KEPCO attacker Lim Sung-jin hugged the net post and lamented intensely after his quick opener was blocked by Andres Villena (registered name Villena) in the second set 15-16 against KB Insurance on Monday.
It was the third consecutive block for Lim, whose previous two attacks had also been blocked by Villena.
Fortunately, KEPCO took the second set and the match ended with a set score of 3-1 (25-23 25-22 15-25 25-22).
The hero of the match was Lim Sung-jin. He wasn’t intimidated by the blocking, scoring five points in the final four sets and boasting a 100% attack success rate.
It summarized the fact that he was once an introvert and lacked confidence, but is now the undisputed ace of the team.
Lim Sung-jin scored the most points (18) on the day, excluding foreign players from both teams.
“I should have been thinking rationally and calmly, but I was angry and hit him emotionally,” Lim recalled after the game, adding that it was the attacker’s mistake for the offense to lose a shutout like that.
“My brothers were like, ‘It’s in the past, let’s lighten up. Let’s lighten up,'” he said, adding that he was grateful that his brothers laughed and said, “I was able to get out of my emotions.
Behind Lim’s good play, not only on this day, but this season, is the teamwork of the Korean Warriors.
This season, Lim ranks 10th in points (309), 10th in attack percentage (50.38%), 6th in digs (0.228 per set), and 3rd in defense (4.848 per set).
“My brothers usually try to give me a lot of confidence,” Lim said. They tell me, ‘Don’t feel pressured, don’t be anxious, do what you want to do,'” he recalls, “but they also give me responsibility by saying, ‘Act like an ace.'”
“I really want to repay them for their trust in me,” he said, “When I joined, I felt like a puppet, just doing what I was told, but as I’ve gained more experience, I feel like I’ve gotten more freedom.”
The host next to him, Taith Dull (registered name Taith), also has strong feelings for Young Gun Lim.
“The responsibility should be on me, Shin Young-seok, Seo Jae-duk, and other experienced players,” he said. Sungjin just needs to work hard in his own way,” he said affectionately.