With the 2024-2025 season just around the corner, Korea Expressway Corporation is in sixth place with 4 wins, 12 losses and 12 points.
Amid sluggish performance of one win and five losses in the first round and one win and five losses in the second round, the team has had two wins and two losses in four matches in the third round. The Korea Expressway Corporation is gradually boosting the mood.
After Kim Jong-min’s appointment, the Korea Expressway Corporation, which achieved the V2 feat with a myth of 3 consecutive wins after losing two miraculous championship games in the 2022-2023 season, is also at the bottom of this season following sixth place last season.
However, there is something meaningful in the face of defeat. It is the growth of young shoots. The Korea Expressway Corporation has named middle blocker Kim Se-bin (187 centimeters) as the first overall pick in the 2023 Rookie Draft.
Kim scored 200 points in 35 games during the 2023-2024 season. She showed impressive performance by ranking fifth in blocking (0.596 per set) and seventh in fastball (44.38 percent). She spent the rookie season as a starting member.
Kim Se-bin won the Rookie of the Year award. He swept 30 out of 31 votes cast by reporters. The vote share was 96.7 percent.
While preparing calmly for the second season, Kim had to face difficulties due to her injury. She suffered her right elbow injury for the first time. She was training after being selected for the U-20 national team.
Kim Se-bin, who overcame his injury through rehabilitation, participated in the 2024 AVC (Asian Volleyball Federation) U-20 Championship and led the team as captain and contributed to third place in the tournament.
Kim Se-bin, who later returned to his team’s Korea Expressway Corporation, also participated in the VTV Cup in Ninh Bin, Vietnam, and won the bronze medal.
So far, she seemed to be going smoothly. However, while training ahead of the season, she showed pneumothorax due to chest pain and underwent surgery. As a result, she was unable to participate in the Tongyeong Cup.
Since then, Kim Se-bin has shown rapid recovery and gradually built up his body. Although he started the season with his sense of court and physical strength not strengthening, he is showing his performance based on his unique sense of volleyball.
Currently, Kim ranks fourth in the fastball category (43.40 percent) and 10th in the blocking category (0.596 per set). He has 68 points (30 on offense, 10 on serve, 28 on blocking) in all 16 games his team has played. Notably, as he keeps getting physical as he continues to play games, he is rejuvenating his skills. In the third round, he clearly displayed performance in blocking and effective blocking. This is why Kim’s performance in the remaining games of this season is drawing keen attention.
Kim Se-bin said, “I’ve been paying a lot of attention to blocking these days. It’s very helpful for the coach, coaches, and older sisters to teach me a lot. I’m always thinking about what they teach me.”
Korea Expressway Corporation selected setter Kim Dae-eun (179 centimeters) as the first overall pick in the 2024 rookie draft. She had the good fortune to select the first round pick for the second consecutive year. Notably, she picked a setter this year, following last year’s middle blocker, to reinforce her position that she needs the most.
Kim Dae-eun, wearing a Korea Expressway Corporation uniform, is the only rookie this season to play in the foreground and solidify her position as the main setter.
Kim Dae-eun played 58 sets in 16 games and scored 30 points (19 points for offense, 8 points for blocking, 3 points for serve), and is currently seventh with an average of 7.638 per set by trying 1,168 times.
Kim Dae-eun’s strength is that her ball is strong, which increases her power when strikers hit her. Not only the wing spiker leading to Nikolova, Kang So-hwi and Tanacha, but also the teamwork with the middle blocker consisting of Bae Yu-na and Kim Se-bin is improving as the game continues.
He also has a lot of guts. At the game against GS Caltex on the 11th, Kim Dae-eun caught the opponent off guard with a pass paint that ended the game with 17-16 deuce in the fifth set. Bold ball allocation is also taking place repeatedly. However, he does not have much experience in back-tossing yet, and he should also make sure he works well with fastballs.
“Kim Daeun is doing great. I would like to compliment him on the professional stage as a rookie. He will grow significantly if he adjusts himself more to the use of our strikers and makes bold plays,” Korea Expressway Corporation coach Kim Jong-min said, predicting a bright future.
Kim Daeun said, “I’m going to do my best in the court as I did in high school. However, as the game itself unfolds differently from my high school days, I think I still need time to adjust. I want to display diverse plays.”
“After the game, I will regret it, but I will make it an opportunity to do better. There were times when I was more shaken while trying to go easy, but I will think more about my choice. Rather than finding a comfortable route, I will prepare harder to toss where I need it when I need it,” he said.
This season, the Rookie of the Year award has been changed to the Young Player award. Even the third-year professional player will be eligible for the award. For Kim Dae-eun, she can win the award only after fierce competition.
Kim Dae-eun, who is seeking her first Young Player Award, talks a lot with Kim Se-bin, the last winner of the Rookie of the Year award.
“(Kim) and Daeun worked well together when playing for the U-20 team. Now, I think we’ve gotten along better after playing together for several more months in the same team. I look forward to seeing each other more in the future,” Kim said.
“Rather than giving advice to Daeun, we both talk a lot about being confident. I’ll cheer up with Daeun,” he said with a smile.
Kim Daeun said, “(Kim) Se-bin is good at hitting me if I give her a high key. I think I just need to set a high key. We’re talking a lot. It’s good to be with you.”
Kim Se-bin and Kim Dae-eun are the future of Korea Expressway Corporation. Kim is still playing as main players, but the growth of the two players is being pursued as a project to strengthen their capacity along with generational change of team. 먹튀검증
Kim Se-bin, who intends to erase the Sapo More jinx, and Kim Dae-eun, who is writing the best rookie season story, are revitalizing the Korea Expressway Corporation court.
