The game has changed diligently from the previous season.
On the 27th, the men’s Korea Electric Power-KB Insurance match and GS Caltex-Korea Expressway Corporation match were finished at Suwon Indoor Gymnasium and Seoul Jangchung Gymnasium, and the 4th round of the regular season ended.
Officially, after a short All-Star break from the 28th to the 30th, the journey to spring volleyball will resume in round 5 again from the 31st. However, since each club finishes the 4th round, the time to enjoy the All-Star break is different.
Looking at the rankings immediately after the end of the 4th round, Korean Air (19 wins and 5 losses) in the men’s division and Hyundai Engineering & Construction (20 wins and 4 losses) in the women’s division still occupy first place. When summed up for the entire round, Korean Air-Hyundai E&C has not been consistently in the lead since last season.
In particular, in the previous 2021-22 season, Hyundai Capital, which suffered from a bout of pain due to an outsider and was in last place, is in second place with 46 points (15 wins and 9 losses) as of the end of the 4th round of this season. Oreoll, Heo Soo-bong, and Jeon Kwang-in’s triangular formation all made it to the top 10 in scoring. It is a successful honor recovery.
The difference in points against Korean Air is close to 9 points, but with Woori Card (38 points, 14 wins and 10 losses), which is in third place right below, they maintain a considerable gap with a difference of 8 points. The relative record for the season is 3 wins and 1 loss, and Hyundai Capital has the upper hand. However, remembering that the rise in power of Woori Card, which is raising rookie Kim Ji-han well, is scary, and it took a little time for foreign players to stabilize this season, you must not be vigilant.
Korean Air still manages Han Seon-su and Yoo Kwang-woo, and Jung Ji-seok, Lim Dong-hyuk, and Lincoln’s strong serves shake the opponent’s receive, but they sometimes give their ankles to lower-ranking teams due to carelessness and mistakes.
While Woori Card maintains 3rd place, OK Financial Group, which is aggressively fighting for spring volleyball, is currently ranked 4th with 37 points (12-12) thanks to Leo’s strength. Song Myeong-geun and Cha Ji-hwan fill the gap left by Jo Jae-seong due to corruption in the military service. KEPCO took 5th place with 32 points.
KB Insurance, where ‘Heavenly World’ Keita left, was dissatisfied with Melanyak, which showed ups and downs in performance, and replaced it with Viyena, but is already struggling in 6th place. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, where the ‘Volleyball Myeongga’ has become an old word, is hardly parting with the lower ranks from the previous season’s Go Hee-jin system to the current Kim Sang-woo system.
In the women’s division, Hyundai E&C is still in the first round, but it is not so overwhelming as in the previous season. Hwang Yeon-joo is gaining strength as the main gun Yasmin is injured and it is unclear whether he will play in the 5th round. However, as time goes by, it is showing signs of falling to the lower teams.
The streak has disappeared, and from the 11th to the 24th, there are only 3 losses out of the last 4 games. He only won once against KGC Ginseng Corporation, but was defeated by Heungkuk Life Insurance, GS Caltex, and Korea Expressway Corporation.
Heungkuk Life Insurance (54 points, 18 wins and 6 losses) rebounded in the rankings in an instant with the return of’Emperor’ Kim Yeon-kyung. In the previous season, it slumped in 6th place, but now it is in 2nd place, and even in the chaos of the manager being hardened and being operated as an acting agency, Hyundai E&C is sharply threatening the tip of the jaw. 먹튀검증
However, with setter Kim Da-sol showing ups and downs in the set play, he recently lost 1-3 in the Ginseng Corporation match (25th). Kim Yeon-kyung’s attack share in the recent game is only 23.4%, and most of the balls thrown by the setter are headed for Yelena. It is difficult to see that the use of strikers is good.
Highway Corporation, which shows the essence of ‘swamp defense’ with veterans working hard, ranked 3rd with 38 points, and Ginseng Corporation, which was changed to Ko Hee-jin this season, ranked 4th with 35 points. GS Caltex seemed to be aiming for the upper ranks with Kang So-hui revived, but Moma’s injury caused it to fall back to 5th place. To regain their pride, they need to win at least 5 points in the next two matches.
IBK, which is playing ‘Hexagon Volleyball’ with Pyo Seung-joo – Santana – Kim Su-ji – Yuk Seo-yeong – Choi Jung-min – Shin Yeon-kyung, has a lot of trouble with the apositive position. Yuk Seo-yeong is showing off her cool power, but I can still see the small crime room in the game. Eyes are also on the recent recovery of Shin Yeon-kyung, who suffered a ligament injury on the 1st. He recently got back on the court and started throwing himself into digs.
Kim Hee-jin, who has a hard time digesting a proper season due to a bad knee condition, starts games more often in the warm-up zone than in the current start. He is the main worry of director Kim Ho-cheol. Setter Kim Ha-gyeong has some ups and downs, but he is showing a good figure of steadily growing under coach Kim’s teaching.
Pepper Savings Bank, which has yet to get out of the bottom, has recently started to improve its performance by recruiting Oh Ji-young. It is difficult to expect a big rebound this season because there are so many injured players and the striker is in a drought, but they are growing in good shape.
Meanwhile, the 2022-23 V-League All-Star Game will be held on the 29th (Sun) at Incheon Samsan Gymnasium, the home stadium of Heungkuk Life Insurance, from 3:00 pm.