Jumbos beat Okman to win V League Championship 3-0 for title sweep

Volleyball

Published: 03 Apr. 2024, 14:18 Updated: 03 Apr. 2024, 16:47

Jumbos beat Okman to win V League Championship 3-0 for title sweep

The Incheon Korean Air Jumbos celebrate winning the 2023-24 V League Championship at Sangnoksu Gymnasium in Ansan, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The Incheon Korean Air Jumbos beat Ansan OK Financial Group Okman 3-2 in the third 2023-24 V League Championship game on Tuesday to win the best-of-five series 3-0 and become the first team to sweep both the league and championship for a fourth straight season.

The competition at Sangnoksu Gymnasium in Ansan, Gyeonggi was fiercer than the last two games, which the Jumbos won 3-0 and 3-1.

It was a well-matched first set, with the score tied at 24-24 until the Jumbos broke the deadlock to win it 27-25.

The Incheon side, however, gave up their early lead, losing the second set 25-16 and third set 25-21.

But the Jumbos bounced back by winning the fourth set 25-20 and went on to win the deciding fifth set 15-13 for a 3-2 victory that sealed their fourth consecutive championship and fourth total title sweep.

Not even the once-frontrunners Daejeon Samsung Bluefangs have achieved four total title sweeps in a row. They swept both league and championship titles from the 2011-12 season through the 2013-14 season and won the 2014-15 league title again, but lost the championship that season to Okman.

Jumbos attacking duo of Im Dong-hyeok and Jung Ji-seok scored 18 points apiece on Tuesday, and new signee Maksim Zhigalov added 13. Zhigalov has displayed solid form since joining the team right before the championship began last month.

Jung was named the MVP of the championship series after recording 59 points across the past three games.

The Incheon Korean Air Jumbos' Jung Ji-seok celebrates during a 2023-24 V League Championship game against Ansan OK Financial Group Okman at Sangnoksu Gymnasium in Ansan, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

“I am very proud that we made this unprecedented record with our own hands,” Jung said after the game. “It was personally a tough season for me, but ending it on a good note feels like a dream.”

Jung was unable to deliver his best performance this season after getting injured at the Hangzhou Asian Games last fall. His form was inconsistent even after he returned in the middle of the campaign.

“There were so many ups and downs,” Jung said. “I was not confident about the way I played to the point where I thought it was pure luck when I played well. I could not show the Jung that fans know, but I am sure they looked at me differently during the championship.”

Head coach Tommi Tiilikainen is one of the reasons behind the team’s massive success. Having taken the helm ahead of the 2021-22 season, he has reinforced his influence over the years as his players have diversified their attack patterns.

The Incheon Korean Air Jumbos toss head coach Tommi Tiilikainen into the air after winning the 2023-24 V League Championship at Sangnoksu Gymnasium in Ansan, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Tiilikainen is already keen to make more history with the Jumbos, saying after the game that he will immediately start preparing for the next season once the team returns from vacation at the end of May.

As for Okman, it was still a better season than last despite falling short of a third championship title.

The Ansan side won the Korea Volleyball Federation Cup — a preseason tournament in which teams test out their squad ahead of a regular campaign — under head coach Masaji Ogino last summer and managed a third-place finish on the seven-team table, finishing the league two spots higher than they did last season.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]