Ginseng Corporation escaped from the swamp of 4 consecutive losses by sacrificing the lowest Petcher Savings Bank.
KGC Ginseng Corporation, led by coach Hee-Jin Koh, held a set score 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-25-22, 25-21, 25-25-21) in an away game against Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers in the 3rd round of the Dodram 2022-2023 V-League Women’s Division held at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on the 14th. 12) won. Ginseng Corporation, which escaped from losing streak by defeating Pepper Savings Bank in its opening 14th consecutive loss, scored 16 points, 5th place GS Caltex KIXX (17 points) by 1 point, and 4th place IBK Industrial Bank Altos (18 points) by 2 points. I chased (5 wins, 8 losses).
For Ginseng Corp., foreign player Elisabeth Ine Barga scored 20 points with a success rate of 47.06% with 4 blocks, and “Captain” So-young Lee also showed a good performance by scoring 15 points with a high attack success rate of 55.57%. And in the last 5 games, Go Min-ji, who has been playing as Ginseng Corp.’s main libero instead of rookie Choi Hyo-seo, secured a 42.86% receiving efficiency and recorded 17 digs, the most for both teams, to keep Ginseng Corp.’s rearguard strong.
In the 2020-2021 season, Ginseng Corporation ranked fifth out of six clubs with 13 wins and 17 losses, even with an outstanding foreign player named Valentina Diouf (Busto Arsicio), who was the top scorer for two consecutive seasons. In response, Ginseng Corporation broke the tradition (?) of teams that seldom recruited FA outsiders, and in April 2021, outside hitter Lee So-young, who was the MVP of the 2020-2021 season championship and was considered the largest word in the FA market, received a total of 1.95 billion won over three years. invested and recruited
However, less than a week after Ginseng Corporation brought Lee So-young, a key player was lost to GS Caltex. Oh Ji-young, who was twice selected as the best 7 in the libero division, was nominated as a compensation player for Lee So-young at GS Caltex. It was a ‘surprising nomination’ that shattered the Ginseng Corporation’s expectation that GS Caltex would not appoint veteran Oh Ji-young as a libero because there are already liberos for Han Su-jin and Da-hye Ha at GS Caltex.
Ginseng Corporation, which suddenly lost its starting libero, transferred to Ginseng Corporation through a sign-and-trade in 2018, and yellow libero, who heated up the bench as Oh Ji-young’s backup for three consecutive seasons, rose to the starting position. Of course, the yellow libero also played an active role as the main libero in the 2017-2018 season during the IBK days and contributed to the team’s championship runner-up. However, it is clear that since he joined the pro in 2012, he spent much longer in the warm-up zone than on the court.
However, the yellow libero, who had been consulting for a long time, did not miss the opportunity that came to him. Yellow Libero, who played an active role as a full-time starter for the first time after moving to Ginseng Corporation, ranked 3rd in receiving (39.95%) and 4th in digs (4.91 per set) last season, and ranked 4th in defense (6.60 per set). In particular, it was a meaningful season in which she outperformed Oh Ji-young’s libero (6.15 per set), who pushed herself to the bench at Ginseng Corporation.
Nolan was selected for the national team for the first time after the season, but bad news came again as he digested his national team schedule. He suffered a serious injury in which he ruptured his Achilles tendon during training after finishing the 1st week of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL). Realistically, it was not easy for the Yellow Libero to play this season because Achilles tendon injuries require at least six months and a maximum of one year of rehabilitation after surgery. In the end, director Goh Hee-jin chose to transform into Ribe from outside heater Go Min-ji after much consideration.
Ko Min-ji, who joined IBK with the 5th pick in the first round of the 2016 rookie draft, spent one season at IBK before transferring to Ginseng Corporation through a trade in December 2017. On January 18, 2018, Go Min-ji scored 13 points in a match against Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, and on February 6, 2020, against Korea Highway Corporation High Pass, he scored 15 points, breaking his personal record. Although he did not get a full-time starting position, he was adapting to Ginseng Corporation smoothly. 메이저놀이터
However, 173 cm tall outside hitter Go Min-ji had one painful weakness. It was a chronic knee injury common to short strikers. Ko Min-ji, who was trying to jump high to overcome his height weakness, suffered a worsening knee injury and underwent surgery at the end of the 2019-2020 season. In the end, Go Min-ji scored 63 points in 15 games in the 2020-2021 season, which required increasing playing time, and played in 24 games in the 2021-2022 season, but never stood at the forefront.
While the burden of his knee injury was growing, Ginseng Corp. had a hole in the libero position due to the injury of the yellow libero, and Go Min-ji transformed into a libero without any regrets. However, in the cup competition last August, which was his first test stage, he was unable to play due to the confirmation of Corona 19, and after the opening, he was pushed by rookie Choi Hyo-seo and started the season on the bench. However, Go Min-ji, who was put in as a substitute in the game against Pepper Savings Bank on November 24, has been active as the main libero in the last 5 games in a row.
Ko Min-ji, who recorded 24 digs and 50% receiving efficiency in the match against Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate on November 30, when he went to full set, is recording 44.27% receiving efficiency and 3.32 digs per set in 9 games this season. In particular, he recorded 77 digs in his last 5 games, which was active as a starting pitcher. Go Min-ji recorded a 42.86% receiving efficiency while taking responsibility for a 41.18% receiving share with 17 digs in the Pepper Savings Bank match on the 14th, greatly easing Lee So-young’s burden.
Ginseng Corporation’s main player Libero Nolan, who underwent surgery in Brazil last June, is currently walking without crutches and speeding up his rehabilitation through weight training. Ginseng Corporation is looking forward to the return of the Yellow Libero within the season. However, apart from the return of the yellow libero, Ko Min-ji, who has been performing more than expected since the first season of his transformation into the libero, is a great help to Ginseng Corporation, which had a lot of trouble with the libero problem from before the season.