She is doing so well that she wondered if she could do better than this. Nevertheless, she is on the brink of collapse after conceding the first and second rounds. “Can’t you do anything good? You have to do better than the first and second rounds to have a chance to come from behind to win the title.” This is the story of Kim Yeon-koung (36), the “volleyball empress” of Heungkuk Life Insurance in women’s professional volleyball.
Kim Yeon-koung scored 28 points in the second round of the 2023-2024 V-League Women’s Championship Game held at Suwon Gymnasium on the 30th. The attack success rate was 59.57 percent. The error was flawless, with only one mistake in attack.
He was not just good at offense. He also excelled in defense. He received 22 serves and precisely connected 11 receptions above the setter’s head. It was a drawback that he allowed two serve aces, but he showed compliance with receiving efficiency at 40.91 percent. Digg, who made 17 by attempting 23 receptions, also displayed strong defense in the back of the court, the highest number among both teams.
If Kim Yeon-koung had shown this good performance in offense and defense, Heungkuk Life should have won. However, Heungkuk Life lost with a set score of 2-3 (25-23 21-25 25-21 17-25 13-15). Heungkuk Life lost 2-3 in the first match by conceding three sets even after winning one and two sets, but lost 2-3 in the first match, and lost both matches in full set matches.
Heungkuk Life Insurance is now facing a 16.7 percent chance. Six teams had won both the first and second races in the women’s championship game before the latest championship. Five of them lifted the final trophy. Coincidentally, Heungkuk Life Insurance was the only team that failed to win the championship last season. In the last season’s championship, Heungkuk Life Insurance lost three games even after winning the first and second rounds, falling victim to the first-ever reverse sweep defeat in the championship. Only when it can achieve what it suffered last season, it will be possible to achieve “V5.”
It is a crisis of desperation for Heungkuk Life. Heungkuk Life has been struggling to play five games in nine days from the 22nd to the same day. It played up to three playoff games against Jeonggwanjang, and all the first and second rounds of championships were full set. Physical issues are inevitably raised
“It’s not about physical strength, it’s about mental strength. When I had to make a decision, I had to be strong and bold, but that was not enough,” Avon Danza said of the reason for the defeat after losing the second game. However, mental strength is something that can come out only when physical strength is supported. As time goes by, Heungkuk Life is not on the side of Heungkuk Life Insurance, which is in a dilemma to lift the trophy only when it leads the game to the fifth game.
Through the two championship matches, the two teams have decided which cards they can afford to secure against each other. Hyundai Engineering & Construction relies on MOMA’s offensive capabilities regardless of potential or rear position. If Yang Hyo-jin plays the three potential positions, he can choose MOMA and Yang Hyo-jin’s easy sundae if an open situation arises. It is encouraging that Wipawi (Thailand), which had no productive capacity in offense in the first round, and Jeong Ji-yoon scored double-digit points in the second round, thereby reducing dependence on MOMA and Yang Hyo-jin.
Heungkuk Life rarely uses the attacking options of middle blockers. In the first round match, Kim and Lee had a combined share of 8.81 percent (6.92 percent for Kim and 1.89 percent for Lee). In the second round match, the figure edged up to 10.9 percent (6.41 percent for Kim and 4.49% for Lee). Both Kim and Lee are middle blockers who can play mobile attacks, but the setter Lee Won-jung rarely utilizes them. Most of the attacks are concentrated on Kim Yeon-koung and Raina’s outside heater and Apogit Spiker Willo’s triangle formation. The three players garnered more than 20 points each in the first and second rounds to achieve ideal distribution, but they came back with two letters: “lose.”
Heungkuk Life Insurance, which is on the brink of collapse, should shake the blocker with options that Hyundai Engineering & Construction does not prepare for. One of them is Kim Yeon-koung’s back attack. In the second round, Kim tried all 47 of her attacks only at potential level. She did not intentionally block Kim’s back attack option. When asked about this to Avon Dan-ja, she said, “I am practicing during training. It is a matter of the setter Lee Won-jung’s choice that Kim Yeon-koung’s back attack does not come out during the game.”
Heungkuk Life’s offensive productivity falls further when Kim Yeon-koung is in the rear position. When Kim Yeon-koung is in the rear position, she mainly uses Raina, which is located in the potential, to fill the attack by raising the ball to Willow, which is something Hyundai Engineering & Construction is already preparing for. Raina and Willow showed good offense in the first and second rounds, but there is no guarantee that they will do well in the third round. In the end, when Kim Yeon-koung falls into the rear, setter Lee Won-jung must boldly utilize the attacking options that Hyundai Engineering & Construction is not preparing for, Kim Soo-ji and Lee Joo-ah’s moving attack, and Kim Yeon-koung’s back attack to produce different results from the previous two games.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction is less likely to see its performance deteriorate in certain rotations than Heungkuk Life Insurance as its ace, Moma, operates attacks regardless of potential or rear position. This difference may have resulted in the first and second rounds.
From the 2005-2006 season, her first season since her debut, Kim won the championship title by devouring both the regular league and the championship game. Since then, she has won the championship title in three of the four seasons she played before advancing to Japan from the 2006-2007 season and the 2008-2009 season.
After playing in an overseas league, he returned to the V-League for two seasons. In the 2020-2021 season, when the twin sisters’ school violence erupted, their power was greatly weakened due to the two players’ departure, and they lost to GS Caltex to stay in second place. Last season, they went straight to the championship game as No. 1 in the regular league, but ended up in second place after being swept by the Korea Expressway Corporation in reverse. What will the end of this season be? Will Kim Yeon-koung be able to save Heungkuk Life from being pushed to the brink? Either way, Heungkuk Life has only one thing to trust.
BY: 바카라사이트