“I don’t know where to focus our preparation.”
Korea Expressway Corporation head coach Kim Jong-min said after his team lost their fourth-round match against Dodram 2023-2024 Jungkwanjang 1-3 (22-25 25-20 20-25 23-25) at Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium 스포츠토토 on Monday.
Only outside hitter Vukiric struggled. He alone scored 35 points. Tanacha added 13 points, but her offense was limited to eight points minus five blocks. The “Apojit Tanacha” lineup that worked in the previous game against GS Caltex didn’t work in this game.
Middle blocker Bae Yoo-na, who is not a wing player, backed up with 11 points, but the team was outgunned by the opponent’s twin cannons.
After the game, Kim said, “I don’t know what to focus on in preparation. When we use Moon Jung-won to strengthen our defense, our blocking is lower, and we’ve been covering that part by defending from behind, but we had a tough game because we weren’t organized,” Kim said.
“They made some big plays, and that’s where we gave up the points,” he said.
Tanacha’s offense didn’t work. Their main attack was crosses, which were caught one after another by the defense, but they still managed to get five interceptions. Coach Kim said, “Yoon Jung had a choppy toss, which broke our rhythm. Vukiric did her job again today, but we didn’t have enough on the other side, which would have made the game interesting,” Kim said.
The dilemma continues. Whether to use Tanacha as an outside hitter and Lee Yerim as an outside heater, or to use Moon Jung-won as a receiving ace and form a pairing of Bukirich and Jeon Sae-yan.
Coach Kim said, “Tanacha herself says she is comfortable going into the apogee. However, he is a bit immature in handling open attacks. In set plays, she has the ability to make a mistake. I’m always worried about the weakness of the opponent’s attack. If Tanaka plays well, he can bring the match, but I think we need to prepare for that.”
As for Vukiric, who scored 30 points, “His offense is good. He’s a tall player, so you have to block him. I want him to defend the ball that comes in front of him.”