Women’s volleyball rookie setter Lee Yoon-shin of GS Caltex has also entered the rookie of the year race.
The current leader in the 2023-2024 V-League Women’s Volleyball Rookie of the Year race is middle blocker Kim Se-bin of the Korea Expressway Corporation. Born in 2005, the 6-foot-5 Kim made her V-League debut early and has been steadily gaining experience. In 19 games and 74 sets this season, she has over 100 points. She ranks 30th in the league in scoring, seventh in blocking, and 15th in fast breaks.
After Kim, there’s a newcomer who is also making waves. 온라인카지노 That would be GS Caltex setter Lee Yoon-shin.
Lee was selected in the first round of the 2023 Rookie Draft with the fourth overall pick. She has appeared in nine matches and 20 sets. After making her debut on November 17 as a substitute, Lee Yoon-shin has been on the court consistently as a substitute.
However, on Nov. 2 against Pepper Savings Bank, he made his first professional start and led the team to a 3-0 victory.
GS Caltex head coach Cha Sang-hyun was pleased with the rookie setter’s performance. “She practiced for a short period of time in the starting lineup, but overall, I’m satisfied. This will be a great experience for me. As a player, I have to survive, but I’m also happy from a coaching standpoint. I think it will be an opportunity to compete in good faith with Kim Ji-won.”
“We’ll have to wait and see, but I think she basically has it in her head how to operate. She tends to get the ball in her hands and then run well with speed.”
It’s still a process of filling in the gaps with experience. Coach Cha also said, “I’m coordinating with my sisters in practice because of my lack of experience. Even in matches, if they have one or two wobbles, they panic, but you have to be patient with them,” he said.
“It’s okay to take a left or right toss. The same goes for the tempo of the offense. I think it will be important to see how much the receivers hold on to it, and if the nervousness goes down and we gain experience, I think we will be better than we are now,” he said.
Lee Yoon-shin, who won her first professional start, said, “I was very nervous before the first whistle. After I put the ball up, I relaxed,” she said, adding, “Unlike in high school, there are a lot of fans cheering for me in the pros, so I feel more nervous.”
She gave herself a score of 60 out of 100. “I had a lot of unstable tosses, and there were a lot of balls that were difficult to handle. I think I need to be more stable and make fewer unforced errors,” she said.
“I tried to use a lot of fastballs, but I think I used a lot of them, so it’s good,” she said, referring to the fast-ball chemistry of veteran middle blockers Jung Dae-young and Han Su-ji.
When asked about her strengths, she said, “I don’t think I’m shaky,” and when asked about her technical strengths, she said, “I don’t think I have any,” which made her laugh.
GS Caltex’s Kim Ji-won is also playing her first season as a starting setter. If she falters, GS Caltex needs someone to steady her. This is where Lee Yoon-shin comes into play.
“In the next game, I want to make it easier for my sisters to hit the ball well, and I also want to score points for serving and blocking,” Yoon said, adding, “I also want to be the rookie king.”
Meanwhile, Lee Yoon-shin is still a student at Jungang Girls’ High School. Her graduation is coming up soon. “My graduation is on January 10th. There is a Hyundai E&C game on that day. I don’t know if I will attend the graduation ceremony,” she said, showing a shy smile.
With rookie Kim Se-bin still holding the upper hand in the rookie of the year race, it will be interesting to see if Lee Yoon-shin, who was given the chance to start late in the league, can shake things up.
