Eventually, it came to the final battle. The final game unfolds over whether it is the splendid coronation of Empress Kim Yeon-kyung (Heungkuk Life Insurance) or the first ‘reverse sweep’ of the Korea Expressway Corporation’s championship match.
Heungkuk Life Insurance and Road Corporation will play the 5th round of the Dodram 2022-23 season women’s championship match (3 best of 5 matches) at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium at 7 pm on the 6th.
Heungkuk Life Insurance, who had won the 1st and 2nd games held in Incheon, was on the verge of winning, but the road construction took the 3rd and 4th games in Gimcheon and became the starting point with 2 wins and 2 losses.
This is the fourth time that the women’s championship has progressed to the final 5 games, following the 2005-06, 2011-12, and 2013-14 seasons.
In the 2005-06 season, Heungkuk Life Insurance, led by Kim Yeon-kyung, was driven to 1 win and 2 losses, then overpowered the road construction with two consecutive wins and rose to the top. KGC Ginseng Corporation faced Hyundai E&C in the 2011-12 season and won the 1st, 3rd, and 5th games and lifted the trophy. In the 2013-14 season, GS Caltex, which had been driven with 1 win and 2 losses, took the 4th and 5th games against IBK Industrial Bank and succeeded in winning the come-from-behind victory.
◇ Kim Yeon-kyung, who is trying to win the V-League in 14 years
In the 2005-06 season, which was her debut season, Kim Yeon-kyung, who swept the unprecedented rookie award, regular league MVP, and championship MVP, and won her first championship, is aiming for the fourth championship of her V-League career.
Kim Yeon-kyung, who had to be content with a runner-up after losing to GS Caltex in the 2020-21 season two years ago, seized the opportunity to win.
Kim Yeon-kyung had no relationship with the V-League champion after the 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2008-09 seasons. Kim Yeon-kyung headed overseas in 2009 and played in Japan, Turkey, and China.
Kim Yeon-kyung had experience working with coach Marcello Abondanza while playing for Fenerbahce (Turkiye). Kim Yeon-kyung and coach Abondanza worked together for four seasons from the 2013-14 season, winning two league championships and the European Volleyball Federation (CEV) Cup.
Kim Yeon-kyung, who leads Heungkuk Life Insurance to first place in the regular league this season and is certain to be the regular league MVP, is highly likely to win the championship MVP if he leads even the championship to the top. He is eligible for free agency after this season, and has revealed that he is contemplating his retirement. Kim Yeon-kyung hopes to end what could be the last game at Heungkuk Life Insurance with a win.
◇ Highway Corporation dreaming of a miracle of 0%, V2 challenge for the first time in 5 years
Korea Expressway Corporation, which balanced the game by winning the 3rd and 4th games, challenges the miracle of 0%.
The probability that the team that won both the 1st and 2nd games in the past championships will win was 100% in 5 out of 5 times. However, Korea Expressway Corporation, which became the first team to win two consecutive games after losing two games in a row, is dreaming of an unprecedented reverse sweep with a fierce back.
Highway Corporation, which lifted the impressive first championship trophy with Park Jung-ah in the 2017-18 season, challenges ‘V2’ in 5 years.
The road construction is also a valuable opportunity that cannot be promised when the championship challenge will come. The team’s main players, middle blockers Bae Yoo-na and Jeong Dae-young, outside hitters Park Jeong-ah, Moon Jeong-won, and Jeon Sae-yan, will be released as free agents after this season.
In a situation where it is difficult to guarantee that all five players will remain, the 5th round of the championship match, which will be held on the 6th, could be the last game in which the main players who led the combined championship in the 2017-18 season play together.
Kim Jong-min, director of the Korea Expressway Corporation, said, “I think (reverse sweep) is not easy, but it is not impossible. It’s worth a try. The atmosphere has passed over to us,” he said, revealing his confidence.