True to her nickname of volleyball empress, Kim Yeon-kyung (35, Heungkuk Life Insurance) recorded first place in the regular league 10 times in various leagues during her career. Nevertheless, for her Kim Yeon-kyung, her win this season was special and desperate.
Heungkuk Life Insurance won KGC Ginseng Corporation with a set score of 3-0 (25-16, 29-27, 25-22) in the Dodram 2022-2023 V-League Women’s Round 6 home game held at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium on the 11th.
On this day, Heungkuk Life Insurance took the win in the second set of repeated deuces, and it was Kim Yeon-kyung who scored twice in a row with a time difference attack and blocking to finish the second set. The home stadium was a crucible of enthusiasm for Kim Yeon-kyung, who roared after blocking the attack of Elisabeth (KGC Ginseng Corporation).
After the game, Kim Yeon-kyung said at the ceremony at this time, “I couldn’t put it into words. Everyone knew that this game was important, so I think there was more passion and will. I wonder if I need other words.” It was good, but I got 3 points and 1 point left until 1st place,” he laughed.
As a result, Heungkuk Life Insurance took a 6-point lead over Hyundai Engineering & Construction (24-10, 70 points) in second place with 25 wins and 9 losses (76 points). If only one more point is obtained in the remaining two games, it is the first place in the regular league in four years since the 2018-2019 season.
Getting to this point has never been easy. The winning candidate before the season was Hyundai E&C, where the top regular members last year were in good health, and Heungkuk Life Insurance was an underdog that started last season with a new system in the 6th place team. Because of that, in an interview with the opening Media Day, Kim Yeon-kyung expressed a cautious stance about winning, saying, “It’s a season to challenge with young players.”
Bad news also overlapped with the new season. Coach Kwon Soon-chan, who led Heungkuk Life Insurance to second place, was shocked by being hardened from the beginning. Head coach Lee Young-soo also resigned after one game as acting head coach, and Kim Ki-joong, the unofficially appointed head coach of Sunseon Girls’ High School, declined the head coaching job due to public opinion. Fortunately, coach Kim Dae-kyung remained as acting coach until the end and managed well, and with the arrival of world-renowned coach Marcello Abondanza, stability was achieved. As much as there were many twists and turns, this season was also different for Kim Yeon-kyung.
Kim Yeon-kyung said, “Last year, the team was in 6th place, and there were many difficulties this season. There were a lot of people who suffered, such as the coach, coaches, and club front desk,” he expressed his gratitude. 스포츠토토
If you succeed in winning first place in the regular league, it will be a meaningful season for you personally. After making her professional debut in the 2005-2006 season, Kim Yeon-kyung traveled to four leagues in Korea, Japan, Turkey, and China and recorded a total of 10 regular league first places. Among them, the V-League is 15 years after the 2007-2008 season. There is only one point left for the first place in the regular season for the first time in 15 years, but the team’s physical strength, including the main setter Lee Won-jung, is at its limit, so you can never be vigilant.
Kim Yeon-kyung said, “I wonder if there is a player who doesn’t get sick and doesn’t struggle at this time. At this point, teamwork is more important than physical strength. Each play leads to good results, so team play, not one person responsible, should be achieved.” he emphasized.
He said, “I really want to achieve (ranking first in the regular league). I have a strong will to seize the opportunity, and not only me, but also (Kim) Haeran unnie’s will is different. I am burning my will together with my unnie.”