Everyone at the Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium, from the two teams that played to the referees who officiated the match, was deeply troubled.
IBK Bank earned its first win of the season by defeating Korea Expressway Corporation 3-2 (22-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-13) in the first round of the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Women’s Division at Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium on March 28. There was a sense of urgency on the court as both teams were desperate for their first victory after losing three straight matches to start the season.
However, aside from the eagerness, it’s hard to give either team much credit for their performance. For the home team, Korea Expressway Corporation, it was disappointing that they were unable to find the best combination of wing attackers in this match. In this match, head coach Kim Jong-min used Tanacha Sooksot (registered name Tanacha) at the outside hitter position and Vanya Vukiric (registered name Vukiric) and Jeon Sae-yan as the starting outside hitter duo. It was the same lineup as the previous match against Hyundai E&C.
However, something was still missing. Vukiric rarely attacked straight from the left side. This made IBK’s defensive tactics of blocking between the straight and diagonal sides and using Hwang Min-kyung or Shin Yeon-kyung as diggers on the diagonal side work well. On the diagonal, Jeon Sae-yan also failed to live up to expectations with only a 5-point-receive efficiency of 8.33%, while Ko Eui-jeong, who took turns on the court with Jeon, was still hampered by her receiving anxiety. Meanwhile, Tanacha showed decent offensive performance in her primary position, the outside hitter, but still left much to be desired in the receiving department.
Coach Kim Jong-min has been experimenting with different wing combinations since the start of the season. Vukiric, Moon Won-jeong, and Tanacha took turns at the outside hitter position, while Jeon Sae-yan, Go Eui-jeong, and Shin Eun-gi also got a chance on the wing. However, after the first round, the jury is still out on who is best at the outside hitter position and who is best as an outside hitter. They will need to minimize trial and error in order to make a full-scale rebound.
Even the victorious IBK was hardly satisfied with the match. In sets one and two, which were paced by Korea Expressway Corporation, IBK’s attacking options were too limited. With their outside hitters and middle blockers silenced, Brittany Abercrombie (registered name Abercrombie) struggled in the first set with a 67.65% attack percentage. Hwang Min-kyung and Pyo Seung-ju combined for just one point, adding more weight to Abecrombie’s shoulders.
Thanks to coach Kim Ho-cheol’s “storm feedback” after the first set, Abercrombie’s attack share dropped to 28.21% in the second set. The problem was that Pyo Seung-ju (41.03% attack share in the second set) had an attack efficiency of only 18.75%, and the second set ended in favor of Korea Expressway Corporation. IBK’s setters had to remember that scoring points was more important than distributing shares to win. Fortunately, Choi Jeong-min played well in the center and Pyo Seung-ju did her part late in the game to complete the reverse sweep, but it could have easily been a shutout loss.
Another concern was the lack of chemistry between Ponfun Gedpard (real name Ponfun) and the attackers. Coach Kim Ho-cheol asked Ponpun to slow down his passing during the game, but ultimately, for IBK to reach the heights they envisioned when they selected Ponpun, they need to get their attackers to match the tempo of Ponpun’s play. Time is of the essence for this, but too much of it and IBK’s place at the top of the leaderboard may already be gone.
It wasn’t just the two teams that exposed problems in this match. The referees and supervisors, who are supposed to call the game quickly and accurately, also had issues. The match was disrupted twice by video review.
First, there was a problem in the first set with Korea Expressway Corporation leading 24-22. Referee Nam Young-soo pointed out Ponpun’s overnet, and coach Kim Ho-cheol requested a video review of the net touch, but the result was a no-touch. Referee Nam Young-soo signaled the end of the set, but Kim Ho-cheol furiously protested to assistant referee Kwon Dae-jin, saying, “The ball didn’t touch Ponpun’s hand on the video replay.”
After a long time, the end of the set was overturned and a replay was called at 24-22, and this time, Kim Jong-min continued to protest fiercely, but the replay was eventually confirmed. Kim Jong-min then requested an additional video review of the blocker’s touchout, which resulted in a touchout and the first set ending in a 25-22 victory for Korea Expressway Corporation. It was a bizarre situation where Korea Expressway won the first set twice and IBK lost the first set twice.카지노사이트
Another delay due to video review occurred in the third set at 17-17. After Tanacha’s attack error, coach Kim Jong-min requested a video review of the net touch. The key was to determine whether Tanacha’s ball was dead or whether blocker Choi Jung-min’s net touch came first. After another long delay, match commissioner Lee Myung-hee declared the call unconfirmed. Coach Kim Jong-min made another appeal to referee Kwon, but this time to no avail.
No matter how much the broadcasters’ cameras are utilized for video review, the final decision must be made by the referee and the assistant referee. In addition, the overall operation of the game and communication with the coaching staff should be smoothly carried out by the head referee and assistant referee. In light of recent complaints about the video review process and post-review communication in both the men’s and women’s divisions, it is important to examine the various ways in which everyone involved can resolve the issue.
Whether you’re a winner, a loser, or an official, you’re left with a problem that needs to be solved after the game. In order to win the support and love of volleyball fans, they should all focus on coming up with smart ways to solve their problems.