“We have to be different” 13 wins, 90 losses, 12% winning percentage, four years of losing… With legendary coach MB, no more last-place humiliation

“It’s time to be different.”

Pepper Savings Bank is the youngest club in the V-League, founded in 2021. They took a strong step forward with their first head coach Kim Hyung-shil, but the season didn’t go the way they wanted. In 2021-22, the team finished with 11 points, 3 wins and 28 losses, in 2022-23, 14 points, 5 wins and 31 losses, and in 2023-24, 17 points, 5 wins and 31 losses. All of which were at the bottom of the league. Pepper Savings Bank is the first V-League Women’s team to finish at the bottom of the league for three consecutive years. In three seasons, they have a record of 13 wins, 90 losses, and a 12% winning percentage.

Due to their poor performance, the team has changed coaches every time since its inception. The first head coach, Kim Hyung-sil, resigned early in the 2022-23 season, and the second head coach, Kim Ahen, left the team without making his V-League debut. The third head coach, Joe Trinzi, was also unsuccessful and returned to his home country late last season. The team’s then-head coach, 스포츠토토사이트 Lee Kyung-soo, who is now the general secretary, served as acting head coach for two consecutive seasons.

After struggling for the past three seasons, Pepper Savings Bank is quickly preparing for the 2024-25 season. The first step is the appointment of former SBS Sports commentator Jang Ji-yeon, a legendary Korean middle blocker, as the new head coach.

“With a stellar playing career and many years of experience as a commentator in the women’s league, Ms. Jang has a strong understanding of the women’s volleyball organization and players. Based on her strong leadership and operational skills, she is the right person with excellent communication skills to break through the situation the club is facing and unite the players into one team,” said Pepper Savings Bank.

The V-League Women’s Division appointed Lee Yong-hee, a coach with a thick skin, as the head coach, and brought in Shin Eum, who was known as a salaryman during his active career. He will add great strength to improve the skills of the setters, which were evaluated as weaknesses, and the reception and defense of the wing attackers.

Pepper Savings Bank, which spent a lot of money last season signing Lee Han-bi, Park Jung-ah, and Chae Sun-ah, focused on solidifying their defense this time around. They filled the void left by Oh Ji-young, who left the team due to “bullying of juniors,” with GS Caltex franchise star Ha Ha-hye. They also brought in free agent middle blocker Lim Joo-eun from Roadworks to bolster their middle blocker lineup. They also acquired setter Lee Won-jung via trade and outside hitter Lee Yerim, who was recently released from Roadworks.

They’ve already gotten the players they wanted with the No. 1 overall pick in the Asian Quarter and Foreign Player Draft. They added Zhang Yu, a 6-foot-9 middle blocker from China, and Barbara Javic, a 6-foot-9 outside hitter from Croatia.

“It’s hard to play when you’re outmatched in height,” Choi said. It’s hard to play when you’re losing in height. I think we need to train to utilize that height. We’ve been focusing on apogee spikers, but that can be too narrow, so we’ve been looking at a wide range of players.”

The team is also preparing for 194-centimeter middle blocker Yin Erhung, who hasn’t played well in the past two seasons. In addition, we have the organizational support of the club and the love of the Gwangju fans. Now it’s up to the players to show their quality and performance. The players know that.

The players of Pepper Savings Bank, who met at the Gwangju Pepper Stadium on the 11th, spoke in unison.

Fourth-year outside hitter Eunseo Park said, “The atmosphere in training has lightened up. In the past, we used to say, ‘It’s okay, let’s try again,’ but now we are trying to fill in the gaps with details and details.”

Middle blocker Ha Hye-jin said, “I think this year will be different. The coach shares a lot of his own experiences with the players. Last year, the fans said, ‘We’ll come to watch until Pepper Savings Bank wins,’ but this year, we’ll do our best to make sure they come to watch a fun game.”

Transfer outside hitter Lee Yerim said, “I feel a bit sad. “We’ll have to wait until we take the lid off, but we have to do our best to make sure that when we do, we’ll be able to say that it’s different. All of our players are working hard.”

No more last-place humiliation for Pepper Savings Bank in 2024-25.