KEPCO’s wing duo, who jointly scored two valuable victory points, clashed fists while shouting ‘good job’ to each other. It was a short and bold greeting, befitting the players who boasted the heart of a warrior.
KEPCO has recently played a full set in three consecutive games. The result was 1 win 2 losses. The process was difficult, and the results were somewhat disappointing, so the players had no choice but to be exhausted on both sides of their mind and body. So, for this match, I tried to win cleanly without going to the 5th set.
However, the match did not turn out as intended. The Dodram 2022-2023 V-League Men’s Round 5 match between KEPCO and Samsung Fire & Marine, held at Suwon Indoor Gymnasium on the 19th, went to the 5th set again. KEPCO players faced a situation where they had to challenge their limits both physically and mentally.
At the moment of crisis, Seo Jae-deok and Tais less host (registered name Tais) flew up. Seo Jae-deok dominated the flow at the beginning of the 5th set by making use of 3 consecutive serves including 1 point in the score of 2-1. Tais scored 8 points only in the 5th set, and the attack success rate was very high at 80%. KEPCO won a set score of 3-2 (20-25, 25-15, 18-25, 25-20, 15-12) amidst the performance of the two players who combined a total of 49 points in the game.
After the game, the two players who visited the interview room looked back on the game coolly. Seo Jae-deok said, “I played the game in a somewhat depressed state because the start was uneasy. Still, from the second set onwards, the players overcame difficulties and produced good results. I’m glad,” he said.
Tais said, “I think our team needs to learn how to win the first set. These days, there are many cases where the first set is started uneasy. All players have to take more responsibility, and they have to warm up their bodies more thoroughly. In this game, it seems that the players lacked a bit of responsibility in the first set,” pointing out the anxiety at the beginning of the game.
The two players faced the 4th full set match of the 5th round in this match. I was curious about his physical condition and mindset. First, I asked Seo Jae-deok about his physical condition. Seo Jae-deok said, “I was a bit heavy throughout the game, but the coach took care of my physical condition to the extent that he didn’t even allow me to run until the day before the game. I think you could see that I was stressed out. Thanks to the coach’s help, I appeared in the game in good physical condition, and I think my rhythm was fine.”
Tais was asked about his feelings at the moment he entered the 5th set of 4 in a row. Then Tais said, “Personally, the 5th set is the most fun for me. I tend to enjoy high tension. In the 5th set, only the side that overcomes the tension is allowed to win. It feels like a real war, not just a game. It’s really fun,” he said, showing off his warrior’s heart.
Tais showed a sluggish appearance until the 3rd set in this game. His attack success rate was only 39.29%. “The body was good,” Tais said. However, he was given too many situations where he had to hit difficult balls, and as a result, his success rate dropped. Of course, my role is one where I have to deal with difficult balls boldly, but I think there were too many situations like that until the 3rd set. As in the 5th set, when there are more situations where set plays are performed stably, my confidence goes up.”
Tais wasn’t the only player with a warrior’s heart. Seo Jae-deok was also heavily armed with the heart of a warrior. The sluggishness of Thais in the early and mid-half of the match could have increased the burden on Seo Jae-deok on the other side. However, Seo Jae-deok did not care and showed his performance to the fullest. He scored 20 points, the second most on the team, with an offensive success rate of 57.69%. 온라인바카라
Seo Jae-deok said, “I believed in Thais because he is an undoubted player who does his job no matter how sluggish. He wasn’t worried at all, he just focused on my volleyball and tried to solve the ball coming up to me as best as possible.”
Seo Jae-deok was able to aim for the first triple crown of the season on this day, but unfortunately, he was one point short of a serve (2 points for serve, 4 points for back attack, and 3 points for blocking). When asked if there was any regret about this, Seo Jae-deok opened his eyes wide and said, “Has one real sub grown? Wow, it’s a pity (laughs). I didn’t know that. It’s so sad after hearing it,” he said with a big smile.
Lastly, I asked Seo Jae-deok and Thais to thank each other for winning the difficult game together. The two wrestlers smiled shyly and clashed fists while shouting “Good job, bro” side by side. After that, they patted each other’s shoulders and exchanged bright smiles.
It was only a short word, but the affection and trust of the two players for each other was conveyed intact. Attention is focusing on whether KEPCO, which finished the 5th round in a good mood, will be able to continue its good performance in the 6th round with Seo Jae-deok and Thais at the fore.