“He said he wanted to be the main player before the opening game.” “Phew.”
GS Caltex defeated Korea Expressway Corporation with a set score of 3-2 (25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 15-10) in the second round of the women’s Dodram V-League in the 2023-24 season at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on the 22nd.
Silva scored 38 points, Kang So-hwi scored 19 points, and Yoo Eui-yeon scored 16 points. In particular, Yoo led the team by scoring a clutch score that sealed the critical moment atmosphere.
GS Caltex’s victory in the road construction battle was not easy. Previously, on the 7th, a full set match was held at the same location. At the time, the result was the exact opposite. Although they lost the 1st and 2nd sets to the road construction company, they pushed through the 3rd, 4th, and 5th sets with Silva’s offensive power in the second half.
This day was a little more difficult. Because the opposing setter did not use Bukirich in the beginning, the first and second sets were relatively easy, but the game changed from the third set. In addition, the road construction company’s unique defensive ability fell into the trap of so-called ‘swamp volleyball’.
Vice-captain Yoo Seo-yeon, who visited the interview room with setter Kim Ji-won after the game, expressed her honest thoughts, saying, “It seemed like everything was going well in the beginning, but one or two players let their guard down and Road Corporation, which has good defense, showed off Bukiric’s power. It was a disappointing and difficult game.”
If a set that was 2-0 suddenly becomes 2-2, the risk to the mood increases. In addition to a decrease in physical strength, it is a situation where morale can be broken. They overcame a difficult situation and managed to win by utilizing Silva’s offensive power at the last minute.
This victory cannot be left out thanks to setter Kim Ji-won’s Altoran-like ball. On this day, Kim Ji-won played a leading role in the victory by scoring 5 blocking points and adding 2 serve aces. He created a highlight by making four blocks in the first set alone.
GS Caltex was criticized for having the lowest team blocking index in a pre-interview, but ironically, the team was in good spirits on this day. Kim Ji-won posted half of the team’s 10 blocks alone.
Kim Ji-won, who joined as the first overall rookie in the 20-21 season, will start this season as a starting member due to a shoulder injury to existing starting setter Ahn Hye-jin. GS Caltex changed the Asia Quarter players three times with the setter vacancy in mind. However, Kim Ji-won, a backup setter with national team experience, showed a more stable performance and was fixed as the starter.
Kim Ji-won’s unique calm and honest attitude brought laughter throughout the interview room that day.
When asked, ‘Isn’t it difficult to play full-time as a starter this season?’, he made his first laugh with an honest answer, saying, “I don’t feel that it’s that difficult yet…”
There was also talk about the blocking that was exceptionally good that day. He replied, “This is my first time as a setter, and my pride was hurt because I heard a lot of people say I’m not good at blocking. Even during practice, I thought about not letting the ball hit and bounce, but strangely, I did well today.”
Previously, head coach Cha Sang-hyun expressed satisfaction with Kim Ji-won’s management and commented, “Overall, there seemed to be more stability (in the game management) than on other days.”
When told this, Kim Ji-won confessed, “The coach previously said that I showed a lot of (toss) form. Then, it would be difficult for the striker, so I thought a lot about it because I wanted to make it as comfortable as possible.”
This is the opportunity to become a starting player that I had hoped for even before the start of the season. Kim Ji-won led the team to two consecutive wins at the 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup and received the Rising Star Award. When asked about the difficult opportunity to be selected, he suddenly let out a low sigh (?) of “Ugh” and burst into laughter again.
Kim Ji-won then sheepishly said, “(At the beginning of the season), we won three games in a row for the first time, and it was really fun. When I lose, I don’t feel good, but when that happens, I feel complicated because I wonder if I made the wrong (management) choice,” and spoke about his concerns as a field commander. was also revealed without filtering. 스포츠토토
GS Caltex, which secured another victory in the second road construction battle of the season, will meet Hyundai Engineering & Construction at the Suwon Indoor Stadium on the 26th.