GS CALTEX WINS SIXTH PROFESSIONAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT WITH VICTORY OVER IBK KOOKMINBANK

SEOUL, South Korea (Yonhap) – GS Caltex Women’s Professional Volleyball has won the 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup, its sixth professional volleyball 스포츠토토존 tournament.GS Caltex lifted the trophy for the second consecutive year with a 3-1 (26-28 25-23 25-13 25-21) victory over IBK in the women’s final at Park Jung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, on Friday.GS Caltex, already the most decorated team in the Women’s Cup, reached the final for the fourth consecutive year and engraved their name on the trophy for the sixth time in their career.GS Caltex, which had lost 0-3 to IBK in the first round of the tournament, had a clean slate in the rematch five days later .Kang So-hwi was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) after receiving 27 votes in the journalists’ poll, beating out Yoo Seo-yeon, who received just three votes .This is the third time Kang has won the MVP award in her career, after winning it in 2017 and 2020, and she surpassed Kim Hee-jin (IBK – 2013, 2015) to become the most decorated women’s MVP. The Most Improved Player (MIP) award went to Pyo Seung-ju (IBK), while the Rising Star award went to Kim Ji-won (GS Caltex).IBK set the tone early in the match. IBK led by a large margin in the first set, but Yuk Seo-young’s attacks were blocked in the final minutes of the set, allowing them to catch up.With the Yuk Seo-young-Pyo Seung-joo tandem at 24-20, IBK took the first set point, but with Yuk Seo-young at the front and Pyo Seung-joo at the back, Yuk Seo-young’s open attack was blocked by GS Caltex blockers three times in a row, cutting the deficit to one point .She was unable to receive Yoo Seo-yeon’s hard hit and gave up a deuce in vain. After being down 25-26 at deuce, IBK came back with a quick opener from Park Min-ji and an unforced error, and Yuk Seo-young closed out the first set 28-26 with a service ace. After nearly taking the first set with an incredible comeback, GS Caltex showed their strength in the second set to even the match. Trailing 19-20, GS Caltex fought back with three consecutive open attacks after Kang So-hwi moved to the front row, and Han Soo-ji scored two consecutive kills for set point.GS Caltex, which shook IBK’s defense by diversifying its attacks, closed out the second set with a hard hit by Yoo Seo-yeon and tied the match. With multiple players contributing to the scoring, GS Caltex easily took the third set 25-13, setting the tone for the fourth set.In the fourth set, GS Caltex took a commanding 24-15 lead after a pair of kills from Yoo Seo-yeon and Kang So-hwi, and withstood a late charge from IBK, with Kwon Min-ji stepping up to the plate to close out the set 25-21.GS Caltex was led by Yoo Seo-yeon with 22 points and Kang So-hwi with 21 as the duo combined for 43 points .Kwon Min-ji added 15 points, including four blocked shots, and Oh Seo-yeon chipped in with 10 points, including four blocked shots .The runners-up, IBK, were led by their tight defense and the focus of their players. Although new recruit Hwang Min-kyung suffered a knee injury in her first match of the tournament and was unable to play the rest of the tournament, the rest of the team showed their fighting spirit. Although the team did not win the Cup for the first time in seven years, the performance of veteran Pyo Seung-ju and the even performance of Yook Seo-young, Choi Jung-min, and Kim Hyun-jung can be considered an achievement .Especially in the fourth set, when they faced match point at 15-24, Choi Jeong-min scored six consecutive 스포츠토토존 points, including three blocks and Lim Hye-rim’s two blocks, to chill GS Caltex.For IBK, Pyo Seung-ju led the way with 22 points, supported by Yuk Seo-young and Choi Jung-min with 15 and 13 points, respectively.