Korean Air defeated Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to maintain its league lead. The four-game winning streak brings the team one step closer to securing a direct berth to the championship finals.
Korean Air beat KEPCO 3-1 (27-25, 25-19, 18-25, 26-24) in an away match of the Jin Air 2025-2026 V-League men's division held at Suwon Gymnasium on Thursday.
With the four consecutive victories, Korean Air now holds 66 points with a 22-10 record, extending its lead over second-place Hyundai Capital (62 points) to four points in the race for direct championship finals qualification.
Korean Air also maintained an overwhelming 5-1 head-to-head record against KEPCO this season. Meanwhile, fourth-place KEPCO, which had been riding a two-game winning streak, saw its run end with the defeat. Recording 49 points with a 17-15 record, KEPCO narrowly missed the opportunity to overtake KB Insurance (52 points, 17-15) for third place.
Since the semi-playoffs are held when the point difference between third and fourth place teams is three points or less, the fierce battle for positioning between KEPCO and KB Insurance is expected to continue until the final stretch of the regular season.
Korean Air clinched the first set after a tight battle that went to deuce. Trailing 22-24, the team drew level at 24-24 through Jung Han-yong's back-row attack and an attack error by KEPCO's foreign player Sheron Vernon-Evans (registered as Vernon).
Then at 25-26, Kim Gyu-min's block and Jung Ji-seok's crucial service ace delivered a thrilling 1-0 set lead.
Riding the momentum, Korean Air extended its run in the second set with Lim Dong-hyuk scoring eight points. Lim recorded a 100% attack success rate in the set.
After conceding the third set, Korean Air closed out the match in another deuce battle in the fourth. Leading 23-22, the team allowed consecutive points to fall behind 23-24, but Jung Ji-seok forced deuce with an open attack before blocking Seo Jae-deok's spike to complete the comeback. With momentum on their side, Korean Air sealed the victory when Lim Dong-hyuk blocked Vernon's open attack.
Lim Dong-hyuk led the team with 21 points including three blocks, while Jung Ji-seok (17 points) and Jung Han-yong (16 points) also contributed.