Korean Air, the regular-season champions of men's professional volleyball, edged Hyundai Capital 3-2 in the first game of the championship finals (best-of-five series), moving one step closer to a league title for the first time in two seasons.
Korean Air defeated Hyundai Capital in a full-set battle at Incheon Gyeyang Gymnasium on Friday, winning 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11) in Game 1 of the 2025-2026 Jin Air V-League men's championship finals.
Korean Air need just two more wins in the remaining four games to reclaim the throne they last held in the 2023-2024 season.
The club had won four consecutive league titles from the 2020-2021 season but surrendered the crown last season after finishing third in the regular season and losing three straight games to Hyundai Capital in the championship finals.
By taking Game 1 this season, Korean Air seized a golden opportunity to avenge last season's defeat. Historically, the team winning Game 1 has gone on to win the championship in 15 of 20 finals series (75%). Game 2 is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the 4th at Incheon Gyeyang Gymnasium.
Korean Air deployed new foreign player Jose Masso (registered name: Masso) as a middle blocker and utilized Lim Dong-hyuk as an opposite spiker.
Masso, recruited specifically for the championship finals, had never played on the Korean stage before, making him an unknown quantity. Korean Air took the first set behind Masso and Lim.
Masso executed a quick attack that caught the opposing defense off guard at 5-3, and Lim followed with a service ace to extend the lead to 7-3.
Korean Air maintained the gap throughout the set. Whenever Hyundai Capital closed to within two or three points, their players committed errors, allowing Korean Air to close out the set with relative ease.
The second set slipped away. Korean Air fell behind early on frequent errors and made tactical adjustments. Trailing 10-14, the team substituted setter Han Seon-su and hitter Lim Dong-hyuk, bringing in Yoo Gwang-woo and Asia quota player Garrett Eden William (registered name: Eden).
However, Korean Air could not effectively contain the trio of Leonardo Leiva Martinez (registered name: Leo), Heo Su-bong and Shin Ho-jin. After allowing the set score to level at 1-1, Korean Air dropped the third set as well.
Korean Air had a chance to rally at 22-23 when they gained the serve. But Hyundai Capital's Leo collided with teammate Shin Ho-jin during a defensive play and fell to the court. The head referee called a no-play to protect the player.
The momentum shifted back to Hyundai Capital. Leo, who had been in visible pain, got up without issue, and the referee resumed play. Korean Air's Jeong Han-yong then committed a service error, widening the gap to 22-24.
Korean Air head coach Renan Dal Zotto protested the no-play call belatedly. Korean Air failed to regain momentum and dropped the third set 23-25.
Trailing 1-2 in sets, Korean Air rallied in the fourth. Masso shone brightest. At 16-15, he stuffed Shin Ho-jin's attack with a block, lifting the team's spirits.
Masso then converted another effective block against Shin's open attack to win the serve back, and Lim Jae-young finished the ensuing rally to open a three-point lead.
Riding Masso's performance, Korean Air pushed the match to a fifth set. After a tight point-for-point battle, Korean Air seized the decisive advantage. At 5-4, Masso hammered a ball that came off a Hyundai Capital defensive error. Jeong Han-yong then blocked Shin Ho-jin's attack to make it 7-4.
Korean Air maintained a two-to-three-point lead before Heo Su-bong scored consecutive points at 12-9, narrowing the gap to 12-11.
But Lim Dong-hyuk calmly converted a back-row attack to extend the lead to 13-11. The match was decided when Heo Su-bong's attack sailed out of bounds after a long rally.
Lim Dong-hyuk led all players with a match-high 22 points, while Masso recorded 18 points with a 71.43% attack success rate.
Leo tallied 20 points — five back-row attacks, three blocks and three service aces — achieving a triple crown (three or more in each of back-row attacks, service aces and blocks in a single match) but had little to celebrate.