Hyundai Capital defeated Woori Card on the 21st and took the lead in the league for the first time in the 2022-2023 season. On the 22nd, Korean Air defeated OK Financial Group and stopped for a day, but on the 24th, it took Woori Card again and took the lead, predicting a leading competition until the end of the season. As of the 27th, with 5 games left for both teams, Korean Air is in first place with 22 wins and 9 losses and 65 points, while Hyundai Capital is in second place with 21 wins and 10 losses and 64 points.
In the middle of the 2020-2021 season, the end is in sight for Hyundai Capital, who entered a dark tunnel after declaring rebuilding. At one time, I must have doubted, ‘Is this the right path?’, but I’m gradually confirming that I was in the right direction. Of course, the rebuilding is still in progress. The ultimate goal is to win the championship match. Coach Tae-Woong Choi said, “I want to create a team that can win consecutive league titles.”
For Hyundai Capital, the past three years have been a time to change the color of the team. There was an opportunity for change. There was a great sense of urgency that the current team composition and volleyball could not win the championship. For three years from the 2016-2017 season, Hyundai Capital met Korean Air in the championship match and recorded 2 wins and 1 loss. However, it was increasingly difficult to shake off the rival team. During the 2019-2020 season, coach Choi Tae-woong said, “With the current team, spring volleyball goes. But third place is not our goal.” It was the middle of the season, but something was secret.
Another variable has arisen. It was the disclosure of the salary cap. Hyundai Capital was able to capture good players with an option that has not been disclosed. Things are different now. According to the resolution of the board of directors, from the 2023-2024 season, everything, including salary and options, must be disclosed. I was worried. Hyundai Capital chose a preemptive response. During the three-year preparation period, it was decided to change the constitution of the team. We decided to sell expensive players, who are the mainstay of the team, and fill the vacant positions with young players to nurture them.
That was the trade of Shin Young-seok on November 3, 2020. Although negotiations with various clubs were attempted for a long time, a big deal was finally concluded at the beginning of the 2020-2021 season. Those who did not know the inside story thought it was a 3-3 trade centered on Shin Young-seok and KEPCO’s setter Kim Myeong-gwan. Hyundai Capital thought differently. If the ransom of Shin Young-seok, which is close to 1 billion won, falls out, he believes that there will be an opportunity to nurture five young players with that money. Instead, I had to endure painful times for several years without Shin Young-seok. Even so, he believed that time was on Hyundai Capital’s side. Shin Young-seok will continue to show peak skills, but he predicted that he cannot last forever, and young prospects will definitely grow.
I also worked hard on the suspension work for this. He created a chance to pick up a prospect in the draft. He picked Kim Seon-ho in 2020 with the overall first-choice nomination right obtained by handing over Kim Jae-hwi to KB Insurance. Followed by luck. He caught Park Kyung-min in the 4th place overall even after finishing 3rd in the season. In 2021, Hong Dong-seon was selected as the first overall pick with the nomination right obtained during the trade of Shin Young-seok. Jeong Tae-joon also took second place. Two years ago, Hyundai Capital made secret suggestions to several teams ahead of the rookie draft nominations. He said that if he didn’t name a player, he would give the opposing team the player they needed in return. Two of the three teams accepted the offer. Director Seok Jin-wook of OK Financial Group refused. It didn’t work out because of that wind.
The player Hyundai Capital wanted was Lee Hyun-seung, a setter in his first year at Hanyang University at the time. When the idea collapsed, Lee Hyeon-seung remained at Hanyang University. He had knee surgery early. He came out as an early drafter two years later when Hyundai Capital took the second draft. The first place was OK Financial Group, and the third place was Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. Hyundai Capital, which wanted to cross the stone bridge by knocking on it, made another proposal to the third-place Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. He said that if he gave up on Lee Hyun-seung even if he took the first order, he would give him the player he needed in return. Coincidentally, as Hyundai Capital took the first place, the secret promise between the two clubs became null and void. That’s how Hyundai Capital selected Lee Hyeon-seung, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance selected Kim Jun-woo.
Hyundai Capital found a variety of ways to bring the prospects that are essential to the team and succeeded. Thanks to this competent front desk, the foundation work of the rebuilding was solid. No matter how much you want to rebuild, success is guaranteed only when there is a good material called a prospect in the end. Hyundai Capital’s handling of work has been compared to some clubs that pay attention to what kind of players our coaches use in games, and only look at the timing of game results, rotations, and substitutions.
