Korea Expressway Corporation and Pepper Savings Bank have implemented power reinforcement through FA recruitment.
The Korea Expressway Corporation's high-pass team announced in a press release on Wednesday that it has recruited Kang So-hwi, an outside heater who has already become a free agent, under the terms of a three-year contract period and a total of 2.4 billion won (basic annual salary of 500 million won + 300 million won). "I left the team that I had grown attached to since my debut, but I wanted to broaden my experience through new challenges," Kang said. "I will work with my team members to achieve V3 this season. Please support my new volleyball career at the Korea Expressway Corporation."
Pepper Savings Bank's AI Peppers club, which had ranked bottom for three consecutive seasons, also announced in a press release on Wednesday that it has recruited Han Da-hye, the FA Libero, on a three-year contract worth 870 million won (approx. "This is my first transfer since I joined the pro league. Thank you for recognizing my value and giving me good suggestions at AI Peppers," Han said. "I will start my second volleyball career with a new heart to become a player who can help my team."
In the 2022-2023 season, the Korea Expressway Corporation won its second championship in history by successfully "reverse sweep" of winning three consecutive games after two consecutive losses against Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders. However, the Korea Expressway Corporation's power was greatly weakened after five key players qualified as FA at the same time after the season ended, and Park Jung-ah (Pepper Savings Bank) and Jung Dae-young left the team. Without two key players, the Korea Expressway Corporation fell to sixth place in the 2023-2024 season, failing to get anywhere near the spring volleyball.
Korea Expressway Corporation's defense is considered the strongest in the league, led by Lim Myeong-ok, who was selected as the best seven in the Libero category for five consecutive seasons, and Moon Jung-won, who is so strong in defense that he was selected for the national team. The middle blocker duo led by Bae Yuna, a leading star who scored 14th (399 points, sixth place in the domestic player), blocked 9th (0.50 per set), and eighth place in fastball (43.88%) and Kim Se-bin, who was selected as the Rookie of the Year this season (0.60 per set), is also impeccable.
However, the Korea Expressway Corporation showed disappointment in its offense performance this season, as it ranked fifth in both the score category (3034 points) and the attack success rate (39.66 percent). Vanya Vukirich, the tallest foreign player at 198 centimeters, finished third (935 points) in scoring, but it was regrettable that there was no Korean outside heater with good offense that can replace Park Jung-ah's absence. This is why the Korea Expressway Corporation invested the highest amount ever of 2.4 billion won to recruit Kang So-hwi, the national team's outside heater.
Kang, who joined GS Caltex KIXX in 2015 and spent nine seasons with GS Caltex alone, has been a native ace for GS Caltex this season, ranking 12th in scoring (444 points, fourth in domestic players), 10th in attack success rate (39.30 percent, second in domestic players) and 8th in receiving efficiency (37.02 percent). Kang has been proven to be durable enough to play more than 30 games in three consecutive seasons despite being selected as a regular in the national team.
Korea Expressway Corporation is highly likely to receive high turnovers in the upcoming Asian quarter draft and the foreign player draft as it ranks sixth this season. If the corporation nominates players who surpass Bukirich and Tanacha Sumsot who played well this season, it will be able to form a strong triangle formation with Kang in the next season. Perhaps, the corporation will build a more organized team than it did with Park Jeong-ah, who had weaknesses in defense due to the recruitment of Kang.
Pepper Savings Bank, which had ranked at the bottom for two consecutive seasons since its foundation in 2021, recruited "clutch Park" Park Jung-ah from the FA market last year and named Yasmeen Bedardt, a big gun proven through the draft of foreign players. In addition, Pepper Savings Bank instantly emerged as a dark horse that could create a sensation in the league, as it even captured Lee Han-bi and Oh Ji-young's Libero, who both qualified as free agents. However, the reality facing the "youngest" Pepper Savings Bank, which lacked experience, was still cruel.
Pepper Savings Bank, which has won two games in seven games since the opening of the season, has not won a single game in 23 games since then, marking the disgraceful record of the most consecutive V-League women's single season in history. On February 23, it beat the Korea Expressway Corporation and escaped from its long losing streak, but immediately the team's oldest sister Oh Ji-young left the team due to the controversy over junior harassment. On top of that, Pepper Savings Bank ended the season at the bottom of the list for three consecutive seasons as manager Joe Trinzi was dismissed in the second half of the season after failing to lead the team for less than a season.
Pepper Savings Bank, which was appointed by the new coach Jang So-yeon on March 25, desperately needed to reinforce its position as a libero as it prepared for the new season. Pepper Savings Bank is the most unstable in defense among the seven clubs, with only 24.58% receiving efficiency this season, and its position was greatly weakened as its main player, Oh Ji-young, and backup Moon Seul-ki, left the team at the same time. Eventually, Pepper Savings Bank put out the urgency of its position as a libero by recruiting Han Da-hye Libero from the FA market.
Han, who joined GS Caltex in 2013 and spent 11 seasons as a pro player, played a key role in GS Caltex's "treble" in the 2020-2021 season after the retirement of Na Hyun-jung from the 2018-2019 season. Han ranked third in receptivity efficiency (45.1 percent) and second in defense (6.77 per set) this season, establishing herself as a league-class liberator. For Pepper Savings Bank, she has brought in the best Libero for the upcoming FA market.
From the standpoint of Pepper Savings Bank, it was definitely a good choice to fill Oh Ji-young's vacancy with "Hae" Libero. However, if Pepper Savings Bank stops reinforcing its power just by recruiting Han Da-hye Libero, its performance may not change much from this season again next season. For Pepper Savings Bank, it should be determined to completely reorganize its squad led by Coach Jang Chi-yeon during the off-season so that it can show fans the performance that has changed from the past three seasons.
BY: 메이저사이트