“A 39-point scoring blitz dominates the fifth set!” Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders beat Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) to reach the semifinals first; JungKwanJang earns its first win under Kwon Soon-chan

[Financial News] Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders became the first team to secure a semifinal berth, riding Yensi Kindelan’s explosive scoring to a second straight win in the cup tournament.
Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders edged Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) 3-2 (26-24, 25-19, 20-25, 16-25, 15-13) after a grueling five-set battle in the second round of Group A in the 2026 Yeosu NH Nonghyup Cup Professional Volleyball Tournament at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, on the 13th. Having beaten JungKwanJang in their first match, the Pink Spiders moved to the top of the group with their second straight win and clinched a semifinal spot, available to the top two teams in each group, regardless of the result of their final group-stage match against SOOP on the 15th.

Kindelan was unquestionably the star of the win. Despite the team struggling after committing a staggering 30 errors, she led the attack with 39 points, the most of either team.
With Kindelan leading the way, Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders appeared poised for an easy win after taking the first two sets. But from the third set on, they were swept up in a fierce IBK counterattack led by Choi Jeong-min, who scored 25 points, and conceded the next two sets in a row, sending the match back to square one.
In the decisive fifth set, Kindelan’s firepower flared again. She delivered points at crucial moments, scoring 11 on her own in the set. With the score narrowed to 13-12, Kindelan put her team on match point with an open attack, then sealed the lengthy contest at 14-13 with another powerful back-row attack. Jastis Yakuji added 12 points for the Pink Spiders, while Pyo Seung-ju scored 11 and Jung Ho-young had 10. IBK, now 1-1, were left to rue a comeback loss despite opposite hitter Choi Jeong-min’s determined effort.
In another Group A match at the same venue earlier, JungKwanJang swept new team SOOP 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 25-12). The win brought JungKwanJang, now 1-1, a valuable first victory under new head coach Kwon Soon-chan, who returned to the professional game after about three years and nine months.

JungKwanJang’s Asian-quota player Jonghwi starred with a match-high 21 points, including four blocks, and a 55% attack success rate, while Park Hye-min added 11. The turning point came in the first set, when JungKwanJang trailed 23-24 and was at risk of losing the set: Park Eun-jin’s quick attack tied the score, and consecutive points from Jonghwi and Park Eun-jin completed a thrilling 26-24 comeback. Riding that momentum, JungKwanJang comfortably took the second and third sets by wide margins to complete the straight-set win.
SOOP, formed after taking over the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers, felt the absence of key foreign player Odriana and leading scorer Park Eun-seo, who were out with injuries and poor form, and suffered its second straight-set defeat in a row. The attack struggled so badly that no player on the team reached double figures.
The final semifinal berth will be decided by the result of the matchup on the 15th between IBK and JungKwanJang, both currently 1-1.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter