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Men's professional volleyball's Hyundai Capital and KB Insurance faced off in the third round of the 2023-2024 V-League on Thursday at Cheonan Yugusun Gymnasium. The two teams, who were the worst performers in the second round with only two wins and one win, respectively, have rebounded recently. Hyundai Capital snapped a six-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over OK Financial Group on the 9th, while KB Insurance snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over OK Financial Group on the 6th, before beating Korean Air 3-1 on the 10th for their first back-to-back wins of the season.

Hyundai Capital and KB Insurance, who were tied for sixth and seventh place with 13 points and the same goal differential before today's match, were in a situation where a win or loss would give one team a foothold in the mid-table, while the other would have to stay in the bottom of the table for a while longer. "We can't lose," both managers said before the game.

It was expected to be a close match at the 'Wooden Bridge', but by the middle and end of the third set, Hyundai Capital was on its way to a 3-0 set victory. Ahmed (pictured) and Hong Dong-seon each recorded four service points in the third set, giving Hyundai Capital an 11-0 lead in service points and completely shaking up KB Insurance's receiving line.

However, KB Insurance, which started to gain momentum in the second half of the third set, managed to tie the score through tenacious defense and blocking. This, combined with the firepower of Bijena, who scored 10 points in the third set alone, helped KB Insurance take the third set 25-23. With this momentum, KB Insurance jumped out to a 9-2 lead at the start of the fourth set, forcing Hyundai Capital head coach Choi Tae-woong to remove Ahmed, Heo Soo-bong, Hong Dong-sun, and other main wing attackers in favor of bench players to prepare for the fifth set.

A five-set thriller. The winner was Hyundai Capital. After a service error by the opponent and an attack error by Bijena, Choi Min-ho blocked Bijena's follow-up 토토사이트 attack to take an early 3-0 lead. Hyundai Capital then steadied the ship and sealed the set 3-2 (25-18 30-28 23-25 15-25 15-11) when Park Sang-ha blocked Bijena's attack at 14-11 match point. Ahmed led the team's offense with 37 points, including four aces, while third-year player Hong Dong-seon added 16 points with two blocks and four aces.

With its second straight win, Hyundai Capital improved to 15 points (4-11) with the two wins, closing the gap on fifth-place OK Financial Group (22,8-7). KB Insurance, which was led by Bijena's 41 points, picked up one point and moved to 14 (3W13L).