Korea Expressway Corporation Sweeps Hyundai E&C, Reaches Cup Semifinals

Korea Expressway Corporation, which finished as the runner-up in both the cup competition and the V-League last season, secured its spot in the semifinals by extending its winning streak to two matches in the women's group stage of the 2026 Yeosu NH Nonghyup Cup Pro Volleyball tournament.

Korea Expressway Corporation claimed a dominant 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-18) sweep against Hyundai E&C in their Group B match held at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, on October 14.

Having defeated GS Caltex on October 12, Korea Expressway Corporation secured first place in its group regardless of the outcome between Hyundai E&C and GS Caltex, advancing to the semifinals, which are contested by the top two teams from each group.

It was a one-sided match.

Korea Expressway Corporation pressured Hyundai E&C, spearheaded by a formidable "triangle attack" consisting of foreign player Laetitia Moma Bassoko (registered as Moma), Asian quarter player Mami Uchiseto (registered as Mami), and Kang So-hwi.

In particular, newly joined veteran Mami injected energy into the team with stellar performances in both offense and defense.

In the first set alone, Mami recorded a match-high 9 points with an attack success rate of 80%.

Having taken the first set 25-17, Korea Expressway Corporation maintained its momentum in the second set.

Leading 10-9, the team capitalized on consecutive service and attack errors by opposing players Megawati Pertiwi (registered as Mega) and Jordan Wilson (registered as Jordan).

Bolstered by Kim Se-bin's block, Moma's powerful spike, and consecutive points from Kang So-hwi, they rattled off 8 unanswered points.

Widening the gap, Korea Expressway Corporation even had the luxury of evenly deploying bench players such as Park Jeong-ah.

Korea Expressway Corporation closed out the match in the third set.

Tied at 12-12, Korea Expressway Corporation pulled ahead 16-13 as opponents Mega, Jordan, and Bae Yu-na committed three consecutive attack errors.

Although Korea Expressway Corporation later allowed a 17-17 tie, they sealed the victory by scoring 4 consecutive points through Mami's back-to-back scores, Moma's powerful spike, and Kim Hyun-ji's block.

Moma tallied 18 points, including 2 blocks, while Mami scored 15 points, and Kang So-hwi added 11 points.

Mega, returning two years after the 2024-2025 season, scored 14 points in her comeback match but committed 5 errors, and her attack success rate stalled at 35.90%.

(Photo courtesy of the Korea Volleyball Federation, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.