Rebuilding does not succeed just by attracting promising players. There must be a leader who can thread good beads. In the 2022-2023 season, Hyundai Capital had two good leaders, Oreoll and Jeon Kwang-in. In particular, Oreoll, who challenged the V-League again at the age of 36, was the core of the basic volleyball envisioned by coach Choi Tae-woong. Coach Choi praised Oreoll’s high volleyball IQ, experience, and, above all, excellent blocking ability.
The Aureol effect was immediate. This season, Hyundai Capital ranks first in blocking among the seven clubs (average set of 2.983). In the last 5 years, when Hyundai Capital was number one in blocking, it was twice: in the 2018-2019 season, when Padar played and even won the championship, and in the 2019-20202 season, when Shin Young-seok played an active part. The characteristic of the first place in the blocking category this season is that the blocking of players around Oreol has increased noticeably compared to the previous season.
Outside hitter Oreol works in tandem with the opponent’s main striker. Opponents, who feel burdened by his blocking, avoid Oreoll and attack unless there are special circumstances. Thanks to this, blocking opportunities for native players who move together on the left and right of Oreol have increased. At the beginning of the season, Park Sang-ha noticeably increased his blocking, and recently, Choi Min-ho and Heo Soo-bong benefited from Oreol.
Due to his age, Oreoll has a lot of stamina and doesn’t boast tremendous destructive power like other foreign players. Still, he’s no problem for Hyundai Capital. It is because there is a Jeon Kwang-in in Daegak. Thanks to Jeon Kwang-in and Oreol’s outstanding volleyball sense, they are good at washing dishes, which is essential for the team, so the number of rooms has decreased noticeably. It is only in the middle of the 7 clubs. There is still room for improvement in this area. 메이저사이트
On the other hand, the offense is at the top in all areas. Compared to last season’s record, what has improved especially is the serve. 3rd place overall It was last in the last two seasons and averaged only 0.782 sets in the 2021-2022 season, but this season it is almost double at 1.426. There are many effects created by putting Heo Soo-bong into various positions. First of all, the number of players who can put strong serves in the rotation has increased. Thanks to the middle blocker that can attack back, the setter’s attack options have also become more diverse. This season, Hyundai Capital is out of volleyball, where the team’s win or loss goes back and forth depending on the performance of a specific player. We are playing total volleyball that brings everyone together.
One thing to keep an eye on is the fastball. Last season, it was 1st, but fell to 6th. The ability of the middle blocker is important for the fast attack, but in fact, a lot is decided by the setter’s pass. In that respect, the low-key evaluation of Kim Myung-gwan, who was the team’s main setter until last season, must change. he’s a good setter This season, Lee Hyeon-seung took his place. Of course, the competition between the two continues.
Now, Lee Hyun-seung, who is playing the first season of the V-League, and the strikers are not perfect yet. This is a matter that time will solve. Instead, there are parts that stand out in the fastball. Hyundai Capital is trying B-quick, which it has not done for the past few years. There are also strategic reasons for trying a B-quick, though not completely. When the B speed attack is successful, the C quick that follows it becomes easier. The success rate of pipe attacks also increases.
At the beginning of the season, Hyundai Capital also had a miscalculation. Heo Soo-bong’s attack did not explode as expected. This is the reason why they struggled against opposing teams who were digging into Oreol’s weakness in receiving. However, Heo Soo-bong returned to normal in the second half. His performance in round 5 was terrifying and he was named MVP of the round. Hyundai Capital, whose end of rebuilding is visible, is a team looking to tomorrow. For Korean Air, today is more important. The players who are currently playing as the starting lineup are at the peak of their skills, both in terms of age and experience. Korean Air is playing a game of poker where they play all their cards. On the other hand, Hyundai Capital believes that even if the current deck is not good, there are cards that have not yet been opened.
Until the 4th round, Hyundai Capital lost the match against Korean Air. At the time, a Korean Air coach said, “Our players are exceptionally confident in Hyundai Capital players.” Coach Tae-woong Choi said, “Even if we lose now, we will definitely win someday.” In the end, I won for the first time in the 5th round. Of course, that is not the end. It can be said that it is a true victory only when it is won in a battle of power against power for the title of champion. Hyundai Capital believes that as time goes by, it becomes more advantageous. The two teams will play round 6 on March 5 at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon. In fact, it is a game that determines the first place in the league.