Pepper Savings Bank, the youngest women’s volleyball team in 2021, has finished in last place for the last three seasons in a row. It was an overwhelming last place. In their inaugural season, they won just three games in 2021-2022 and five in 2022-2023. Even in the 2023-2024 season, when they hired foreign coach Joe Trindge and signed South Korean winger Park Jung-ah, 카지노사이트 they only won five games.
Going into its fourth season in the V-League, Pepper Savings Bank sought to change things up with middle blocker Jang Ji-yeon at the helm. The team used its height advantage by selecting outside hitter Barbara Javic (191 centimeters) and middle blocker Zhang Yu (197 centimeters) with the first two picks in the foreign and Asian Quarter Drafts. Height was the driving force behind Pepper Savings Bank’s first opening match victory since its inception, a 3-0 (25-17 25-22 25-14) straight-set sweep of Korea Expressway Corporation in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk, on Nov. 22. Park Jung-ah and Zavic chipped in 14 kills, while Jang Yu added 12 kills, including three blocks. Jang’s height was particularly effective against the relatively short Korean Road Corporation players. Zhang also utilized his height to shoot the ball well. He shot 57.14% from the field.
It’s only been one game, but it’s also worth noting that Jang’s offseason emphasis on error management has paid off. Last season, Pepper Savings Bank committed 681 errors, the second-most in the league, and often found themselves out of sync. However, in the opening match against Korea Expressway Corporation, they were more stable with nine errors than their opponent (20).
Pepper Savings Bank, which started the new season in a different mood than before, will face last season’s third-place finisher Jung Kwan-jang at its home stadium in Gwangju on the 25th. Like Pepper Savings Bank, Jung Kwanjang is a team with a height advantage. Boasting a solid midfield with Jung Ho-young (190 centimeters) and Park Eun-jin (187 centimeters), Jung Kwan-jang chose Vanya Vukiric, who is 198 centimeters tall, as a foreign player this season. If Pepper Savings Bank’s height can work against Jung Kwan-jang, it could be a dark horse in the 2024-2025 V-League Women’s Division.
“We won’t be the underdogs of the V-League,” Zhang said at the V-League Women’s Media Day on Nov. 16, ”and we want to get double-digit wins.” It will be interesting to see if Pepper Savings Bank can shake up the women’s volleyball standings in the new season after finishing last for the past three years.