Volleyball Emperor Makes Coach Dance

There were no tears in her eyes for the second year in a row. The pink female warriors led by Kim Yeon-koung did not repeat the nightmare of last season.

Heungkuk Life Insurance beat set score 3-0 25-18, 25-19, 25-19 in the third playoff game against Jeonggwanjang in the 2023-2024 season at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on the 26th.

As a result, Heungkuk Life Insurance will face off against Hyundai Engineering & Construction for the champion of this season from the 28th. On the other hand, Jeong Kwan-jang, who dreamed of winning the title for the first time in 12 years after the 2011-2012 season, will unfortunately withdraw from the spring volleyball tournament for the first time in seven years.

Both teams did not miss their home games. Fans’ enthusiasm that heated up their home stadiums influenced players’ performance and victory.

It was a 100% and 0% battle. In the history of the 17 V-League playoffs, a team that won the first round failed to advance to the championship match. The winner of the first round was Heungkuk Life Insurance. Jeong Kwan-jang grabbed the second round and brought the game back to square one.

However, Heungkuk Life Insurance was the victim with 0% chance at the championship game last season. It lost the trophy to the Korea Expressway Corporation after the first reverse sweep win, loss in the history of the championship. He became self-imposed. This is why Avon Danza remained alert even after winning the first game. And the concern has become a reality half-realistic.

However, Heungkuk Life Insurance fell victim to the 0% chance at the championship game last season. The team lost three consecutive games to Korea Expressway Corporation after winning two games first, breaking down. For this reason, Heungkuk Life coach Marcello Avondan had to stay alert all the time. “A big game is a battle of mentality. Honestly, I am nervous, too,” Avondan said. “There is a limit to the advice a coach can give. I hope our players will show strong concentration.”

On the day, coach Ko Hee-jin of Jeonggwanjang put the injured Jung Ho-young on the bench once again. “I desperately want to play, but the coach has a responsibility to protect him,” he stressed. On the other hand, he also added that he would take Jung Ho-young and fans of Jeonggwanjang to Suwon.

Instead, the team mobilized all of its special “hungkuk deterrents.” It invited Cha Sang-hyun, former coach of GS Caltex, who achieved the treble in the 2020-2021 season against Kim Yeon-koung’s Heungkuk Life Insurance, and Kim Jong-min, coach of Korea Expressway Corporation, who won the reverse sweep last year.

He also revealed the secret of his performance. He said that he practiced by playing the on-site sound at Samsan Gymnasium with a large speaker to adjust to Heungkuk Life’s enthusiastic cheering. Just as he used Kim Se-in as a hidden card, he also reported that he prepared for surprise cards such as “Apogit” and “Playing as a middle blocker.”

The first set was a landslide victory for Heungkuk Life Insurance. Kim Soo-ji’s consecutive serve aces early in the set to take the lead, and Willow, who had been silent in the last match, exploded seven points in the first set alone, leading the team’s attack. Since leading 9-3, 14-7, he has continued to lead by five to six points to win the first set.

Heungkuk Life’s momentum continued into the second set. It gave Jeong a 7-8 lead early on, but Kim Yeon-koung Willow scored and Lee Won-jung’s blocked it to make it 14-10. Jeong Gwan-kyeong Han Song-yi’s blocking once chased it to 15-17, but Kim Yeon-koung suppressed it by scoring back-to-back points.

In particular, Lee Won-jung, who struggled with low blocking in the second game, succeeded in blocking Kim Se-in and Lee Sun-woo, and Kim Soo-ji blocked Jia’s pipe center rear attack with a single block.

In the third set, there was a battle of all sorts. Against Jia-Mega, Jeonggwanjang, Kim Yeon-koung delicately stabbed every corner of the court, and Raina put in an explosive spike with elasticity like a rubber ball. Jia also had luck, as she made an attack mistake in the perfect no-blocking chance. 스포츠토토

Kim scored with a sharp attack at the 16-15, and then even hit a serve-ace herself, roaring out. Heungkuk Life widened the score to 22-17, sealing the game.

Leading up to Kim Yeon-koung 21 points, Raina 15 points and Willow 14 points also showed off their scoring skills. Lee Won-jung three blocks for blocking and Kim Soo-ji three serve aces also provided ample support. Heungkuk Life Insurance’s defense line centered on Kim Yeon-koung and Do Soo-bin was also solid. Coach Avon Dan-ja welcomed the team by dancing right after the victory.

Jeong Kwan-jang was persistent, but Jia 16 points and Mega 12 points had an attack success rate of only 30% all the time, and failed to stop “solver” Kim Yeon-koung at every crisis.

9 Comments

Add Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *