‘7th club’ Pepper Savings Bank joined the V-League women’s division starting from the 2021-2022 season. Although it started off ambitiously, the reality was that it was in last place for three consecutive seasons. Starting with 3 wins and 28 losses in the first year of its establishment, it recorded 5 wins and 31 losses in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons. While I won thirteen times, I lost ninety times. It was an overwhelming last place in the V-League, so much so that there would be nothing to say even if it was called a ‘point vending machine.’
It gave me confidence that Pepper Savings Bank, which was like that, would no longer be a team that would give up just one win every time they met. Pepper Savings Bank, which started this season under coach Jang So-yeon, a former national team middle blocker, showed off its formidable power in its first match against Hyundai Engineering & Construction in Group A of the women’s group stage of the 2024 Tongyeong-Dodram Cup professional volleyball tournament held at the Tongyeong Gymnasium in Gyeongsangnam-do on the 29th. . Although defending champion Hyundai Engineering & Construction showed an edge in the basics and won 3-2 after a close full set, the match was so even that it is safe to say that Pepper Savings Bank won.
After Coach Jang took office, the entire team atmosphere changed. Since Coach Jang took office at Pepper Savings Bank, the most important thing he has emphasized is removing the sense of defeat that is ingrained in players before volleyball tactics and strategies. Before the game, Coach Jang said, “What I constantly emphasized to the players during the off-season is the attitude and mindset of a professional player. Maybe that’s why the atmosphere has definitely changed. Even in play, the emphasis is on basic skills rather than big and flashy things. “We are emphasizing proper basic play such as attack cover, connection, and rebounding,” he said. As Coach Jang said, it was impressive to see the Pepper players trying to keep up until the end even though they were losing.
In addition, the presence of foreign players and players who joined Pepper Savings Bank as first overall picks in the Asia Quarter tryout increased, creating depth in the squad. Pepper Savings Bank selected the 191 cm tall Apogee spiker Varvara Jabic (Croatia) as its first choice in the foreign player tryout last spring, and middle blocker Jang Yu (China) as its first choice in the Asian quarter tryout. Jang Wi’s height is 197cm, making him the tallest among middle blockers playing in the V-League.
Both players made their first appearance to domestic volleyball fans through the Hyundai Engineering & Construction game on the 29th. The player who shone more was Jang Wi. Even though he was 197cm tall, he was fast enough to freely use a single-leg attack. He eliminated 6 blocks by taking advantage of his height, and also scored 8 points by attacking using his high RBI and fast speed. The attack success rate also reached 66.7%.
Director Jang So-yeon was also satisfied, saying, “They did a good enough job.” At the same time, he also ordered that Hyundai Engineering & Construction Yang Hyo-jin’s patented open personal time difference attack be installed. Coach Jang said, “I hope we can use open attacks in the middle of the game when we are not receiving well.” When asked, ‘Isn’t this a familiar play because it is a play that is often attempted only in the V-League?’ Coach Jang responded, “There are aspects of it, but with Jang Wi’s RBI and speed, we will be able to use it well.”
Although Jabić scored 20 points, his attack success rate was only 31.15% and he was completely defeated in the match against Hyundai Engineering & Construction MoMA (34 points, attack success rate 42.5%). Although the RBI was high and the powerful attack was impressive, it still seemed like he needed to get used to the V-League. Coach Jang also said, “Javich is a player with great greed who wants to do well on his own. “I hope the game committee will show a more bold side,” he said, urging efforts.
Thanks to the addition of Jang Wi and Jabichi, Park Jeong-ah, Pepper Savings Bank’s mainstay, also seemed to have relieved her burden. As Jang Wi and Jabić gained more than a certain amount of possession, Park Jung-ah’s attack that utilized her opponent’s blocking skills revived, and Park scored 27 points, the most in the team. Although attacks were mainly carried out only in the front line, it was impressive to see them attempt to diversify their attack routes to the extent that they attempted to attack five times in the back line as well.
Coach Jang wanted to make up for the shortcomings of Park Jeong-ah, whose defensive ability was somewhat inferior to her offensive ability, and placed Lee Ye-rim, who has good defensive skills, in the outside hitter position, who plays in her diagonal position. Lee Ye-rim’s attack success rate fell to the 20% range, but he played a great role as a housekeeper by scoring 13 points. Director Jang also said, “I asked Yerim to ‘take on the role of a housekeeper.’ He praised him, saying, “He played a role that exceeded his ability.”
Coach Jang entered the press conference room after the game and asked, “Hasn’t our team changed?” Pepper Savings Bank has definitely changed. Pepper Savings Bank is no longer a last-place candidate in the upcoming 2024-2025 V-League. It has become a dark horse that will threaten its sister teams.
Tongyeong = Reporter Nam Jeong-hoon che@segye.com
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Source: www.segye.com
