9 points including 3 blocks against Pepper Savings Bank on the 5th, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction has won 4 consecutive games
Hyundai Engineering & Construction defeated Pepper Savings Bank at home to regain the second place.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate, led by head coach Kang Sung-hyung, won the set-score 3-1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-21, 25-17) at home against the Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers in the first round of the Dodram 2024-2025 V-League at Suwon Gymnasium on the 5th. Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which has won four consecutive games since its defeat in the opening game against Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders and is seeking the prestige of the “defending champion,” has risen back to second place (4-1).
Hyundai Engineering & Construction led the attack with Letizia Moma Vasoko scoring 26 points with a 53.33 percent success rate, while Jung Ji-yoon also scored 18 points, including one serve and three blocks. Hyundai Engineering & Construction is a team with a strong center led by Yang Hyo-jin, the league’s best middle blocker, and Lee showed a performance comparable to Yang Hyo-jin on the day. Lee Da-hyun, who scored nine points like Altoran with three blocks and a 50 percent attack success rate, is the main character.
The Rising Value of Middle Blockers
The most valuable position in the V-League FA market is outside-heaters. Outside-heaters play many roles in offense and defense, moving between potential and rear positions during games. In fact, Kang So-hwi, who signed a three-year contract with Korea Expressway Corporation high pass for 2.4 billion won (2.42 million U.S. dollars), Lee So-young, who signed a three-year contract with IBK Industrial Bank Altos for 2.1 billion won (2.63 million dollars), and Jeong Ji-yoon, who signed a three-year contract with Hyundai Engineering & Construction for a three-year contract, are all outside-heaters.
On the other hand, Setter and Rivero rarely participate in attacks, and the middle blocker is replaced by Rivero when he moves to the back, so there is relatively a lot of time to rest on the bench. As such, middle blockers often do not receive much attention compared to outside heaters. However, in the FA market this year, the value of middle blockers has increased further as the two young middle blockers who joined the team signed FA contracts at a high price.
Lee Ju-ah, who was named the top rookie draft pick in the 2018-2019 season and won the championship in the rookie season, has already played in the championship four times. Although she is still 24 years old, she has a lot of experience in big games for her age. In response, the Industrial Bank of Korea, which has only played in spring volleyball once in the last six seasons, has invested a large amount of 1.2 billion won (1.5 million U.S. dollars) over the past three years to recruit Lee.
Wearing the IBK uniform, Lee formed a middle blocker duo with Choi Jeong-min, who exploded in potential by becoming the blocking queen last season. Lee Ju-ah tied for 11th in blocking (0.50 per set) and 10th in fastballs (30.43 percent) in the early days of the season, showing a little disappointing performance than expected when recruiting her. However, if Lee and IBK explode synergy with Choi Jung-min during the season, their performances can rebound as much as they want.
Jeong Kwan-jang, whose veteran middle blocker Han Song-yi retired after the end of last season, caught Park Eun-jin, the main middle blocker who became an FA, for a total of 1.05 billion won for three years. And Park Eun-jin is showing off her more mature skills by tying for ninth in blocking (0.56 per set) and first in fastballs (52.94%) at the beginning of the season. In the V-League, where the ransom and value of middle blockers are rising, Lee Da-hyun is the middle blocker who can aim for the “FA jackpot” after the end of the season.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s flagship middle blocker
Lee, who hails from Chung-Ang High School in Seoul, was selected by Hyundai Engineering & Construction as the second overall pick after Chung Ho-young (director Jeong) in the rookie draft of the 2019-2020 season. Lee, who is 185 centimeters tall and has been a middle blocker since childhood, has been evaluated as a player with strong basic skills as a central striker. However, Lee was pushed by his senior Jung Ji-yoon, who played as a middle blocker, and only scored 71 points in 26 games of the rookie season and 107 points in 24 games of the second season.
However, after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Jung Ji-yoon turned into an outside heater, and Lee Da-hyun was named Yang Hyo-jin’s new partner by coach Kang Sung-hyung. And Lee Da-hyun was selected as the best 7 in the middle blocker category in the first season of the main jump, scoring 0.74 blocks per set (2nd) along with 246 points in 31 games in the 2021-2022 season. Lee also performed well in the 2022-2023 season, scoring 295 points and 0.59 blocks per set.
Lee Da-hyun scored 285 points in the regular league with an attack success rate of more than 50% for the first time since his professional debut last season, and experienced his first career championship with 27 points in the championship against Heungkuk Life Insurance with a 55.56% success rate. Lee Da-hyun, who watched his one-year senior Jung Ji-yoon sign a large FA contract after the end of the season, receives a relatively low salary of 90 million won (including options) this season at Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which has many high-paid players.
Lee, who has scored 42 points in five games this season, is ranked third among middle blockers following Yang Hyo-jin (67 points), a senior player of his team, and Jangwi (65 points), a top scorer in the Asian quarter. On top of that, he is solidly guarding the center of Hyundai Engineering and Construction along with Yang Hyo-jin by ranking fifth in blocking (0.65 points per set) and sixth in fastballs (45.71 percent). In a game with Pepper Savings Bank on Saturday, Lee also had three blocks and posted an attack success rate of 50 percent, which is the same as Altoran’s nine points.
Lee Da-hyun, who also sought to advance overseas after the end of last season, will be eligible for FA for the first time since his debut at the end of this season. Even if he stays in the V League because he cannot advance overseas, Lee Da-hyun is likely to receive love calls from clubs in need of height reinforcement. Of course, in order for Lee Da-hyun to advance overseas or win a large contract after becoming a FA, he needs to continue his performance at the beginning of the season “without injury” until the end of the season. 안전놀이터
