With injuries to Lee Ju-ah’s finger and Kim Chae-yeon’s elbow leaving a “hole” in the middle of the court, the women’s volleyball team Heungkuk Life has an unexpected new middle blocker.
It’s Tokoku Reina (Japanese: Reina), who joined the team this season as an Asia Quarter.
Standing at 177 centimeters tall and originally playing as an outside hitter and outside spiker, Reina replaced Kim Na-hee in the middle blocker position at the end of the first set against GS Caltex at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on March 31.
Her performance exceeded expectations.
Despite her lack of height for a middle blocker, she used her athleticism to grab two blocks and score eight points to help her team win the set 3-0.
She also had a 75% attack success rate.
Because of her unfamiliarity with the position, she didn’t show any of the attacks that middle blockers usually try, such as fastballs and mobile attacks, but Heungkuk Life coach Marcello Abondanza gave her a passing grade.
“Playing Reina as a middle blocker was something we prepared for,” Abondanza said after the game. It will take time for her to show her full potential, but she had two blocks at key moments and a high attack percentage.”
“Lee Ju-ah won’t take long to come back, but Kim Chae-yeon might take a little longer. Until then, there is no reason not to use Reina (as a middle blocker).”
Reyna, who has mostly played in the ‘warm-up zone’ since the start of the tournament and scored her highest single-game point total against GS Caltex, 바카라사이트 said after the game, “I didn’t feel like I had to start. All the coach asked me to do was to fill a hole in the team. I was surprised that I got to play middle blocker, but I’m glad I was able to help the team.”
Born in 1999, Reina played for Denso Aerobiz in the Japanese League and spent a year in the Finnish League last year.
This is her first time playing middle blocker at the professional level.
“I played middle blocker for about three months in high school,” Reina said.
Kim also gave a thumbs up to Reina’s surprise performance.
Kim hugged Reina after she clinched the set with a block on a deuce in the second set.
“Reina has really good offense and jumping power. I think she can show better offense in the future. I think she will get better and better in the future.”
Reina has said that Kim is her idol since she joined Heungkuk Life.
Kim had a great career in the Japanese league and used it as a springboard to reach the European stage.
Although she hasn’t had many conversations with Kim yet due to her shy nature, Reina is thrilled to be playing alongside her idol.
“Kim Yeon-kyung has been telling me, ‘You don’t have to be nervous,'” she laughed. 온라인카지노사이트