“I want to win now.”
Hyundai Engineering & Construction won the 2023-2024 Dodram V-League women’s fourth round against GS Caltex with a set score of 3-2.
It was a bloody battle for more than 142 minutes. The winner was Hyundai E&C. He displayed good concentration at the end. Notably, Yang Hyo-jin had a hard carry in the fifth set alone. He scored seven points in the fifth set alone, leading his team to victory. On the day, Yang displayed robust performance with 25 points (52.50 percent attack success rate), the most among his team, including four blocks.
As a result, Hyundai E&C solidified its lead with 17 wins and 5 losses (52 points).
After the game, Yang Hyo-jin said, “It was a full set game, and there were many rallies. GS Caltex also had good momentum and was embarrassed because it was aggressive, but it focused well until the end.” “Today’s game felt like all the players were playing together. We tried to play our part in a thrilling game. That’s why I was more immersed in the game.”
Notably, Yang Hyo-jin caught Oh Se-yeon’s attack at 14-14 deuce in the fifth set. “I wanted to score so much, but I caught him because I couldn’t. I just wanted to score a goal somehow,” Yang said with a big smile.
Yang Hyo-jin, who plays as one of the best middle blockers in the women’s V-League, also set a milestone on the day. She has accumulated a total of 5,500 points (a total of 5,505) in her career. She is the first in the women’s league.
Regarding the milestone, he said, “In the previous game, I set another 1,500 blocking records. I keep scoring in offense, but I think the records I accumulate for the first time are meaningful.”
When asked if he could score 10,000 points, he said with a chuckle, “Oh, I have to go back to 20 years old to do that,” and expressed his will, “Now I want to win a little bit regardless of the score.”
As Yang Hyo-jin said, Hyundai E&C failed to win the title. Even though it topped the regular league twice in the 2019-2020 season and the 2021-2022 season, it cried due to bad luck. As the season ended early due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the championship game itself was not held. It was a half-way victory. In the 2022-2023 season, it lost the first place to Heungkuk Life Insurance, and was eliminated in the playoffs with the Korea Expressway Corporation for two consecutive years.
There is no COVID-19 this season, and the possibility of early termination of the league is close to 0%. If the team continues to cruise as it is now, it is worth seeking to become the No. 1 player in the regular league and win the unified championship.
However, the biggest rival in winning this season is Kim Yeon-koung’s Heungkuk Life.
“Hwangguk Life Insurance has good teamwork and all aspects, including its teamwork, led by Kim Yeon-koung,” Yang said. “We are a strong team. If you are greedy to secure the top spot in the remaining games, your movement may become stiff. You have to keep your passion, but you have to throw away your greed. You have to see only one ball, only one game, and do what you have done so far.”
Hyundai Engineering & Construction has strong teamwork. Yang Hyo-jin expressed trust, saying, “Our team has really good teamwork. We communicate really well with the players. I feel I can trust and do it.”