Hyojin Yang as she prepares for her first championship in eight years

Hyundai E&C's Yang Hyo-jin said the women's professional volleyball team, which is playing in its first championship match in eight years, made a vow to "enjoy it for once."

Hyundai E&C won the first leg of the 2023-24 V-League Women's Championship (best-of-five series) against Heungkuk Life Insurance 3-2 (18-25 14-24 25-20 25-20 16-14) at Suwon Gymnasium on Monday.

Despite being down two sets to none, Hyundai E&C showed great stamina and focus in the final set to win the third set and take a step towards the overall title.

For Yang Hyo-jin, the championship match was even more special. After winning the championship in 2015-16, Yang led her team to the top of the regular season in 2019-20 and 2021-22, but the postseason was canceled due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Last season, the first spring volleyball season since the end of the pandemic, the team lost in the playoffs and failed to reach the championship game despite being considered a strong favorite.

As such, she is very motivated for this championship match, but she is still not 100% due to a neck injury.

In fact, the first two sets were heavy for her, as she was playing for the first time and still dealing with the effects of the injury.

"I didn't want to make excuses, but I wanted to hit higher and move faster, but it didn't work out the way I wanted," she said.

But then came the big turnaround. From the third set onward, HCE's performance, including Yang Hyo-jin, came to life.

"We talked to each other about winning at least one set first," Yang said of the situation. When we put our minds down, our bodies became lighter and the match gradually got easier," she recalled.

"We didn't win when we needed to win. So, win or lose, I made a mental note to myself, 'Let's enjoy playing in the championships for once,'" he said, adding, "Now I'm enjoying the fact that I'm playing in the championships and trying to win. Of course, I think I need to play better to enjoy it," he laughed.

The match also marked the first championship match 메이저사이트 between Yang Hyo-jin and Kim Yeon-kyung, two of the biggest stars of the V-League Women's Division and close friends.

It was Kim's seventh championship match and Yang's fifth, but the two players met for the first time in an oddly staggered fashion. The result was a decision win for Yang.

"She's so good, so I was rooting for her but hoping we wouldn't meet. I would have been physically exhausted today, but she was still amazing," she said with mixed emotions, but didn't put much importance on the matchup.

"I don't really think of it as a battle between me and (Kim) Yeon-kyung. I was able to win today because my other teammates, including Moma Basoko (registered name Moma) and Wipawi Sithong (registered name Wipai), played well. I don't have to put any pressure on myself," she said, adding that she will focus on winning for the team.