"From now on, it's real." Hwang Taek-ui announced his return, Lee Joon-young announced his name, and KB Insurance announced the real start

"From now on, it's real." Hwang Taek-ui announced his return, Lee Joon-young announced his name, and KB Insurance announced the real start

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Someone returned to a familiar place, and someone made their name known properly. That's how the real season of KB Insurance began.

KB Insurance and KEPCO's Dodram 2024-2025 V-League men's first round match at Uijeongbu Indoor Gymnasium on the 9th was a must-see game for KB Insurance. It was the last chance to avoid all round losses while losing five consecutive games, and it was also a game that needed to create an opportunity for a rebound as the team's commander Hwang Taek-ui returns after being discharged from the military.
KB Insurance achieved their goal. It beat KEPCO 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-23) to secure its first win of the season. Returning commander Hwang Taek's performance was also remarkable. He maximized KB Insurance's strength by running the game quickly and concisely. Two score points on serve were bonus. Another player had an impressive day. It was rookie Lee Joon-young. Lee scored his first V-League goal by hitting a fastball on the day and even secured his first win on his first blocking, which was an unforgettable day for him.

After the game, the two players visited the interview room together. First of all, Lee Joon-young said, "The losing streak is getting long, so I thought a lot that I need to cut it quickly to move on. I'm glad I broke the losing streak before the end of the first round," and Hwang Taek-ui also said, "I've watched the players shrink a lot from losing consecutive games. I'm happy to win the game, and I'm also happy to be able to shake off the burden."

Afterwards, he spoke with Hwang first. Hwang played his first game as the starting setter after returning to the roster on the day, and played a crucial role in breaking his team's losing streak. "I thought we could have had a bad chemistry so far, but I think we did a better job than expected," Hwang said, referring to his teamwork with strikers.

Currently, KB Insurance's player composition has many things that can be shown to Hwang Taek-ui. There are various attack options that can be used from the clear double gun that Andres Villena (registered name Villena) and Na Kyung-bok are building, to the diagonal position of the outside heater where Cha Young-seok, Choi Yo-han and Lee Joon-young are holding out and Yoon Seo-jin are active. Hwang Taek-ui expressed satisfaction with the team's composition, saying, "For sure, all the players on the court can do their part, so I can trust and raise it. If you raise it twice, you can comfortably play the game with the belief that once you will score points unconditionally."

I also had various conversations with Lee. When Lee scored his first goal in the V-League through a fastball at 21-21 in the second set, Lee said, "It would be a lie if I didn't have greed to score first. I was paying attention to it. However, the moment I entered the court, I didn't care about such things and thought that I should help the team somehow. I am glad that such mindset has led to good personal results."

Lee Joon-young's performance did not stop there. In the third set, he stepped on the court as a starting middle blocker and blocked Lim Sung-jin's open attack with a block at 17-17, capturing his first block in the V-League, which leads his team's turnaround. "I didn't want to use the fact that I was a rookie as an excuse. I made up my mind to help the team with my confident play as much as the coach trusted me and put it in," said Lee Joon-young, who introduced his mindset in the third set, adding, "I was able to hold the first block because the guys talked a lot about me and positioned me well."

A day before Lee Joon-young's performance, his sister Lee Da-hyun scored 14 points, including seven blocks, at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on the 8th, leading Hyundai Engineering & Construction to win. However, Lee Joon-young, who was eager to prepare for the Korea Electric Power Corporation match, did not see his sister's game in real time. "I didn't watch my sister's game properly because I was watching the men's game. I could see from the article that she did a great job," Lee Joon-young, who confessed honestly, said, "I promised to be called Lee Joon-young's sister Lee Da-hyun during the draft, not Lee Da-hyun's brother Lee Joon-young, but now I think I've taken the first step to keep that promise. Now, sister, get nervous!" in a playful voice.

Although they had just started to work together for the first time in practice, Hwang and Lee have already built up a strong trust through practice. Hwang said, "When I just returned to the team, I worked with (Lee) Joon-young a few times on the B court. Since then, I have been expecting that Jun-young will do well. I think he is ready. I still have to work on it more, but I think I will be able to do well in the future."

Lee Joon-young also praised Hwang. "(Hwang) Taek's brother is known for being the best setter in Korea. I was so excited to be on the same team as Taek's brother even after joining the team. Considering his capabilities, I think I am not good enough yet. I will do my best," he said, expressing his affection for his senior.

Finally, the two players unanimously said, "I think KB Insurance's season has just begun. Thank you for your support and interest, and I will do my best to present you with the victory." It was a rough first round, but the return of the commander-in-chief and the emergence of a rookie who made his name known were enough to make us look forward to the future. KB Insurance's season began in earnest with the victory. 먹튀검증