Korean Air against Busan OK is a meeting of a champion's attack and a shaky new reception against a serving team with a young setter. Korean Air still has its elite core in setter Han Seon-su and Jeong Ji-seok, and new import Ketrzynski opened with 28 points. But the unit that broke on their opening night was the pass, with a new libero behind it. OK has exactly the serve to aim at that seam.
Korean Air's structure runs through Han's distribution and a strong block, which out-blocked Samsung 13 to 8. The weak spot showed in the third set against Samsung. With Lee Sang-wook at libero (Iga Ryohei has left) and Ketrzynski receiving at outside, Samsung's serve built a 20-12 lead and took the set 25-16. Only a switch in the fourth set steadied things: Jeong Han-yong came in to receive and Ketrzynski moved to opposite. That fix has been tested for one set.
OK's game is serve runs. Russell, called a serve master, built a 7-2 run in the second set against Hyundai Capital and hit aces at key moments. Jeon Gwang-in hit 77.8 percent and Kim Jung-ho added 13. OK's two set wins against Hyundai were lopsided, 25-17 and 25-16, and they came against a top side, not a weaker one. Russell is a stronger server than anyone Samsung has.
The counter is real. Han and the Korean Air block against 21-year-old setter Kim Dae-hwan, in only his second official match, favours Korean Air in sets that reach 20-all, which is where OK lost the first and fifth sets to Hyundai. OK also used only ten players across five sets, while Korean Air turns around quickly from a late finish. I treat the fatigue on both sides as roughly cancelling out.
Neither team has an absence. Everyone who matters played in the opening round. The open question is Korean Air's starting six: if Ketrzynski is back receiving at outside, OK's serve meets the version Samsung broke.
I expect a match decided by whether OK's serve gets runs going early. Close sets lean to Korean Air, but OK doesn't need close sets. It needs its serve to blow a couple of sets open, which is the shape it already showed against a top opponent. That's why I'm siding with Busan OK to keep this match alive against the champions.
