He decided to acknowledge Heungkuk Life Insurance's victory in all six rounds of 1R, saying that he doesn't know Bae yet
He decided to acknowledge Heungkuk Life Insurance's victory in all six rounds of 1R, saying that he doesn't know Bae yet
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He attended Heungkuk Life Insurance's training camp in Shanghai in late August as a full reporter. For four days and three nights, I watched the team's training process and practice matches. On the plane back home, I slowly summarized Heungkuk Life's performance. The result? "It will not be easy to win the championship title in the upcoming 2024-2025 season." Thanks to the presence of Kim Yeon-koung, the "Volleyball Empress," who will continue to support the team, I wonder if the team will be able to win the title.
The biggest reason I came up with such idea was the competitiveness of foreign players. Tutku Bourge (Turkiye), who will take over the Apogit Spiker, showed strength in well-established quick openings, but was not very good at high-balling, which is the No. 1 virtue of a foreign player during the training camp. As he was called the last player in the tryout, it was natural that his skills were inferior to those of foreign players in other teams.
China`s Huang Luizlay, who ranked fourth in the Asian quarter tryout, was even more serious. He grew to 1 meter 97 meters tall, but that was it. He hardly showed any presence in the court. Luizlay did not perform well in the Tongyeong KOVO Cup, and Heungkuk Life sent out Luizlay before the start of the V-League and replaced him with Anilis Peach of New Zealand. (This quick response was very appropriate. Peach is ranked fifth in this category with 0.652 blocks per set, while he also displayed impressive performance in offense, including seventh in mobile attack and eighth in fast attack.)
Except for Kim Yeon-koung and Kim Soo-ji, the other five players have all changed to new faces, which is a huge variable. The foreigners' apogit has changed to tutku, and the setter-revero line, which is important enough to be called the center line in baseball, has changed to Lee Go-eun and Shin Yeon-kyung. Kim's outside partner position has also changed to Jeong Yoon-joo, who has 1 meter 76 meter-tall record but is somewhat inferior in receiving ability, while Kim's outside partner position has also been changed to pitch right before the opening of the season.
In fact, there were doubts about how well coach Marcello Avondaga could fit it in with the entire team changing.
I have been covering professional volleyball since the 2011-2012 season, but I think I should admit it. When I opened the lid, Heungkuk Life won 3-2 in a full set match at Jeonggwanjang match in Incheon on the 12th, winning all six games in the first round. Heungkuk Life is the only team in both men and women to win in the first round. It finished the first round with 17 points, three points ahead of second-place Hyundai Engineering & Construction (14 points, 5 wins and 1 loss).
Indeed, Tutku is somewhat less aggressive than foreign players of other teams as expected. His attack success rate at the Open remains in 10th place with 34.09 percent, and his attack score is 102 points, the fewest among foreign players of the other six teams except for Pepper Savings Bank (Javic → Taylor), which kicked out foreign players early. However, he boasts the strongest side blocking ability with his tall height of 1m91. He has secured one block per set (23 in total), ranking first in the blocking category, and is ranking fourth in the scoring category (130 points). Considering that he was selected as the last player in the tryout, he is a "jackpot-class" player.
Tutku's somewhat disappointing offense is complemented by Kim Yeon-koung, the best player in the V-League. Born in February 1988 in Korean age at 37 (Kim Soo-ji was born in 1987), she is apparently just a number for her. She ranks eighth in scoring with 118 points, and No. 1 in attack rate at 45.68 percent. She is also No. 1 in open attack rate with 42.71 percent. As she filled Tutku's weakness in resolving open situations, Heungkuk Life was able to successfully side-out well even when receiving was shaky, and if it kicked off the opponent's offense with defense, it was able to counterattack well.
In addition, it was Kim Yeon-koung, who had little contribution to the attack when she was in the rear position until last season. (This was not because Kim Yeon-koung could not use the back-attack, but because the setter failed to make good use of Kim Yeon-koung's back-attack option.) Through coach Abondaji's order and training with setter Lee Go-eun, he increased the proportion of pipes (center back-attack) this season. Heungkuk Life's weakness so far has been that when Kim Yeon-koung went to the rear position, her scoring ability has deteriorated, but now she has risen to a point where she can fill the gap.
Another record that shows she is the "Volleyball Empress" is her receiving efficiency. She ranks second overall with 42.86 percent. At the Jeonggwanjang match on Sunday, she also garnered 24 digs, the most in her team, with 52.63 percent of receiving efficiency. On top of that, she scored 27 points, the most in her team. In the fifth set alone, she recorded a 66.7 percent attack success rate, scoring six points, and thus "hard-carrying" her team's victory. With the strongest attack strength in history in Libero-class defense, Kim is an alpha and omega for attack and defense of Heungkuk Life.
In addition, Lee Go-eun and Shin Yeon-kyung are doing well in Setter and Rivero, which are the backbone of the team system, which is also one of the driving forces behind the first round victory. Lee Go-eun, a setter in her 11th year as a professional, who is the "Junny Woman" of the V League, who has transferred seven times until coming to Heungkuk Life, is showing a much more mature game management than Lee Won-jung (current Pepper Savings Bank), who was the main setter last season 토토사이트. Shin Yeon-kyung of Libero is somewhat disappointed with the receiving efficiency of 33.05%, but she is firmly guarding the back of the court by ranking third in the Dig (5.130 per set). Regarding the performances of Lee Go-eun and Shin Yeon-kyung, the head coach of the team also said, "The two players are filling the necessary parts of the team. The team is taking a large part in the further growth." Kim Yeon-kyung also praised the team in a broadcast interview after the articles of association, saying, "The team can be stable thanks to the performance of Lee Go-eun and Shin Yeon-kyung."
One last piece. We cannot forget the leadership of "Italian master" Avoncu, who is in his third year in the V-League. Now, he seems to have found a way to win the game based on his thorough understanding of the V-League. Heungkuk Life has few indicators that rank No. 1 in each category. If there is one, it is blocking. At the match between the two companies, Heungkuk Life Insurance Co., which led by 14-9 in blocking points, has 2.739 points per set this season, as it ranked No. 1 in terms of individual blocking, but the fact that Tutcu, who is in charge of side blocking as an apogit spiker, is able to capture many blocks is possible because he constantly guided middle blockers through analysis on blocking positions and reading. Nothing can bring the mood by breaking the opponent team's offensive bar more than blocking.
Of course, the season is long. It's only 1/6 now. For sure, Heungkuk Life is strong even though it doesn't have an overwhelming taste. It has become a team that doesn't lose easily. In the past two seasons, Heungkuk Life has been in the championship game, but both suffered dramatic losses. In the 2022-2023 season, it lost three consecutive games against Korea Expressway Corporation first, falling to two wins, and falling to the victim of an unprecedented reverse sweep. In the 2023-2024 season, it lost all three games, and lost 2-3 in all three games in a full set, and had to watch Hyundai Engineering & Construction win. Attention is focusing on whether Heungkuk Life will be able to end this season with a "happy ending" with the momentum of winning the first round.