The team can't get along.
There's infighting in the Pepper Savings Bank women's professional volleyball team. A veteran player, Player A, is accused of constantly harassing her juniors. The Korea Volleyball Organization (KOVO) will hold a punishment committee against player A at 10 am on the 23rd.
The junior players, B and C, were reportedly harassed by the senior player, A, for the past year. It made it difficult for them to continue playing on the team. Pepper Savings Bank understands that Player A's behavior was inappropriate.
The club conducted a follow-up investigation and reported the matter directly to the Volleyball Federation Grievance Center. The federation received the information and decided to hold a penalty committee for Player A.
Pepper Savings Bank said, "We will further clarify our position based on the outcome of the punishment committee."
In the meantime, there have been reports of a senior player harassing younger players for no reason and being overly aggressive. The juniors who were harassed by the player began to avoid the seniors. Teamwork quickly broke down.
Pepper Savings Bank is going through its toughest season this year. The team hasn't won a match in more than three months since a 3-2 set victory over GS Caltex on Nov. 10 last year. They set a new record for the longest losing streak in a single season in the women's game. They have already lost 23 straight matches. It easily surpassed KGC Ginseng Corporation's 20 consecutive losses in the 2012-2013 season, leaving them in disgrace.
With three more losses, they will overtake the V-League record for the most consecutive losses in a single season. They are within 25 losses of the record set by KEPCO (now KEPCO) in the 2008-2009 and 2012-2013 men's seasons, respectively. KEPCO's 27 consecutive 스포츠토토 losses in the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons are also within reach.
Pepper Savings Bank's losing streak this season is also the longest in a single season since the team's inception. The team lost 17 straight games in 2021-2022, its first season in the V-League, and last season. This is the first time they have lost 18 straight games.
In the 2021-2022 season, the first year of the V-League, Pepper Savings Bank finished with 3 wins and 28 losses for 11 points. Last season, they fared slightly better with 5 wins, 31 losses, and 14 points. Of course, they didn't finish above the bottom of the seven clubs for the second consecutive season.
Ahead of this season, Pepper Savings Bank signed one of the league's leading outside hitters, Park Jung-ah, in free agency. They also added proven outside hitter Yasmin Bedardt (real name Yasmin), but their overall organization received a failing grade. The leadership of head coach Joe Trinzi Pepper Savings Bank is also on the chopping block.
The team finished in last place for the third consecutive season. Currently, Pepper Savings Bank has a record of 2 wins, 28 losses, and 8 points. They are one spot above sixth-place Korea Expressway Corporation (10W20L, 32 points). Even if Pepper Savings Bank wins all six of its remaining matches and accumulates 18 points, it will not be able to overtake Korea Express with a total of 26 points. The team's internal turmoil has left them empty-handed this season.
Pepper Savings Bank will play an away match against Roadworks at Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium on the afternoon of the 23rd, when the Korean Volleyball Federation's penalty committee will be held. It will be interesting to see what kind of performance they will show in the chaotic atmosphere. Attention will also be focused on Coach Trinzi's interview before and after the match.
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