The regular league will play a total of 252 games, 126 games each for men and women, over six rounds until March 17, 2024. The postseason will run from March 20 to 27 if semi-playoffs are held, and the subsequent championship game will be held from March 28 to April 6 in a best-of-five series.
Meanwhile, there will be several changes this season, including the selection of foreign players in the Asian quarter and changes in some tournament management guidelines. Among them, I would like to introduce the main contents as a point of view.
Asian players to be on the court anew
Asian players from six countries, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, will play on the court through the Asian Quarter System, which was introduced to the V-League for the first time this season.
First of all, in the men's division, there are Mongolian duo Eddie (Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance) and Bayarsaihan (OK Financial Group), who came to Korea in 2017 and graduated from Sungkyunkwan University and Inha University, respectively. The two players entered the V-League six years after going to Korea, and Eddie, in particular, reunited with his teacher Kim Sang-woo in the professional team when he was a student at Sungkyunkwan University.
Meanwhile, Tsai Pei-chang, a mid-blocker for the Taiwanese national team who was called by Hyundai Capital, was selected as the best middle blocker in the 22-23 season in his own league, and Liu Hong-min (KB Insurance), an outside heater for the Taiwanese national team, also played in several leagues, including Japan and Thailand, as well as Taiwan.
In addition, like Libero Ryohei Iga (Korea Electric Power Corporation), who played for the Panasonic Panthers in Japan's V. League until last season, Apojit Issei Otake (Woori Card), a former Japanese national team player who has won two league titles and won second place, and Mark Espejo (Korean Air), a Filipino outside heater who has been active in the national team since he was selected for the Philippine national team at the age of 18 in 2015, are preparing to participate.
In the women's division, three Thai players who played in the Hangzhou Asian Games, including the last VNL, are drawing attention. They include the main setter Ponfun Gedfard (IBK Industrial Bank), Apojit Tanacha Suksot (Korea Expressway Corporation), and the outside heater Wipawi Shitong (Hyundai Engineering & Construction). Expectations are high on whether his wonderful performance in international competitions will continue in the V-League.
Meanwhile, Megawatty Puttiwi, who was nominated by Jeong Kwan-jang, was selected as the best Apogit Spiker of the tournament, leading Indonesia to the runner-up at the 2023 Asian Volleyball Federation (AVC) Challenger Cup Women's Championship held in June. Megawatti will play in hijab, a traditional Islamic women's outfit, and it is expected that there will be an unprecedented scene in the history of the V-League.
In addition, middle blocker MJ Phillips of Pepper Savings Bank, who is mixed race between the United States and the Philippines, has played in the Philippine League after graduating from U.S. college, and GS Caltex Iris Tolenada has won various individual awards in his own league. Heungkuk Life's Reina Tokoku, who has a Ghanaian father and a Japanese mother, also played in the Japanese Super League for four years and advanced to the Finnish league in the 22-23 season to gain experience in overseas leagues.
Meanwhile, foreign players are from Cuba, Spain, Australia, Libya, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and five U.S., Bosnia, Cameroon, Cuba, and Serbia. Including Asian quarter players, a total of 16 foreign players will be available on the court this season.
Changes in the management guidelines for the 23-24 season
With the entry of foreign players in the Asian quarter, the management guidelines for the number of players seated on the team's bench and the number of players participating in each team have changed.
First of all, with the addition of interpreters for Asian quarter players, the number of teams that can sit on the bench, including existing coaches, coaches, trainers, duties, interpreters and managers, has increased from 10 to 12. In addition, the number of players for each team in the men's and women's divisions was clearly marked with 16 and 20 players, including foreign and Asian quarter players, from 14 men's and 18 women's teams without foreign players.
Next, there will be a change in the reward and punishment regulations at the time of set exit due to insulting behavior. The previous one-game suspension and penalty of 300,000 won have been changed to 500,000 won this season without suspension.
Players and coaches meet in a new team
There are not only players in the Asian quarter, but also players preparing for the opening of the league in a new team for the new season.
Major transfer players include Hwang Seung-bin, who transferred to KB Insurance through a one-on-one trade, Han Sung-jung, who returned to Woori Card after a year and a half, and Song Hee-chae of OK Financial Group and Song Myung-geun of Woori Card, who exchanged each other's uniforms. 스포츠토토
In the women's division, Park Jung-ah and Jung Dae-young, the main players of the Korea Expressway Corporation's victory last season, moved to Pepper Savings Bank and GS Caltex, respectively, and Hwang Min-kyung moved to IBK Industrial Bank and Kim Soo-ji to Heungkuk Life Insurance. Attention is focusing on how veteran players, who are still showing good skills, will perform after the transfer.
In addition, the men's OK Financial Group coach Oh Gi-no and the women's Pepper Savings Bank coach Joe Trinji will make their first regular league debuts since taking office.
A feast of living legends' records
It is noteworthy how long the records of veteran players, who are currently ranked first in each category, will continue. First of all, Hyundai Engineering & Construction's Yang Hyo-jin is on the verge of 1,500 blocking points with 1,451 points in the women's division, and Korea Expressway Corporation's Lim Myeong-ok has 15,995 defensive successes, leaving only five defensive successes to reach 16,000 defense successes.
In the men's division, Korea Electric Power Corporation's Shin Young-seok is looking at 1,200 points in total blocking with 1,146 points, while Korean Air's Han, who recorded 17,551 set success, is aiming for 18,000 set success.
