Coach of Hillstate Kang Sung Hyung was pleased with the teamwork of his players when they lost to Hi Pass in the sixth round of the Korean Volleyball League.
Hillstate lost 1-3 (21-25, 25-13, 21-25, 17-25) to Hi Pass, Thursday (27/2). This defeat made Hillstate fail to shift Red Sparks.
Red Sparks is still in second place in the Korean Volleyball League with 58 points. Hillstate is right below Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi and friends with a difference of only one point.
Despite the defeat, Sung Hyung still appreciated his team’s performance. Moreover, in the match against Hi Pass, the coach rotated players by giving opportunities to players who rarely played.
Hillstate rested four core players, including mainstay setter Kim Da In, for the match.
“The players must have been nervous, but in terms of teamwork, they were better than I thought. They worked hard while maintaining the atmosphere on the court,” said Sung Hyung.
Sung Hyung also indicated that he would not be too insistent on chasing second place in the standings after the defeat to Hi Pass. He began to think about preparing his team to play in the Korean Volleyball League playoffs against the Red Sparks.
“As we get closer to the playoffs, we will try to improve our teamwork to face the match against the Red Sparks in the playoffs,” he said.
Red Sparks are in the worst situation because they were hit by a storm of injuries in a crucial phase.
Bukilic reportedly had to undergo four to six weeks of injury recovery. Now the situation is getting worse after Park Eun Jin was injured when Red Sparks lost 1-3 to GS Caltex.
Park Eun Jin injured her left ankle when she fell on her teammate Jeon Da Bin’s leg in the third set.
Eun Jin had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. After being checked, Eun Jin’s injury was reported to be not as severe as Bukilic’s.
“It’s unfortunate. There seems to be a fearful atmosphere in the team regarding injuries,” said Red Sparks coach Ko Hee Jin.
“For now, it’s more important for the core players to be able to play in the playoffs than to fight for second place,” Ko Hee Jin added.
