The awakened Ji-seok Jeong is scarier than Leo

Korean Air's flagship player Jung Ji-seok 29, 195 centimeters has laid a foundation for the first time in four consecutive seasons in Korea's professional volleyball history. Having awakened to overcome disappointment during the regular season, Jung showed off power beyond foreign players, who are considered the strongest in the league.

In the first match against OK Financial Group in the men's championship match of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League held at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on the 29th, Jung Ji-seok led the team to victory by sweeping the most 31 points from both teams. He took the lead in winning the set score 3-1 with an attack success rate of 67.65% and seven blocks.

Korean Air, the winner of the regular league, has secured an advantage in the championship of the three wins out of five matches. Out of the 18 championship matches for men, the team that won the first round has won 13 championships, showing a 72.2 percent chance.

In fact, Korean Air made a series of mistakes as if its body was still warmed up in the first set. While backthrowing the ball that his teammate cleared, he made a wrong mistake by passing it to Leo, the opponent team's main gun, and he also made errors in serve. In the first set alone, Korean Air made 10 errors, twice as many as its opponent.

He seemed to have lost sense of play as it was the first game he played in 15 days after the regular league. Eventually, Korean Air lost the first set by a score of 22 to 25.

However, in the second set, Korean Air gained strength amid fierce competition. By scoring serve early in the set, Jung brought the mood to life and brought the game to square one with direct kill, skillful left-handed push, and strong straight hit.

In the third set, Jung blocked off the opponent team's middle blocker Park Won-bin's fastball, displaying strong performance in height as well. On the day, Jung was responsible for as many as seven of the 11 blockers in the entire team. Diggs also displayed perfect performance in offense and defense, clearing the team's 11 blockers, the most in total.

Leo, one of the best strikers in the league, only scored 22 points and had an attack success rate of around 40 percent. Of course, Leo must have felt pressured about his performance in the championship after playing semi-PO with Woori Card, playoff with Hyundai Card. Leo, however, was MVP-class in the regular season scoring 26.5 points on average per game and ranking second in attack success rate 54.5 percent.

Jung started the regular season belatedly due to injury that followed his participation in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. From 35 games last season, he played in only 24 games this season. His score also dropped sharply from 14.5 to 8 points on average per game. Both serve score 0.18 per set and block 0.34 remained at half the level compared to last season.

However, on the day, Jung showed off performance that overwhelmed Leo. Considering that Maxim, the new foreign player of Korean Air, recorded 20 points 44.4 percent success rate despite having a higher attack share, Jung's power was remarkable.

After the game, Jung Ji-seok said, "I was very immersed because it was a big game," adding, "I felt like I was going to show a good performance, but I'm glad that it came out well during the game." Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikainen also welcomed the ace's revival, saying, "I had a hard season because of my injury, but I proved myself because it's an important game."

His confidence has soared to the highest level in the big game. "I don't need to explain the motivating part just by playing in the championship game," Jung said. "I remembered that I couldn't do it the more I played in the regular league, but when I came to the championship, I decided to forget everything and start at the zero base." "I think it worked well for me to increase my confidence to the maximum level until I was nervous," he said with a smile of remorse.

He also did not forget the contributions of his teammates. "I made a lot of mistakes in the first set, but I was able to do well because the older players in the second set showed skill," Jung said in expressing his gratitude. "I did well today, but volleyball is played by six people, so I will never let my guard down."  안전 토토사이트

He is cheering up even more for veteran players. "I am also desperate to win, but the most desperate players are Han and Kwak Seung-seok," Jung said. "I will do my best for the older players and the fans because I don't know when I will play as such a member again."

Korean Air, which is aiming for its first four-game winning streak, is even scarier with Jung Ji-seok, who awakened by saying, "I am technically confident, but more importantly, I realized to create a physical condition where I can play without getting sick."