Skywalkers win first cup title in 11 years with 3-2 win over Jumbos

The Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers beat the Incheon Korean Air Jumbos 3-2 in the 2024 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup final on Saturday to win their first cup title in 11 years and claim their fifth cup victory.

The Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers celebrate winning the 2024 Korea Volleyball Federation Cup at Tongyeong Gymnasium in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang on Saturday. [NEWS1]

The Cheonan Hyundai Capital Skywalkers beat the Incheon Korean Air Jumbos 3-2 in the 2024 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup final on Saturday to win their first cup title in 11 years and claim their fifth cup victory.

The KOVO Cup is a preseason tournament in which all seven V League teams compete. This year’s tournament saw eight teams with the addition of Sangmu Volleyball Club, a military club that players join to complete their military service.

The Skywalkers faced last V League season’s league and championship winners, the Jumbos, at Tongyeong Gymnasium in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, after suffering a 3-2 loss to the Incheon side in the groups stage earlier in the tournament.

But the score of that game ended up being the same score with which the Skywalkers beat the Jumbos this time around.

The game was neck-and-neck, with the Skywalkers dropping the first set 25-15, winning the second set 25-23, losing the third set 25-19 and winning the fourth set 25-19.

The Skywalkers then took the final deciding fifth set 15-13 for the 3-2 win, sealing the Cheonan side’s first KOVO Cup victory since 2013. Saturday’s title makes the Skywalkers the joint team with most wins in KOVO Cup history, alongside the Jumbos with five wins apiece.

Defending champions Ansan OK Savings Bank Okman, meanwhile, failed to reach the knockout stage this year. The knockout stage that starts from the semifinals saw Sangmu Volleyball Club and Daejeon Samsung Bluefangs alongside the two finalists.

The Skywalkers’ KOVO Cup victory comes before the regular 2024-25 V League season begins on Oct. 19.

The Skywalkers finished in fourth place last season where the Jumbos swept both the league and championship titles for the fourth straight time. One more league victory will make the Jumbos the first team to achieve a fifth consecutive win in V League history.

The Jumbos and Bluefangs remain the only two teams to have won the league four straight times. The Bluefans also swept the league and championship titles for three straight seasons, but failed to win their fourth successive championship title in the 2014-15 season.

The women’s V League season will also start on the same day as the men’s, but its players will tune up in the women’s KOVO Cup that started Sunday as of press time.

The first game between GS Caltex Seoul Kixx and Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass at Tongyeong Gymnasium is ongoing as of press time. The Kixx won the KOVO Cup last year.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]