"Final Frustration" GS Caltex's Hope and Tasks
"Final Frustration" GS Caltex's Hope and Tasks
Blog Article
Jeong Kwan-jang beat GS Caltex to advance to the final of the cup tournament for the first time in five years.
Led by head coach Ko Hee-jin, Chung Kwan-jang Red Sparks won the women's team GS Caltex KIXX in the semifinals of the 2024 Tongyeong-Dodram Cup Professional Volleyball Competition at Tongyeong Gymnasium in South Gyeongsang Province on the 5th with a set score of 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 15-10). Chung Kwan-jang, who won all three full set matches from the group stage, reached the final in five years after the 2019 Suncheon Games. In the final match on the 6th, he will try to win the cup for the first time in six years against Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate.
Jeong Kwan-jang led the attack with 21 points scored by foreign players Banya Bukirich and Megawatti Puttiwi in the Asian quarter, while Pyo Seung-joo scored 17 points and Jeong Ho-young contributed to the victory with 11 points, including six blocks.
Against this backdrop, GS Caltex struggled with Gisele Silva's 32 points, but the rest of the players were somewhat disappointed. However, GS Caltex, which had been classified as the "last place candidate," has found hope ahead of the V-League due to its stellar performance at the Cup.
Major players left after the end of the season
GS Caltex, which failed to advance to spring volleyball by staying in fifth place (16-20) among the seven clubs in the 2022-2023 season, failed to make the playoff stage for two consecutive seasons, finishing fourth in the regular league with 18 wins and 18 losses last season. GS Caltex, which had been on a steady downward trend after achieving the "treble" in the 2020-2021 season, gave up renewing its contract with Cha Sang-hyun (SBS Sports commentator), who led the team for eight seasons from 2016 after the end of last season.
The real bad news for GS Caltex came after the season ended. Kang So-hwi, the captain of GS Caltex and a franchise star who played for GS for nine seasons, transferred to Korea Expressway Corporation for a three-year, 2.4 billion won (approx. Han Da-hye Rivero, who played for GS Caltex for more than 10 years, is also wearing the Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers uniform. On top of that, even Choi Eun-ji moved to Heungkuk Life's Pink Spiders, and three of the four free agents left the team.
This was not the end of bad news. Jung Dae-young, the oldest player in the league who was recruited just before the last season, has ended his career and Han Soo-ji, the "mint boss" who spent 17 seasons as a pro, has also announced her retirement due to injury and child planning. On top of that, the contract with 189-centimeter-tall middle blocker Munhwa (Daegu City Hall) has collapsed, putting GS Caltex at the worst situation where its native ace, main character Libero, and three middle blockers will leave the team at the same time.
GS Caltex recruited Kim Joo-hyang for a three-year total of 720 million won (720 million U.S. dollars) to fill its spot as an outside hitter without Kang So-hwi, and appointed young middle blockers Choi Ga-eun and Seo Chae-won as compensation players for two free agents who left the team. Lee Young-taek, a former middle blocker coach, planned to nurture and utilize young middle blocker prospects along with Oh Se-yeon. Of course, the foreign player renewed his contract with Silva, the top scorer last season.
GS Caltex, which did not enjoy the benefits of the Asian quarter the most among the seven clubs last season, picked the seventh pick, the latest in this season as well. As other clubs focused on Chinese players and middle blocker positions, GS Caltex was able to pick Stephanie Weiler, a 194-centimeter-tall outside heater with dual Australian and German citizenship. Considering the order of nomination, it was not a bad choice.
Better-than-expected propaganda, receiving needs to be supplemented
GS Caltex is a team that deserves the title of "absolute champion of the Cup." In fact, GS Caltex has displayed tremendous strength by winning six titles and three runner-up finishes in the Cup. Notably, if the scope is narrowed down to the 2020s, GS Caltex has won three titles and one runner-up prize in four years including its second consecutive year. Volleyball fans paid keen attention to GS Caltex's performance at this year's Cup, in which its weakened history and strength in the Cup are combined.
GS Caltex beat Korea Expressway Corporation, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Pepper Savings Bank one after another to rank No. 1 in Group A with three consecutive wins. GS Caltex showed off robust performance by Silva, the best gun in the league, while Stephanie also performed better than expected in the Asian quarter despite the fact that its captain Yoo Se-yeon and setter Ahn Hye-jin could not participate in the tournament due to injury. Kim Ji-won, the setter, also showed outstanding performance, leaving no time to feel the absence of Ahn Hye-jin.
GS Caltex's bid to advance to the finals of the Cup for the fifth consecutive year ended unfortunately after losing to Jeong Kwan-jang in the semifinals on Tuesday. While not far behind Jeong Kwan-jang, who endured both Bukirich and Mega in attack, receiving efficiency was fatal, which was only 14.42 percent. Notably, Stephanie, who had played an active role with 58 points in three group matches, had an attack success rate of 36.84 percent in the semi-finals and only received eight points in defense with 16.13 percent.
In fact, it is too much to expect Stephanie, who is 194 centimeters tall, to play defense like Lim Myeong-ok, Libero, or Moon Jung-won (road construction). For GS Caltex, where Silva, the top scorer, is on the right side, Stephanie should play as an outside hitter who is destined to receive sub reception. If Stephanie continues to show weakness in sub reception even after the opening of the V-League, the remaining six teams will focus on serving as a target.
GS Caltex is a team with a younger average age than its foreign player Silva, who was born in 1991, and Stephanie, who was born in the Asian quarter, who was born in 1996. If the momentum of the cup continues to the V-League, it could create a sensation, but if the weaknesses revealed at the cup are maximized in the V-League, there is a high possibility that the team will move to the bottom ranks. For this reason, coach Lee Young-taek and GS Caltex's team should spend the remaining two weeks before the opening of the V-League more fully than anyone else. 스포츠토토