This year, I feel

On the 22nd, Heungkuk Life Insurance reported its first win of the postseason by turning Jeong Kwan-jang to a set score of 3-1 (22-25, 25-13, 25-23, 25-23) in the first round of the Dodram V-League Women's Playoff in the 2023-24 season at Samsan Gymnasium in Incheon.   안전놀이터

Heungkuk Life Insurance (79 points), which ranks second, will hold a playoff after fighting with Hyundai Engineering & Construction (80 points), the leader, for a direct ticket to the championship game until the end of the season. Jeong Kwan-jang ranked third with 61 points, and won the spring volleyball tournament for the first time in seven seasons after the 16-17 season without a semi-playoff.

Heungkuk Life led the team to victory with Willow scoring 25 points (46.67% attack success rate), Kim Yeon-koung scoring 23 points, and Raina scoring 18 points.

"We had a hard time continuing the situation that we could have gone easily," Kim Yeon-koung said after the match, pointing to the third set. "We caught the second set and handed over a lot of flow in the third set, but we pushed each other to secure the third set. The fourth set was also a tie, but our concentration was better, which was the main effect."

Double gun Willow seemed to have a hard time early on the day, but later on, he showed his ability to solve the clutch and settled down as the most prolific scorer in his team. In particular, the three consecutive serve aces that erupted in the second set are considered the highlight of the day. On this point, Kim Yeon-koung once again praised Willow, saying, "With Willow coming, the team's overall atmosphere improves, and Willow is also making efforts in that area."

However, his breathing with Setter Jean remains a question mark. On this day, the length of the toss was inconsistent, and there were many balls that were forced to go back-to-back or could not be solved.

"It wasn't easy," said Kim with a big smile. "I practiced a lot about the situation where the ball slightly fell off the net, but my breathing was not good under those circumstances. It was okay in the beginning, but it got worse later on. I have one more day left tomorrow, so I should practice that part. I don't think I can do much (because I don't have time)."

On top of that, Do Soo-bin sometimes faltered at the rear receiving, increasing the scope of Kim Yeon-koung's resolution. On the day, Kim Yeon-koung threw herself in the field of offense and defense, scoring nine successes (52.94 percent success rate) in 17 receptions and 28 in Diggs, scoring 25.

When asked about this, Kim Yeon-koung said, "If you look at our formation now, the range that Do Soo-bin takes is quite wide," adding, "It's called a libero, but it's not easy to cover that range. That's why I try to look after them a lot. Raina is also the target of the attack, so I'm going to cover that as well. I think Do is doing well considering that he is in charge of a wide range. I hope he does well in the second round as well."

According to statistics from the Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO), the team that won the first round of the playoffs has 100% advanced to the championship game.

However, there is no such thing as 100 percent for Heungkuk Life. It is more like a trauma as the team went through the championship game in the 22-23 season. The question was asked the same way to Avon Danza, who brought up the issue last season and replied, "No comment," revealing his tragic feelings.

Kim Yeon-koung was not much different. "I don't want to think about last year, but this year feels a bit different than last year. The Korea Expressway Corporation did a great job last year," Kim said smiling. "I will not let go of the tension. First of all, the opponent team lost the game, and the tide has turned over to us. I will do my best to finish the game well without falling down there."

The second playoff match between Heungkuk Life Insurance and Jeong Kwan-jang, who have the first win, will be held at 7 p.m. on the 24th (Sunday) at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon.