“Until (Lee) Yoon Jung-jeong comes back, we need to prepare a little more…”
The team was missing a key player, and to make matters worse, they opened without their starting setter. Defending champion Gimcheon Korea Expressway Corporation fell to a second straight loss. It’s no wonder head coach Kim Jong-min’s head is spinning.
“Rather than thinking about how to stop the opponent, I think we should look at our current team situation and do our own thing first and then play the opponent,” he said before the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Women’s League match against Suwon Hyundai E&C at Suwon Gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
After opening the season with two straight losses (1 point), Korea Expressway Corporation has slipped to sixth place. The outlook for the match against Hyundai E&C, which is second with a 2-1 record (7 points), is not promising.
The problem is that the team is not at full strength. After winning the title in dramatic fashion last season, they lost main hitter Park Jung-ah to Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank and middle blocker Jung Dae-young to GS Caltex in Seoul.
As compensation for Park Jung-ah, they sent Ignatius back to Pepper Savings Bank for young middle blocker Choi Ga-eun and a first-rounder, Shin In-myung-kwon. They also brought back apogee spiker Tanacha Sooksot in the Asian Quarter and acquired 6-foot-8 Apogee Vanya Vukiric in the foreign draft.
In August, the team traded for outside hitter Kim Sae-in and setter Ahn Yerim in a trade with Chung Kwan-jang and acquired Ko Eui-jeong and Park Eun-ji for the same positions. The team is especially excited about rookie Kim Se-bin, the No. 1 overall pick. Expectations are high as many of the main players have left the team.
However, before the start of the league, Lee Yoon-jung went down with a knee injury. Park Eun-ji will have to take over the role entirely.
“The players are doing a good job (in a difficult situation),” said coach Kim Jong-min, “but I think we need to prepare a little more until Yoon Jung returns.”
Tanacha, whose position overlaps with Vukiric, is considering a position change. “I’m thinking about whether to play outside or inside,” Kim said. He’s been training on both sides and getting used to it a little bit.”
Kim also spoke favorably of Kim Se-bin. “I think she will be able to adapt to the training and go into the match with less nervousness,” he said. “I think setter Park Eun-ji is also doing much better than I thought. She’s doing a good job of winning the toss and distributing the ball. However, I think she is a bit immature in team management due to her lack of experience, but I am very excited for her in the future.” 짱구카지노 주소
Nevertheless, everyone knows it’s a tough situation. “Even if Lee Yoon-jung comes back right away, we’ve been adjusting to another setter, so we have to take that into account,” Kim said, “I don’t think we’ll be able to normalize until the middle or end of the second round.”
Hyundai E&C coach Kang Sung-hyung was more relaxed, saying, “I think we’ll go in normally and we’re in good shape,” but he also expressed caution, saying, “Newcomers are the most difficult to work with.”