Two V-League matches where one side looks settled and the other is still sorting itself out. Both come down to cohesion: who has actually played together recently, and who is missing pieces.
KB Stars against Busan OK: KB is in a full reset. A new coach took over in October, an Asian-quota hitter was cut, one hitter is away on military service, an unnamed main attacker missed the opener, and the setter was reported not fully recovered from ankle surgery. In the opener KB lost in four sets, two of them by two points, and the coach said afterwards the team could not stop opposing outside hitters. Busan has a stable core: a named young setter, the American opposite Russell with a strong serve, the Iranian middle Payzamdoust and captain Jeon Kwang-in. Busan beat Samsung in five sets in the Cup, the same Samsung that beat KB. The key matchup is Russell's serve against a patched KB reception, while Linus is KB's one reliable outlet. Busan is on the road after a long idle spell, but I think the roster gaps on KB weigh more. That's why I'm siding with Busan OK.
Hungkuk against Daejeon JKJ: Hungkuk has played five competitive games in October and opened the league with a clean sweep three days ago. Daejeon has not played for twenty days, has a new coach and lost its last game. Hungkuk also won the only meeting between the current versions of these sides, in the Cup. Daejeon can steal a set if its foreign opposite is fit and serving well, but a cold opener after a long break usually costs rhythm in reception. That's why I'm siding with Hungkuk.
