Korean women’s volleyball team member Moon Jung-won (31-Korea Expressway Corporation) will be transformed into a libero at the upcoming Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2023, which starts on 30 October.
Moon’s main position is as an outside hitter (right side). However, national team head coach Cesar Hernandez and coach Han Yoo-mi took note of Moon’s defensive skills as a specialist libero and selected her as a libero in the squad for the VNL.
The other libero is Shin Yeon-kyung, who plays for IBK. If the team had planned to use Shin as a starter, they would not have selected Moon Jung-won, whose main position is outside hitter, as a backup.
In the 2022-23 season, Moon played 35 games in the V-League Women’s Division, finishing second in the league with a 56.94 per cent receiving efficiency. Only specialised libero Lee Myeong-ok posted a higher percentage, at 59.85 per cent. Shin Yeon-kyung is fourth with 50.00 per cent.
The Korean women’s volleyball team lost 12 games in the VNL last year. Their setters were unable to deliver accurate tosses due to their opponents’ strong serves, which led to a vicious cycle of inaccurate attacks. Handa Hye, the starting libero, had a 38.42 per cent receiving efficiency in the tournament. Only once in her full-time career did she exceed 50 per cent, against the Dominican Republic.
Her serve receive is the start of the offence. There are plenty of liberos who are quicker and better at digging (defending against balls other than the opponent’s serve) than Moon. But when it comes to serve receive stability, Moon Jung-won is the best. Lee Myeong-ok, who is thirty-eight years old, doesn’t fit in with the theme of generational change in the national team. Moon Jung-won is a good serve. He can also help in attack.
There are also concerns. Moon Jung-won has always been a support player for the main libero. She has never played a game where her main task is to receive. She will also be unfamiliar with the libero-only rule, where she can only play under-toss in the front row. 메이저놀이터
Libero Moon Jung-won is a key player for the Korean team at the VNL. “I don’t want to hear the words ‘libero was the problem’,” Moon said before departing for Week 1 host Turkuye on the 22nd.