We need the first set, the first point, and the first win.
The women’s volleyball team,안전놀이터 led by coach Cesar Gonzalez Hernandez, will begin the second week of the 2023 FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) Volleyball Nations League (VNL) from the 15th.
Cesarho suffered all four losses in the last week. He even took on the humiliation of not winning a single set against Turkiye, Canada, the United States and Thailand. It is a 16-game losing streak, starting with VNL last year.
The FIVB rankings also went down. During the 4 matches, a total of 17.08 ranking points were cut. He knelt due to his height as well as his lack of decisiveness in the match. The ranking, which was 23rd before this tournament, is 26th, three places down. Ranking points and rank recovery are desperately needed.
There is a change in the 14-member roster for this second week. Setter Kim Da-in (Hyundai E&C) and libero Shin Yeon-kyung (IBK Industrial Bank of Korea) were excluded. Dain Kim suffered from an abdominal muscle injury and Yeonkyung Shin suffered from back pain. Setter Kim Ji-won (GS Caltex) and outside hitter Kim Da-eun (Heungkuk Life Insurance) were newly named. The two are newcomers who wore the Taegeuk mark for the first time at this VNL.
Kim Ji-won is a professional third-year player who joined GS Caltex in the 2020-2021 season. He played in 94 sets of 31 last season, and stepped on the court when the team’s main setter Ahn Hye-jin was away due to injury and other reasons. Kim Da-eun, who entered his fourth year as a pro, participated in 103 sets in 35 matches last season and scored 186 points (33.91% success rate).
There are risks with the 14-man roster. Currently, Moon Jeong-won is the only libero on the 14-man roster. Moreover, Moon Jeong-won is not a professional libero. His team is a receiving apogee spiker, and as a libero, he has the burden of taking full responsibility for the upcoming 4 games.
Still, there is hope. In the 2nd week, Cesar will meet Brazil (15th), 7th place Japan (16th), 30th place Croatia (17th), and 12th place Germany (19th) in succession in the FIVB ranking. I have tasted victory. Moreover, Croatia is the only VNL participating team that, like Korea, does not have a first win in the tournament. Korea is a team worthy of a first win.
