He has returned to the position where he is most familiar and can demonstrate his strengths. This is the story of Korean Air’s Jung Ji-seok.
Jung Ji-seok scored 19 points in a home game against KB Insurance in the first round of the Dodram 2024-2025 V-League men’s division at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on the 5th, helping his team win the set score 3-2.
Jung has played Libero since the Cup, which was just ahead of the season’s opening. Although Libero was a bit unfamiliar to Jung, who was playing as an outside heater, he was unable to spike for a while due to the shin injury. He focused on improving his sense of play along with adapting to his position.
Since the beginning of the regular season, Jung has continued to play as a libero player, and as time passed, his physical condition has gradually improved. After the final inspection through training, Jung played his main role as an “outside heater” for the first time since the opening of the season on the day.
As if he had been waiting for this day, Jung displayed strong serve from the beginning of the first set. He had five points in the first set alone, including two serve points. While his performance continued with six points in the second set, he faltered with three points in the third set, three points in the fourth set, and two points in the fifth set. However, his teammates including Jeong Han-yong and Kim Min-jae gained strength and were able to enjoy the victory.
After the game, Jung Ji-seok said, “The position itself is different, but I thought there would be no problem with the sense of the game as much as the coach gave me a chance with Libero, but I was very nervous in the first set, so I couldn’t breathe from the second set. I had a hard time finding my pace because I think I over-faced too much,” but I personally want to give him a passing point (for the return match of the outside heater).”
As for the scene where he scored a serve from the beginning of the game, Han Yong said, “As you know, I was confident because I was in good physical condition unlike last year while training,” and added, “I tried to target the course, and luckily the ball fell (in the line). I also trained, and I think I also had an image training effect.” 토토사이트
Although it wasn’t that long that he experienced Libero, Jung felt a lot as he played. “(Rivero) is not in a position where he can score on his own, so mind control seems to be the most important thing. If (Rivero’s) skills are not superior, I think his mentality is the most important position,” he said. “I thought Libero was a really difficult position. I wonder how other (Rivero) players managed to survive. I made a lot of mistakes because I couldn’t receive in the attack line, but I think Libero’s rules were unfamiliar to me.”
“The most memorable thing is the Cobbo Cup final (against Hyundai Capital). Deng Xinfeng (registered name Shin Feng), Leonardo Leiva Martinez (registered name Leo), and Heo Su-bong continue to hit the serve, but I think it was a bit frustrating for us to just be punished,” he added.
He also felt sorry for his younger teammates, who are playing as Libero players in his team. “I would have liked them to learn something from me (from the coaching staff’s point of view) because I played more games than other Libero players, not because of my special skills or superior skills,” Jung said. “I think I did my best not to feel sorry for them. I was excited at first, but I felt so sorry later on.”
Jung Ji-seok feels more responsible now that he is back in the familiar position. Korean Air played without any foreign players on the day. Josbani Hernandez (registered Yosbani) is not allowed to play due to injury for the time being, and Moradi Arev (registered name Arev) did not accompany the team to take rest due to physical condition management.
Still, Jung does not feel lonely as he has become a main player of his team. On the day, Jung became the star of the first triple crown (back attack, blocking, and sub-scoring each with three or more) in the 2024-2025 season, relieving Jung of his burden. “Since we had this situation (foreign players absent) since last year, we did not have any special discussions with the players,” Jung said. “We have an outstanding player named Jeong Han-yong in our team.”
Jeong also said, “Hanyong played in both left and right sides, and didn’t he achieve a triple crown (on Sunday’s game). Han has already become a hexagonal player. Last year, I believed in (Lim) Dong-hyuk, this year, I believe in (Jeong) Han-yong.”
