Обсуждение участника:"Last year's opening five in a row, 4-1 all-time, Yosubani-Noh exceeded expectations"

Kim Sang-woo on last-place Samsung Fire last season Lost first game but won four in a row 'unexpectedly' "Noh Jae-wook, entrusted with the captaincy, has grown in both skill and responsibility"

Samsung Fire head coach Kim Sang-woo speaks to the camera at the Samsung Training Center in Yongin, South Korea. Samsung Fire, which finished last in the men's professional volleyball V League last season, is in second place after winning four straight games following a one-loss start.

Samsung Fire has changed. Samsung Fire is the most decorated team in professional volleyball's V-League men's division (eight times), but until last season, it had failed to qualify for the 'Spring Volleyball' for five consecutive years. In the 2020-2021 season and last season, they finished last. That's why when they lost 1-3 to Woori Card in their first match of the season, the reaction was, "This season will be tough.

However, Samsung Fire has since won four straight games and is currently ranked second in the men's division with 11 points, behind Woori Card (14 points). In the last three games, they have won three games in a row 3-0 for the first time in eight years since Nov. 7-15, 2015. It has been six years since the 2017-18 season since Samsung Fire recorded four or more wins in the first round.

"Last season, we lost five straight games right out of the gate, but this year we started off much lighter," said Samsung Fire coach Kim Sang-woo, 50, who is in his second year in charge. "It's still early in the season, but I can feel the confidence among the players." "Last year, our offensive success rate (49.2%) was low due to our low height. We finished last because we didn't have a player who could deliver a shot at the crucial moment."

This year, Yosvani (32, Cuba-outside hitter) has solved that problem. The 6-foot-5 Cuban is third in scoring (136 points) while posting the highest attack percentage (55.9%) among foreign players to date. Yosubani made his V-League debut with OK Savings Bank (now OK Financial Group) in the 2018-2019 season, and has since played for Hyundai Capital and Korean Air before joining Samsung Fire this season. Samsung Fire is a team that relies heavily on foreign players, so there were some concerns that it would be difficult for Yosubani to integrate into the team while living with nagging injuries.

In response, Kim worked hard during the offseason to train other players to take the burden of serving and receiving off of Yosubani. "I know that the V-League has high expectations for foreign attackers," Yosubani said. I prepared thoroughly through beach volleyball and weight training before the season. I will definitely lead the team to the spring volleyball season."

Setter Noh Jae-wook, 31, also helps Yosvani with his quick, height-enhancing set (toss). Noh returned to the team at the end of the 2021-2022 season after serving as a social service worker, but was unable to regain his form throughout the 2022-2023 season. In response, Kim gave him the captain's armband and gave him a sense of responsibility. "Jae-wook's attitude towards the game this season, as well as his technical skills, have improved dramatically from last season," Kim said.

More encouragingly, there's still time for him to step up his game. Samsung Fire used the No. 1 overall pick in the Asian Quarterfinal Draft to select Eddie (24, Mongolia-Offensive Spiker), and the No. 1 overall pick in the Rookie Draft to select Lee Yoon-Soo (20, Outside Hitter).

Eddy, who came to South Korea from Mongolia for high school, was recruited by Kim, then the head coach of Sungkyunkwan University, and reunited with Kim in the pros. Eddie scored 16 points in the season opener, but hasn't played much since. "Eddie can play both wing attacker and middle blocker, so I think he'll be able to contribute a lot to the team after the midseason," Kim said. Lee Yoon-soo, who underwent ankle surgery in August, could also see the court in the second half of the season. 19가이드03