The winter was hot, the spring was warm.
The 2023-2024 season of Dodram got off to a good start. We got lucky with the foreigner selection, which is responsible for half of the year’s farming. With the third pick in the Asian quota, which was introduced for the first time this season, the team selected Indonesian international Apojit spiker Megawati Putih (real name Mega). In the subsequent foreign player tryout, the team selected 6-foot-5 outside hitter Giovanna Milana (née Zia) with the fourth pick.
After starting with no major changes to the lineup, Jung Kwan-jang had a furious first round. They finished the first round with four wins and two losses. The offense of foreigners Mega “Ssangpo” and Jia was threatening, and the trio was balanced by 메이저 토토사이트 Park Hye-min’s steady presence in place of Lee So-young, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
There were some shaky moments throughout the season. She struggled to climb up the rankings, which had dropped to sixth place, and dropped winnable matches, which made the court even more chaotic. That changed in the fourth round, when Lee So-young returned to the starting lineup. The final piece of the puzzle Jung Kwan-jang had been waiting for returned. With Lee stabilizing the reception and opening up the offense, the Mega-Jia-Isoyoung trio was in place.
The center naturally came to life and reclaimed the fourth spot. After finishing the fourth round with a 4-2 record, the team went through the All-Star Break and became a completely different Jung Kwan-jang in the second half. His late-game surge was unstoppable. The team gained confidence as they swept both Heungkuk Life and Hyundai E&C, who were ranked higher than them, side by side.
The long-awaited spring has arrived, and while Jung Kwan-jang was celebrating a victory that clinched a playoff berth for the first time in seven years, So Young’s injury struck. In the second set, at 2-2, she landed after a block and twisted her left ankle, sending her off on a stretcher. She didn’t break it by stepping on someone’s foot, but the injury was serious. She was diagnosed with a torn ligament, two of three ligaments.
Without the trio, the team took the first set against Heungkuk Saengsim in the first round of the playoffs, but dropped the remaining sets and headed into the match with a one-game deficit. In addition, Jung Ho-young suffered a knee injury in the middle of the match, forcing the team to pull out the hidden card of Kim Se-in in the second round.
It worked. Although he was limited to just nine points, Kim boasted a 64.71% receiving efficiency and carried the series into Game 3. However, the result was a 0-3 loss. The spring volleyball tournament, which was held for the first time in seven years, came to an early end.
Head coach Ko Hee-jin didn’t blame anyone. “I don’t want to make excuses for injured players. It’s disappointing, but it’s also something that our players need to prepare for once again. I don’t want it to be said that we lost because no one was available. I don’t want to hear excuses. Heungkuk Life dominated. I want to say congratulations to them.”
After the season, Chung decided to stay with the team. He signed a 2+1 year contract and succeeded in re-signing. Now that they are in the off-season, the team is cracking down on house rabbits. Four players, Lee So-young, Nolan, Park Eun-jin, and Park Hye-min, are now free agents.
Chung wants to take on the role again next spring after a long absence, and the team will look to go beyond the playoffs next season.