"Mokpo Women's Award Motivation." Kim Daeun and Lee Joo-ah, "Young Player Award is mine."
"Mokpo Women's Award Motivation." Kim Daeun and Lee Joo-ah, "Young Player Award is mine."
Blog Article
Even a "best friend" who played on the same court throughout his school days cannot share the trophy.
The competition to win the Young Player Award in the women's professional volleyball league in the 2024-2025 season seems to be flowing into a two-way race between Kim Dae-eun (setter) of the Korea Expressway Corporation and Lee Ju-ah (outside heater, 18) of GS Caltex. The Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) has newly established the Young Player Award for players in their first to third years of debut, instead of the Rookie Player Award, so that more players can receive the award from this season.
Kim Dae-eun and Lee Ju-ah played volleyball together at Hadang Elementary School in Mokpo, and continued to play in Mokpo movies and Mokpo Girls' Award together. In the women's rookie draft held in September, Kim Dae-eun ranked first overall and Lee Ju-ah ranked third overall to become a professional athlete. "I still keep in touch with Jo-ah every day," Kim said. "I'm concerned about the competition (for Young Player Award)."
Kim Dae-eun made her professional debut as a substitute from the first set of the team's opening match (against Pepper Savings Bank on October 22). At the match against Hyundai Engineering and Construction on October 31, her team's third game, she even had the first chance to start. With a total of 1,210 sets (tosses) as of Saturday, Kim has eliminated Lee Yoon-jeong (595), who was the team's built-in setter until the last season, to solidify her position as the starting member. "She is a setter who excels in ball control and is aggressive in running games," Korea Expressway Corporation coach Kim Jong-min said.
Kim Dae-eun, who is tall at 179 centimeters, is also good at blocking. At the match against GS Caltex on June 10, her sixth game since her debut as a pro player, she garnered three blockings. She also successfully played three serve aces against Pepper Savings Bank on June 19. However, the "backtoss" of sending the ball to the right side of the court is considered a point to be supplemented. Analysts say she is still calm even in the match. 안전놀이터
Lee Ju-ah is considered highly promising as she is the only high school player who joined the European training for the women's volleyball team in July and August before the rookie draft. One of the biggest strengths of Lee is her offense power. Starting with 16 points at a match against Hyundai Engineering and Construction on March 3, Lee scored 19 points at a match against Pepper Savings Bank and 17 points at a match against Korea Expressway Corporation on June 6, ranking 30th in the league with 99 points overall. However, she still needs to improve her receiving and defense capabilities.