On the 12th, Shandong Xiaoman proved to be formidable once again, following their previous 3-2 victory over the Beijing women's volleyball team. This time, they emerged victorious with an even more decisive win, securing a four-game losing streak for Beijing. This playoff performance was particularly disappointing for Beijing, as it demonstrated that their good fortune in the regular season could not carry them through when faced with three foreign players in the playoffs. This loss also effectively eliminated Beijing from contention for a top-four finish, raising questions about the future of their coach, Chu Huihai.
The scores for the four games between Shandong and Beijing were: 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-19. Looking at the individual performances, we can identify some reasons for Beijing's significant underperformance:
Shandong's technical statistics are as follows:
Sun Jie scored 21 points, with 17 successful hits out of 47 attempts, 8 errors blocked, 3 blocks, and 1 serve, resulting in a hitting success rate of 17/47=36%. This data is indeed quite poor. Sun Jie's performance this year has been inconsistent, and it's unclear what the issue might be. Could there be a problem with her coordination with the second setter? Generally speaking, without a sense of connection, it's challenging to perform well!
Jie Shengyan scored 15 points, with 13 successful hits out of 32 attempts, 2 errors blocked, and 2 blocks, achieving a hitting success rate of 13/32=40.6%. This is a significant improvement from the previous game, but considering her potential partnership with her sister Jie Shengyu, the outcome is somewhat disappointing. Youth is fleeting, and if she doesn't step up her efforts, encountering a CB will only make matters worse!
Yang Hanyu also scored 15 points, with 10 successful hits out of 15 attempts, 1 error blocked, and 5 blocks, boasting a hitting success rate of 66.7%. This is one of Yang Hanyu's most outstanding performances, including five blocks. Currently, Yang Hanyu stands as one of the best-performing local players in the league as a vice attacker!
Wang Wenhuan contributed 9 points, with 7 successful hits out of 11 attempts, 1 error blocked, 1 block, and 1 serve, achieving a hitting success rate of 7/11=63.6%. Wang Wenhuan has finally shown progress, which is commendable. Shandong women's volleyball team desperately needs a meticulous and skilled coach!
Du Qingqing scored 8 points, with 6 successful hits out of 18 attempts, 1 error blocked, 1 block, and 1 serve, maintaining a consistent but subpar hitting success rate of 33%. It's suggested that injuries have affected her performance, but after being coached by CB, she has managed to improve significantly!
Indeed, special recognition should go to Yang Hanyu, who has consistently excelled throughout the league this year, providing crucial support for Shandong women's volleyball team. This is particularly valuable for a team that has traditionally struggled with their main attackers. It's somewhat disheartening that despite being known for producing tall and strong players, Shandong has failed to cultivate a high-quality main attacker. This reflects a broader concern among China's women's volleyball coaching staff.
Even the current national youth team coach, Kuang Qi, has not managed to develop a strong main attacker for his provincial team, which is also regrettable!
Is he perhaps inspired by Wu Mengjie's growth and planning to commit long-term to coaching Jiangxi women's volleyball?
Following this, Wu Mengjie could potentially return to her hometown in Jiangxi to serve, although this does seem like a possibility.
It's evident that Jiangxi has shown great determination in building their women's volleyball team over the past two years, strongly attracting players from Jiangsu women's volleyball team and collaborating with Shandong women's volleyball team. Additionally, luring the national youth team coach Kuang Qi to join them signifies many implications, reflecting Jiangxi women's volleyball team's resolve!
Moreover, there is still the U21 World Championship (World Youth Championship) this year, which Kuang Qi is likely to coach again. Considering the Chinese women's volleyball team that once produced three major MVPs from the World Youth Championship—Zhu Ting, Yang Hanyu, and Zhuang Yushan—it's now only Yang Hanyu who isn't shining as brightly as Zhu Ting and Zhuang Yushan.
However, it's said that the growth and maturation of vice attackers occur later, much like Yan Ni, who overshadowed many others, keeping Wang Yuanyuan on the bench?
Therefore, let's hope that Yang Hanyu continues to shine, regardless of her position as a vice attacker, as long as she scores points, the value remains the same!