“After all, domestic players and foreigners alike play well when they are scolded and disliked.”

GS Caltex swept the Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Jungkwanjang 3-0 (27-25 25-19 25-15) on Thursday at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul. They were coming off a close full-set loss to Pepper Savings Bank 토토 in their previous match, but bounced back with a sweep.

Silva exploded for 34 points. After a 9-point first set, he scored 14 points in the second set on a 68.42% attack percentage. He continued his strong performance in the third set to give his team the win. Kang So-hwi followed suit with 12 points. With 3 points, GS Caltex trailed leader Heungkuk Life (20 points) by 3 points.

After the game, Cha credited Silva’s offensive step change for the win. “After all, domestic players and foreigners alike do well when they are yelled at and disliked,” Cha said, laughing as he talked about the steps. As the game went on, I wondered if his physical strength had dropped, and he was hanging on to the ball and hitting it. I showed him a video and pointed out that he needed to play faster. He got it right away. We prepared by emphasizing speed, and it worked,” he said with satisfaction.

After losing to Pepper Savings Bank the day before, the team needed a win. “Losing today was very damaging to the team. If it was a hump, it was a hump. Our next game is against Heungkuk Life. I wanted to make sure we got the three points. The owner was here, and I didn’t want a bad result. There was a lot of pressure, so I fought hard. I wasn’t too anxious after the first set.”

Kang So-hwi’s diagonal spot has been a problem all season. Kwon Min-ji started the match, but the offense was shaky and Yoo Seo-yeon was brought in. “It’s unavoidable,” Cha said. The season is long. We have to change the players who are in good condition through training and according to the flow. The players have to accept it.”

The team will meet Heungkuk Sinsung on the 17th. Cha said, “I’m nervous. It’s all about how we prepare depending on the result. We’ll try to prepare well because we’re preparing to win.”