“It was an embarrassing game.”
GS Caltex head coach Cha Sang-hyun (49) offered a sobering assessment of his team. It was even colder because the game was played in front of 3,227 fans who attended the last home game of 2023.
GS Caltex suffered a shutout loss to Hyundai E&C with a set score of 0-3 (23-25, 17-25, 19-25) in the first match of the third round of the 현금홀덤사이트 Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Women’s Regular Season at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung-gu, Seoul on Wednesday.
It was GS Caltex’s last home match of the 2023-2024 season. In addition, as it was a big match between the second and third place teams with four points, the club made a lot of efforts for the fans by introducing special uniforms for Christmas early. The jerseys, which were available for pre-order on the club’s official online store from 2 p.m. on the 2nd to 6 p.m. on the 4th, will be worn by the players in six games in December, excluding the match against Chungjang on December 21.
As expected, the GS Caltex players, who came out in green jerseys, played a close game that is difficult to see as a matchup between the second and third place teams. The blocking score was double-digit, 11-22, and the offensive efficiency was 27.88% vs. 39.81%. The receiving efficiency was similar at 36.62% for GS Caltex and 35.85% for Hyundai E&C, but the offense could not flow smoothly due to the urgency of receiving.
As a result, they lost their fifth straight game and dropped to 8-5 (22 points), further widening the gap between them and second-place Hyundai E&C (9-4, 29 points). For Hyundai E&C, Moma Basoko (registered name Moma) scored a game-high 23 points, while Yang Hyo-jin supported her with 17 points, including three blocked shots. For GS Caltex, Gisele Silva and Kang So-hwi finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
After the match, coach Cha Sang-hyun said, “We played embarrassingly poorly. I think we need to organize with the players in this regard.”
GS Caltex played four matches in 12 days after a full-set victory over Korea Expressway Corporation on March 22. However, the team’s performance was not good enough to use the schedule as an excuse.
“It was a disappointing performance because we were tired from playing two matches in a week. There were a lot of fans here, and I have to reflect on myself and the players,” Cha said. “We said we needed to shake up the opponent’s reception, but we were hit by their reception. We were hit from the first set because we couldn’t get a good enough serve, and because of that, our setter Kim Ji-won was also hit and we couldn’t take advantage of our offense. It was the opposite of what we had planned,” she said bitterly.
However, there was also a difference in skill. Due to the height of the two middle blockers Yang Hyo-jin and Lee Da-hyun, even outside hitter Jeong Jeong-yoon, who was considered a hole in the defense, could not bring the lead for long as he had a career-high 42.11% receiving efficiency.
Coach Cha said, “Hyundai E&C’s height is really high. When you start to be pushed from the height, the pressure is really great,” Cha said. “When we try to pass the ball to our side, we get blocked, which is not easy, and the same situation was repeated until the end of the match.” “We kept pointing out to the players what wasn’t working, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. Today was one of those days,” he said.