There are cases in which things that have been overlooked in everyday life become noticeable again on a special occasion. Hyundai E&C volleyball is like that these days. Hyundai E&C, which is considered the strongest team in the history of the V-League if it repeats its winning streak following last season, from December 25, Yasmin, the main striker, left the team due to herniated disc symptoms.
The absence of Yasmin, who has been responsible for the team’s most needed decision since last season, also shook the team. Even at the beginning of the season, there were two games that he could not play, but Hwang Yeon-joo filled the void well and ran 15 consecutive wins since the opening. However, missing one or two games and a long absence were completely different situations. Hyundai E&C was no exception in the V-League, where foreign players accounted for more than half of the role and proportion.
In the end, I suffered my first defeat of the season against KGC Ginseng Corporation on Christmas. On December 29, he lost to Heungkuk Life Insurance.
Hyundai E&C, which was shaken with its first straight loss, took a breather by easily defeating IBK Industrial Bank of Korea 3-0 on January 1st, and recorded 5 consecutive wins, including 4 consecutive wins in the 4th round. It is a common phenomenon that appears in winning teams, but during the 5 consecutive wins, Hyundai E&C’s play became more sticky and there were no loopholes in organizational power. On the contrary, the hidden advantages of Hyundai E&C, solid defense and accurate connection, were clearly revealed. In the meantime, Yasmin’s destructive power and hidden power were finally exposed.
We pay attention to the strong offense first, but Japan is the defense. There is an expression that symbolizes this. This is the ‘Never Drop The Ball’ shouted by the Japanese V-League. This idea is often expressed in the Japanese volleyball cartoon ‘Haikyuu’. They try not to drop the ball onto the court before their opponents. During the five consecutive victories, Hyundai E&C showed various techniques to their heart’s content in not dropping the ball on the court before the opponent.
The stable defensive structure of Hyundai E&C is also confirmed in the record.
As of the 22nd, he is 3rd in receiving (38.71% efficiency), 3rd in dig (set average 21.300), and 4th in defense (28.344 set average). The set is second (set average 13.867). It is not exceptional in any field. I don’t see any major weaknesses though. The receive, which is in charge of Kim Yeon-gyeon, Hwang Min-kyung, and Go Ye-rim (Jung Ji-yoon depending on the situation), is less efficient than the two-person receive system of Expressway Corporation’s Lim Im-ok and Moon Jeong-won, but various variations are possible. The tactic of reinforcing receiving and defense by using three distinctive wing spikers depending on the game situation and sometimes putting Kim Joo-ha, who specializes in defense, in the back three positions is working well.
In addition, Kim Yeon-gyeon caught the opponent’s attack with a fast reaction speed, and counterattacks were often successful, creating a lot of points with a 2-point effect. The scene where Kim Yeon-gyeon’s amazing defense shined the most was during the January 1 match against IBK Industrial Bank. In the third set, 23-23, Kim Yeon-gyeon blocked Santana’s attack by flying in the air in succession, and each time, Hyundai E&C scored a counterattack and ended the game. Hyundai E&C, which received momentum from this victory, got on the winning streak again.
On that day, when asked about the situation in which he succeeded in two amazing digs, Kim Yeon-gyeon said, “If I don’t finish here, the game will be prolonged and my teammates will have a hard time, so I threw my body to catch it anyway.” After the game, when Kim Jung-ah, in charge of power analysis, was asked the secret of the rapid increase in the Digg ability of Hyundai E&C players, including Kim Yeon-gyeon, he talked about ‘differences in the training process’. He said, “In every defensive training, coaches hit here and there, just like in real battles. After repeating this kind of training, players such as Kim Yeon-gyeon are able to follow and catch balls that go to unexpected places,” he explained.
There was only one thing Hyundai E&C consistently outperformed other teams during the recent five-game winning streak. It was an excellent dig number. Excellent Dig is the ability to save the ball with amazing defense in a situation that is almost like scoring beyond simply receiving an opponent’s attack. During their five-game winning streak, these numbers outscored opponents 35-19, 24-16, 27-16, 44-36, and 37-35.
The advantage of Hyundai Engineering & Construction is Kim Yeon-gyeon’s quick reaction speed, but the high volleyball IQ of other players also plays a large role. Hwang Min-kyung and Kim Da-in have a wide view of the game. Together with Kim Yeon-gyeon, they form a solid defensive net and neutralize the opponent’s attack with precise connections. The reason Hyundai E&C is a really strong team lies in this part where numbers don’t speak. It overwhelms the opponent in the accuracy of the connection. Unfortunately, this number is not readily apparent in any official KOVO record. However, it is a must-have ability to connect when the counterattack process after the dig or when the receive is shaken. Hyundai E&C creates a situation where players can always attack better than their opponents with neat role division that does not overlap the movement of players. 헤라카지노도메인
On the other hand, a poorly connected team often creates a situation in which players collide with each other for the ball with their minds ahead of them, resulting in injuries or missing an easy ball that can be caught by eye contact. Hyundai E&C has competitiveness in this area. Using the high volleyball IQ of the players, it creates a comfortable situation. Director Kang Seong-hyung said, “When someone catches the ball, they decide in advance where to put it and where to connect it. Even in the second stage connection, instead of entrusting everything to Kim Yeon-gyeon in the rear, the person who saw the ball up close first raised it to make the movement as smooth as possible. Fortunately, our team has Hwang Min-kyung and Kim Da-in, who have high volleyball intelligence, so they do it well. Even in the center, Yang Hyo-jin and Lee Da-hyun are good at this ability.”
At Hyundai E&C, in an ambiguous situation, everyone knows who should touch the ball first and what motions the other players will perform at this time, and move together. This kind of movement by players cannot be found anywhere in volleyball records. It is Hyundai E&C that symbolizes ‘Connection is strong’, which is an advertising slogan of a company these days. The smooth connection is very similar to Samsung Fire & Marine’s volleyball in its heyday. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, who won seven consecutive championships, won the championship with the tremendous attacks of foreign players Angelko, Gavin, and Leo, but the strong defense and accurate connection supported the attack from behind. Yeo-hyeon and Seok Jin-wook, who are called ‘volleyball masters’, made a good defensive net, and top setters such as Choi Tae-woong and Yoo Kwang-woo induced attacks with precise connections. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance invested a lot of time in this training, saying, “Connection is 1 point.”
Coach Sung-hyung Kang was also famous for being good at both defense and offense with his outstanding volleyball IQ during his active career. He learned the basics well when he first started playing volleyball, and his view of volleyball has now permeated Hyundai E&C’s volleyball. Director Kang Seong-hyung said, “Volleyball is a fight on the net, but making the process is basic, such as defense and connection. I believe that this process should be good to become a strong team. When warming up or training, we train by creating situations so that the rally lasts as long as possible. Even defensive training when I have time is done by creating real situations as much as possible to improve the structure,” he confessed the secret of the team’s training.