Korea Expressway Corporation’s Lee Ye-eun (19), who served a rare 10 straight games against IBK, celebrates her victory.
Korea Express won 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-14, 25-17) in the fourth round of the 2023-2024 Dodram V League Women’s Division at Hwaseong Gyeonggi Town Indoor Gymnasium in Gyeonggi-do, Gyeonggi-do, at 7 p.m. on Monday. With the win, Korea Expressway Corporation ended a two-game losing streak and moved into sixth place with 22 points (7W-15L). IBK, on the other hand, remains in fourth place with 32 points (11 wins, 11 losses).
The star of the night was undoubtedly Vanya Vukiric. Vukiric exploded for 35 points on the night (44.59% attack success rate, 51.75% attack share) to lead KDOT’s offense.
However, Lee “Sin Steeler” Ye-eun also shined. Lee was substituted for Kim Se-bin at 14-15 in the second set. She scored 10 points in a row to give Korea Expressway Corporation the lead for good. IBK Business Bank was unable to cope with Lee’s serve and collapsed. From 14-15 to 23-15, Lee served 10 consecutive points in a row.
Lee’s entrance set the tone for Korea Expressway Corporation, which went on to take the second set and then the third and fourth sets for its first win against IBK this season.
After the match, Korea Expressway Corporation head coach Kim Jong-min praised Lee’s performance, saying, “The introduction of Lee was a watershed moment in the match.”
Speaking about Lee’s serve, Kim Jong-min said, “The ball is tricky, but it’s hard for the opponent to get into a rhythm by adjusting the serve in the same form.” Lee’s serve is outstanding.
After the match, Lee said, “I don’t think it’s hard for my opponent to receive. I just try to aim for the space between the players instead of serving towards them. I think they don’t know where it’s going to come from, so they panic and don’t catch it,” she said with humility.
Regarding her 10 consecutive serves on the day, she confessed that it was actually a first for her, saying, “I didn’t serve this long even last season.”
Despite their thrilling victory over IBK, realistically, it is unlikely that KDOT will be able to compete in spring volleyball this season. “There is still a lot of season left, so we are training and playing with the mindset of doing our best for our fans,” said Lee. The reason we were able to win the match was because we had the mindset of ‘let’s see it through to the end,’” she said, adding that she is not giving up on the rest of the season.
In conclusion, Lee said, “We were given a chance in the championship game last season and I think we left a good memory for the fans. However, before the start of this season, I was very worried about whether it would happen again. I also made a lot of mistakes in the beginning of the league, so I thought, ‘Will I get a chance in the future?’ But I told myself that if I get a chance, I’ll take it, and I’m very happy that I was able to do that today.”