Men’s volleyball KB Insurance eventually breaks up with Nicola Melanyak (23, Serbia). The substitute is Andres Villena (29, Spain), who played for Korean Air.
KB Insurance selected Nikola as the successor to Keita Noumori, who led the team to advance to the championship last season. Nicola led KB Insurance’s three consecutive victories with a powerful attack and was also selected as the first round MVP. However, the RBI was not high, and as the play that relied on strength was blocked, the performance began to decline. The attack success rate, which was 55.85% in the first round, fell to 47.76%. Both serving and blocking were on a downward trend.
Nicola, who was the first to experience an overseas league, lost even his confidence, and eventually KB Insurance suffered 8 consecutive losses and fell to 6th place. In the end, KB decided to bring out a replacement card, and on the 13th, the Samsung Firefighting match was decided to be held without Nikola.
Hu In-jeong, coach of KB Insurance, said, “I had a meeting with Nikola after the Woori Card match. He did well in the beginning because he was doing it to win the game. There were ups and downs regardless of his ability. I got off. While talking openly, he said that it was mentally difficult, so he accepted it.”
In addition to Villena, KB reviewed players with V-League experience, but eventually decided on Villena. Villena played for Korean Air in the 2019-2020 season, ranking first in scoring and attack success rate and second in sub. Although he is relatively short (1m94cm) for a foreign player, he succeeded in renewing his contract by utilizing his excellent elasticity. However, he ended up leaving Korea the following season due to a knee injury. Viyena, who is playing in the Egyptian league, came back to Korea after two years.
Coach Hu In-jeong explained, “Even during the tryout, I had a hard time choosing because I only watched the players through video. There were other candidates besides Viyena, but among them, he was a proven player. I decided because I had domestic experience.”
Coach Hu In-jeong said, “If it’s long, I think I’ll have to endure about 3 games in 3 rounds as a domestic player. Today’s game seems to be run like the last set of the Woori Card match. Hwang Gyeong-min and Han Seong-jeong will start. Park Jin-woo will be the middle blocker in quarantine due to the corona. It was canceled, but we still decided to send Koreans in. Son Jun-young is going out for the apogee, and Hwang Taek-ui, the setter, has a bad knee, so Shin Seung-hun is starting today.” Woo Sang-jo and Bae Sang-jin were released on the 14th and 15th, respectively, so they were not included in the entry that day.
He continued, “Korean people (playing as middle blockers) are very offensive players. The offensive side was able to pass. I didn’t practice a lot in leading blocking, but I did my part in the Woori Card match. are doing,” he explained. Coach Hu said, “The bad things came all at once. Today’s game will not be easy. We have to do it only with domestic players. I hope you will fight because you have a sense of unity.”토토사이트
Meanwhile, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance desperately needs a victory. With 2 wins (11 losses), they are at the bottom of the table. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance coach Kim Sang-woo said, “I can’t think of anything satisfying in the second round, and it’s a pity that the performance in the two consecutive matches against Hyundai Capital (0-3, 0-3 loss) did not come out. It’s a pity. If I had caught that, it would have been helpful for the modern match in the first game of the 3rd round, but it’s a pity.”
Director Kim Sang-woo said, “It can be a burden that KB foreigners do not appear, but it would be nice to overcome that and take it at our own pace. If that does not happen, it will be difficult.”
The starting was also changed. Manager Kim Sang-woo said, “Today, Shin Shin-ho is going to start instead of Go Jun-yong. Go Jun-yong has a strong point in the serve-receive side, but I want Shin Shin-ho to play a little more aggressively.” Middle blocker Han Sang-gil, who played in the last match, was left out of the 14-man roster. Manager Kim Sang-woo explained, “I was hurt again before the season started, so I’m still not 100%.”
Director Kim Sang-woo said, “I adjusted the combination and speed little by little. I made tactical changes within the available range. The atmosphere in the beginning is important. The first set was weak, but I have to overcome it.”