GS Caltex won a complete victory over Pepper Savings Bank with an overwhelming performance and drove Pepper Savings Bank to 13 consecutive losses.
GS Caltex, led by head coach Cha Sang-hyun, won a set score of 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-21) at home against Pepper Savings Bank in the fourth round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on the 2nd.
GS Caltex made 37 points with 13 wins and seven losses overall for the season, while Pepper Savings Bank extended its losing streak to 13 consecutive games. With two wins and 18 losses overall for the season, it is still at the bottom with seven points.
On the day, GS Caltex made a bold decision to deploy rookie setter Lee Yoon-shin as starting pitcher instead of Kim Ji-won. Lee Yu-shin's first start since his debut. The move was aimed at giving some rest to the tired Kim Ji-won and allowing Lee Yoon-shin to gain experience for the rest of the season.
Ahead of the match, coach Cha Sang-hyun said of Lee Yoon-shin, "I gave him a few chances earlier, but I definitely didn't just give him a chance. He has enough basic skills such as sense that a setter should have. It was noticeable that he went in and did his role well. It's a really important situation in each game, but I didn't just put it in."
When asked what advice he gave to Lee Yoon-shin, who was the first starter, he said, "If it doesn't work, I can change it, so I just told him to be confident," but Lee Yoon-shin was actually responsible for most of the sets on this day.
GS Caltex led its team win with Silva scoring 28 points (58.97 percent attack success rate), Kang So-hwi (57.68% attack success rate) and Yoo Eui-yeon (62.50 percent attack success rate), respectively. In contrast, Pepper Savings Bank scored double-digit points alone with Yasmin scoring 18 points (58.62 percent attack success rate). GS Caltex led in all aspects with 50-32 offense, 10-3 blocking and 7-2 serve.
GS Caltex was the last opponent Pepper Savings Bank won. Pepper Savings Bank won against GS Caltex in Jangchung on Nov. 10, 2023 with a set score of 3-2 (25-17, 24-26, 26-24, 21-25, 10-15) but has since been bogged down for 12 consecutive losses.
"Looking back at the last game, we looked back on what we did well. GS Caltex will also revise what we did well and what GS Caltex didn't do well. Therefore, we tried to predict what kind of changes it would bring and prepare for that," said Joe Trinz, manager of Pepper Savings Bank.
"Considering the first game of the first round (against GS Caltex), the middle blocker's attack was effective," Trinzee said. "The second game was not efficient because of the clear response to the middle blocker, but Yasmeen's rear-guard attack was effective. Perhaps GS Caltex also predicted that it would bring a strategy to defend Yasmeen (in this game), and we set up a strategy according to that change."
Regarding meeting Pepper Savings Bank, which is losing 12 consecutive games, Cha Sang-hyun said, "You see a biting situation, but from the perspective of the teams, they are doing it under stress. If you lose points or lose points, you lose points, but it is true that it is a burdensome game because you can suffer tremendous damage to the team's atmosphere."
"It's not easy if Yasmin penetrates with his power. It's volleyball that you know you miss. When you hit the serve and the accuracy is low, you have to take the defensive formation and the blocking formation. I think the odds will increase only when you hit a strong serve," Cha predicted.
"We lost the last game of six consecutive away games, but I think we have now secured enough points to win. From today's game, it is important to display concentration and how well we can hold on to the fourth round and fill the points. I think the ranking will be fierce until the fifth and sixth rounds. We need to focus on that extension," he stressed.
The result was an overwhelming victory for GS Caltex. GS Caltex started the game with a 5-1 lead in the first set. Pepper Savings Bank scored first with Park Jeong-ah's goal, but GS Caltex took the lead after Silva and Kang So-hwi attacked, and Han Soo-ji blocked and Yoo Eui-yeon blocked, and Kang So-hwi blocked for five consecutive points.
Pepper Savings Bank followed suit with Yasmin and Phillips' attacks, but GS Caltex widened its score by targeting various defense areas of Pepper Savings Bank, including Silva's strong serve and Jeong Dae-young's blocking. The quick open by Kang So-hwi and Yoo Eui-yeon, and Silva's back attack gave them a score of 14-7, double score. GS Caltex continued its violent attacks afterwards, tying Pepper Savings Bank's score to nine points and gaining 20 points first.
GS Caltex built up its points with Kang So-hwi and Silva's attacks at 20-10, and finished the set at once with Silva's consecutive serve aces. While GS Caltex recorded five serve points and blocks each in the first set, Pepper Savings Bank failed to score a single block or serve.
GS Caltex also took the lead in the second set. At the 3-3 tie, Silva's back attack, Yoo Eui-yeon's quick open, and Jung Dae-young's block came out in succession. Then, Yoo's back-to-back points made GS Caltex score 8-3. Afterwards, GS Caltex accumulated points through Jung Dae-young's blocking and Silva's back-to-back attack on its opponent's error.
Although Yasmeen struggled, GS Caltex couldn't stop GS Caltex's flow easily. Again this time, GS Caltex tied Pepper Savings Bank to 12 points and reached 20 points first, and gradually accumulated points. At 24-17 set points, the team finished the set with Kang So-hwi's quick open.
In the third set, Pepper Savings Bank started with Park Eun-seo's quick open and Ha Hye-jin's serve score, and Yasmeen's attack added to take the lead 6-3. However, as GS Caltex, led by Kang So-hwi and Silva, immediately struck a balance, the score was tied 6-6. 스포츠중계
GS Caltex then succeeded in reversing the game 9-8, but unlike the previous two sets, the match continued on an equal footing. GS Caltex sought stability by replacing the setter with Kim Ji-won, while the score was tied 19-19 as it flowed to the seesaw game.
After that, Pepper Savings Bank's attack error came out, and Kang So-hwi's open score gradually began to tilt the victory. The score was 23-21, GS Caltex grabbed the match point with Jung Dae-young's blocking, and Kang So-hwi's spike announced the end of the game.