Every year she contemplates retirement, but her skills remain unchanged. Kim Yeon-kyung, 36, has extended her career with the women’s professional volleyball team Heungkuk Life for another season and has been on fire since the beginning.

Heungkuk Life, a strong favorite to win the title again this season, has won all six of its matches in the first round of the 2024-2025 V-League. They are the only team in the league to win all of their games in the first round. Head coach Marcello Abondanza’s decision to make a drastic change to the roster, replacing five of the seven starters, is paying off. New setter Lee Ig-eun and libero Shin Yeon-kyung are playing their roles well, while a foreign player (Tutku Bourge Yuzghenk) and an 카지노사이트 Asian-qualified player (Anilis Fitch) are also adding firepower.

The reason the team is able to make such drastic changes is because of Kim Yeon-kyung. His unwavering play in both offense and defense, along with the presence of at least one foreign player, has made Heungkuk Life one of the favorites to win the title every season. Kim was also named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the first round on Dec. 12, receiving 22 of the 31 votes from journalists. She was the only Korean player to receive votes in the selection process. Kim has now won 12 round MVP awards, including three monthly awards.

Even in her mid-30s, Kim continues to perform at the top of her game on both offense and defense. She leads the league in attack success rate (45.68%), open (42.71%) and quick open (51.35%). His 118 points are also the highest among Korean players. On defense, she ranks second with a 42.86% receiving efficiency, which is better than the average libero on each team.

Despite the physical strain on her body, which led her to announce her retirement after last season, she hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Over the last three seasons, starting with the 2020-2021 season, his attacking percentage has ranged from 44.98 to 45.92 percent, not far off his career attacking percentage (45.05 percent). Over the same period, her receiving efficiency has been consistent at 34.60%, 46.80%, and 42.46%. His consistency proves the saying that when Kim Yeon-kyung falters, so does Heungkuk Life.

However, she was far from a champion. She is the only player in the women’s division to reach the championship finals in every season, but she has repeatedly fallen short. She returned to the domestic stage in a Heungkuk Life jersey in the 2020-2021 season, but the team finished as runners-up in the championships against GS Caltex in 2020-2021, Korea Expressway Corporation in 2022-2023, and Hyundai E&C in 2023-2024. He has postponed his retirement as he is determined to win a championship with Heungkuk Life.