“Female players have a lot of tears. You can’t be fooled by their tears.” (Coach Ko Hee-jin)
“What the coach says (during game time) is, ‘Don’t make any mistakes.
It took seven years to reach spring volleyball and a whopping 15 years to win seven straight matches. On a day when Daejeon’s stadium was filled with the lucky number 7, the chaplains took aim at each other. It shows how good the atmosphere is at Jeonggwanjang.
Led by head coach Ko Hee-jin (44), Jeonggwanjang earned a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-19) shutout victory over Seoul GS Caltex in the sixth round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Women’s Division at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on Sunday.
Third-place Jungkwanjang extended its lead over fourth-place GS Caltex to 10 points with 20 wins, 14 losses and 61 points. The team has clinched a direct spot in the Playoffs (PO) regardless of the outcome of the remaining two matches. A one-game semi-PO is held when the difference in points between third and fourth place is three or less, so even if Jeonggwanjang loses back-to-back games and GS Caltex wins back-to-back games, the difference in points will be four.
It’s the spring volleyball we’ve been waiting for. I was even happier to get rid of the semi-points on my own. The veteran players such as Han Song-i, Lee So-young, and Yeom Hye-sun shed hot tears.
Coach Ko Hee-jin knew her players’ feelings better than anyone. “We didn’t say it out loud, but the Semi-Po is a very stressful game. The players who wanted to go straight to the POs showed great determination. They deserve to be praised,” he said with a thumbs up.
Yeom Hye-sun (33) walked into the interview room with Jung Ho-young (23) after the match and said, “(Han) Song-i’s sister rang. I was actually crying alone, but we’re F (one of the MBTI’s personalities), so I followed her. She was so excited to be on the spring volleyball team.”
“It was a match where we could go straight to the semi-finals without a PO, so the players knew it without me telling them,” he said, adding, “In the middle of the match, (Lee) So-young got injured and went out, but we weren’t anxious, we had the will to win, and the teamwork was good.”
Coach Ko Hee-jin’s response to their tears made the audience laugh. He said, “Female players cry a lot. You shouldn’t be fooled by their tears,” but added, “I think today’s tears are really tears of joy.”
The team qualified for the POs in third place and will face either Suwon Hyundai E&C or Incheon Heungkuk Life, who are in a tight race for the lead. Still, Chung is full of confidence. They’ve won seven straight games and beaten both teams in the process. “I think it will help us a lot (in spring volleyball). “Of course, it’s going to be a tough game, but if we do what we do well and hold on, the momentum will shift in our favor,” she said optimistically.
“It’s my first time playing spring volleyball after my debut, so I knew I had to do well,” said Jung, who is also new to spring volleyball, “I was thinking about getting (Gisele) Silva, but I got one (block) early on and thought I was good to go.”
“I think the regular league is a lot of teams that you see all the time, but there are a lot of spectators and high stakes,” he said, adding, “I really wanted to go up there 카지노 because I was looking forward to the feeling of accomplishment that comes from winning, unlike in the season.”
The team’s active communication is a reflection of the good mood at Jeonggwanjang. Before the game, when she told coach Ko Hee-jin that she didn’t have a chance to speak during the huddle, she said, “If the coach says something (during the huddle), let’s not commit a mistake.” “We are the ones who play volleyball,” she said.
When Yeom Hye-sun, who was listening, joked that it would be “controversial,” Jung Ho-young replied, “The coach talks to me and Eun-jin separately outside of game time. Whenever we have three sets of 25 points and 75 points, I hear it all the time, and I become a plus alpha. I hear it every time, so it’s like he’s talking to my sisters during game time.” When asked if it could be written about, she said, “You can write it. The director said that he doesn’t praise me on purpose, so why should I only say (good things) because I’m the one who does it.”
When the scene was buzzing with interesting reactions, Jung Ho-young said, “Please put ‘I’m just kidding’ on it. I’m just being friendly.”
It’s a hilarious comment that can be understood without further explanation. After the victory, coach Ko Hee-jin and Jung Ho-young hugged each other in encouragement.
Chung will now head to spring volleyball. “In short-term matches like POs, it is important to set the tone in the first set,” said Ko Hee-jin, “I have my own know-how, but the players may feel differently. I have prepared a lot of things. I will mobilize all those things and prepare well for the first set of the PO.”