Hyundai E&C, whose starting lineup is largely composed of former and current national team players, swept through the group stage of the KOVO Cup to reach the semifinals, but fell short of advancing to the finals as GS Caltex stumbled on the threshold.
Hyundai E&C lost to GS Caltex 1-3 (25-23 23-25 17-25 20-25) in the first game of the semifinals of the 2023 Gumi-Bodram Cup professional volleyball tournament at the Gumi Park Jeong-hee Gymnasium in Gumbyeongbuk-do, Gyeongbuk, on Thursday, as the entire team faltered due to a bad reception line.
The game drew attention as a ‘de facto final’ matchup. Hyundai E&C boasted six of the seven starters from the current national team, including former national team members Hwang Yeon-ju, an outside hitter, and Yang Hyo-jin, a middle blocker, as well as four current national team members: setter Kim Dain, middle blocker Lee Da-hyun, outside hitter Jung Jeong-yoon, and libero Kim Yeon-gyeon, with the exception of Kim Joo-hyang, who played one outside hitter spot.
While the team had a lot of talent, they were hampered by their inability to execute the most basic of receptions. Even Kim Yeon-yeon, the libero who is supposed to be the most accurate receiver, only managed to get two of the 11 serves she received over the setter’s head. One of them she allowed the setter to score. The libero’s reception efficiency was only 9.09%, while Kim’s 18.18% reception efficiency on 22 serves was even worse. Jung Jeong-yoon, who received 39 serves and was baptized as GS Caltex’s target, managed to hold on with a 30.77% reception efficiency, but the team’s overall reception efficiency of 24.71% was about 6% lower than GS Caltex’s 31.25%. Considering that Hyundai E&C relies heavily on their middle blockers, Yang Hyo-jin and Lee Da-hyun, for their offense, the difference was more than 6%.
Hyundai E&C head coach Kang Sung-hyung, who cited the reception as a factor that could make or break the match before the game, expressed his disappointment in the post-match interview. He said, “The reception line we were worried about collapsed. GS Caltex’s reception was similar, but we lost because our offense from the middle blocker, which is our strength, was not as strong as usual.” 메이저사이트
In the upcoming V-League, Hyundai E&C’s receiving line will largely depend on the performance of Yupai Sithong, who will be joining the team from the Asia Quarter. Hwang Min-kyung, who led the team’s receiving line last year, became a free agent with IBK, and Go Yerim, the next best receiver, didn’t return until the second round due to injury. The team will have to rely on Jeong Ji-yoon and Si-tong to hold up their end of the bargain. “Even in the V-League, if we can receive well, we’ll have a good game, but if we come out like we did today, we’ll be stuck,” Kang said. We will try to complement the receiving line as much as possible with the players after Sithong joins,” Kang said.