team win the double. The last time the feat was achieved was back in the 2013-14 season, when Samsung Fire Insurance won both.

The Jumbos currently top the table with 20 wins and 11 losses so far this season, followed closely by KB Insurance just three points behind.

Noumory Keïta of the Uijeongbu KB Insurance Stars attacks Seoul Woori Card WooriWON on Monday at Uijeongbu Gymnasium in Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

On Monday, KB Insurance beat Seoul Woori Card WooriWON 3-2 after five sets with star player Noumory Keita scoring 54 points to tie his own record for the most points scored in a single match.

Keita is lined up to be this season’s top scorer as he already has a total of 1,147 points, well ahead of second-place Kyle Russell of Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs, who has 877 points.

Keita will also be looking to set a new record for most points in a season. Leonardo Leyva of Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs currently holds that record, having scored 1,282 points in the 2014-15 season. Keita will need 136 points more to tie the record. With four matches left to play and an average score-per-match of 35.84, the math says if Keita can keep up his current form he could very well rewrite V League history.

KB Insurance sit in second place with 18 wins and 14 losses, eight points ahead of third-place Woori Card.

As of press time, Ansan OK Financial Group Okman were scheduled to face Suwon Kepco Vixtorm at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Korean Air will face Woori Card on Wednesday, looking for their sixth win in a row.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]