3-2 and 4 consecutive victories,
full set match between both teams like ‘2nd round’
Yang Hyo-jin scored 21 points…
Hyundai E&C and Heungkuk Life Insurance are the firm’2nd
round’ of the professional volleyball V-League Women’s Division in the 2022-2023 season. However, both teams have been having a rough time lately. Hyundai E&C, which ran undefeated at the beginning of the season and recorded 15 consecutive victories, a tie record for the most consecutive wins in the women’s division, suffered a fatal blow when its main target, foreign striker Yasmin (27), was absent for a long time due to injury. Heungkuk Life Insurance, which was holding both ‘two rabbits’ such as performance and box office success as second in the league and first in crowd mobilization, fell into turmoil on the 2nd when the club dismissed both manager Kwon Soon-chan and general manager Kim Yeo-il. Fans as well as players openly protested against the incomprehensible measure, and as it was revealed that the dismissal was due to a conflict with the parent company’s high-ranking officials related to the appointment of players, the criticism toward Heungkuk Life Insurance intensified. In addition, head coach Lee Young-soo, who served as acting coach, and coach Kim Ki-joong, who was newly appointed as the head coach, expressed their opinions and had to play the season without a “captain”. 안전놀이터
The two teams, both fatally injured, met on the 11th in the fourth round at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon, the home stadium of Heungkuk Life Insurance. However, as befits the teams leading the league this season, a great match unfolded, and in the end, Hyundai E&C won 3-2 (30-28 25-20 16-25 21-25 15-11) after a full set. In Hyundai E&C, 5 players scored double digits, including Yang Hyo-jin (34) who led the game with 21 points. With this, they ran 4 consecutive wins and recorded 19 wins, 2 losses and 53 points. Heungkuk Life Insurance fought hard with foreign striker Yelena (26) scoring 31 points and Kim Yeon-kyung (35) scoring 24 points, but could not cross the final hurdle. In the end, with 16 wins, 5 losses and 48 points, the gap with Hyundai E&C widened to 5 points.
Hyundai E&C took the first two sets, ahead of concentration. At the beginning of the first set, they were pushed back to 3-9, but with a bold course strategy and solid defense, they tied the score at 16-16 and drove it to deuce. Then, after a bloody deuce battle, they won the first set. In the second set, they overturned the 2-7 inferiority in the beginning and made it into a close match, finally capturing it. While veterans such as Yang Hyo-jin and Hwang Yeon-ju (37) showed off their offense at every turn, solid defense supported them.
However, Heungkuk Life’s pillar Kim Yeon-kyung, who was sluggish in the first two sets, came back to life in the third set. He scored 10 points in the 3rd set alone and played a decisive role in winning the set, then scored 7 points in the 4th set as well. Kim Yeon-kyung added to the attack that Yelena had been leading with difficulty, and the pair was completed, and Heungkuk Life Insurance succeeded in driving the game to a full set.
The two teams facing each other in the last set faced each other tightly until 11-11, but Hyundai E&C won at the last minute with consecutive blocking by Lee Da-hyun (22) and Hwang Min-kyung (33) and a sub ace by Go Ye-rim (29). .