Reporter Dae-ro Park = Foreign players Yelena and Montaño of No. 1 Heungkuk Life Insurance and No. 2 Hyundai E&C, who are competing to win the regular league championship in the women’s professional volleyball division, are boasting of good condition. The performance of the two players is expected to determine the fate of their team in the postseason as well as the regular league nearing the end.
Yelena led a 3-1 come-from-behind victory in the Dodram 2022-2023 V-League Women’s Heungkuk Life Insurance-Pepper Savings Bank game held at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on the 2nd.
When Heungkuk Life Insurance gave Pepper a set and took a blow, Yelena showed her strength. Yelena scored 28 points, including 8 of her rear attacks, 4 interceptions, and 3 serves, and achieved the first triple crown in the women’s division (3 or more points each for blocking, serving, and back attacking) this season. It is the first time that the triple crown has been written in a women’s game since February 4, last year, at GS Caltex’s MoMA.
Yelena, along with Kim Yeon-kyung, is leading the leading run of Heungkuk Life Insurance. Yelena, who played for KGC Ginseng Corporation in the previous season, is showing improved skills after joining Heungkuk Life Insurance this season.
Yelena is currently ranked in the top ranks in all major categories of offense, including 1st in serve, 3rd in scoring, 3rd in back attack, 3rd in quick open, 4th in overall offense, and 5th in open offense.
At Hyundai E&C, second in the league, Montaño is gradually adapting to the team.
Montaño, who joined as a substitute for Yasmin on the 3rd of last month, made her debut in her first match against Pepper Savings Bank on the 10th, where Hyundai E&C lost to the lowest ranked Pepper. 메이저사이트
Unfortunately, after Montaño debuted, Hyundai E&C fell into a losing streak. Even after the Pepper match, they lost three more games and fell into an unprecedented recession.
When Hyundai E&C ended its losing streak by narrowly defeating IBK Industrial Bank after a full set battle on the 25th of last month, Montaño showed a different appearance in the game against GS Caltex on the 1st as if he was relieved of the burden. Montaño not only scored 21 points, the most in the team, but also showed off his decisive power to end the game with a serve score at the end of the third set.
Montaño seems to be gaining confidence by escaping from the shadow of Yasmin, who was regarded as the strongest foreign player. Hyundai E&C’s coaching staff and players are also helping Montaño adapt by calling him ‘Lee Bong-yi (a nickname derived from Montaño’s name, Lee Bone)’.
While Heungkuk Life Insurance and Hyundai Engineering & Construction continue to compete fiercely for first place in the regular league, which directly takes the championship match, the future performance of Yelena and Montaño is expected to be directly related to the team’s performance this season.