The hot Kim Yeon-kyung and the surviving successors… The climax of the women’s ranking competition

After the festival, the professional volleyball team starts competing for rankings in earnest. 

On the 29th, the V-League All-Star Game ended in great success. The 14 men’s and women’s teams, who have played 24 matches per team, will start their 5th round schedule from the 31st. 

The biggest interest in the women’s division is the leading competition led by ‘Volleyball Empress’ Kim Yeon-kyung (35, Heungkuk Life Insurance) and ‘Bloqueen (a compound word of blocking and queen)’ Yang Hyo-jin (34, Hyundai Engineering & Construction), who are close seniors and juniors. 

Hyundai E&C, which had been running solo with 15 consecutive wins in the opening, slowed down by losing to GS Caltex on the 20th and Korea Expressway Corporation on the 24th. For the first time this season (2022-23), it suffered two consecutive losses. 

Hyundai E&C’s offense weakened as foreign player Yasmin left due to a back injury after the Pepper Savings Bank match on the 18th of last month. In the early part of the 4th round, veteran apologetic spiker Hwang Yeon-joo fought hard and ran a winning streak, but in the last 2 games where he showed his physical decline, he could not fill Yasmin’s void. Hyundai Engineering & Construction recorded 57 points as of the 31st, allowing a 3-point chase to second place Heungkuk Life Insurance (54 points). 

At Heungkuk Life Insurance, the players were stressed out due to the controversy over the management of the club that arose during the resignation of former manager Kwon Soon-chan. However, in the 4th round as an acting coach, he fought hard, winning 4 wins (2 losses). Team leader Kim Yeon-kyung is demonstrating leadership on and off the court. Foreign player Yelena’s scoring ability is still the same, and recently outside hitter Kim Mi-yeon’s performance has also improved. 

It is regrettable that he was shaken in an important game. On the 11th, in a face-to-face confrontation with Hyundai E&C, they lost with a set score of 2-3, and on the 25th, when Hyundai E&C was able to eliminate the difference in points by losing 2 consecutive games, they lost 1-3 in the KGC Ginseng Construction match, and missed the opportunity to pursue. The two teams will face off on the 7th of next month. 

The competition is fierce even for the third place that can secure a ticket to advance to the postseason (PS). The current 3rd place is Korea Expressway Corporation with 38 points. KGC Ginseng Corporation (35 points) and GS Caltex (33 points) are following.  토토사이트

Strikers who are regarded as the successors of Kim Yeon-kyung are leading the team. Korea Expressway Corporation is supported by Park Jung-ah (30), who became the national team captain after Kim Yeon-kyung, a domestic ace. He was a bit hesitant in the third round, but led his team to victory by scoring 29 points in his most recent match against GS Caltex on the 27th. Scored in double digits in the last 5 games. Korea Expressway Corporation recorded the most victory points (12 points) among the 7 teams in the 4th round, with Park Jung-ah, who survived, increasing the firepower of the twin guns with foreign player Catbell.

At GS Caltex, the national team outside hitter Kang So-hui (26) is showing good condition. In particular, Kang So-hui recorded an attack success rate of 47.74% and 42.54%, respectively, in the lead Hyundai E&C and the second place Heungkuk Life Insurance, showing a particularly strong appearance against strong teams. When GS Caltex won against Hyundai E&C on the 20th (set score 3-2), he scored the most points (25) in the team. 

KGC Ginseng Corporation is also on the rise with three recent victories, including a victory at Heungkuk Life Insurance on the 25th. There is the best scoring machine in the league called Elisabeth, and recently, young middle blocker Jeong Ho-young also showed improvement. 

Above all, Lee So-young (29), who plays the role of a ‘housekeeper’ in both offense and defense, is consistently showing good performance. He ranked 3rd in scoring (326 points), 6th in overall offense (36.48%), and 48.17% (4th) in receiving efficiency, and was the only striker in the league to be ranked in the top 5 in this category. His performance is evaluated as the most stable for KGC Ginseng Corporation.