The 'winning setter' Lee Go-eun (Heungkuk Life) has begun training once again to taste the 'joy of victory.'

In the 2024-2025 season V League women's division, setter Lee Go-eun, who contributed to Heungkuk Life's overall victory, recently joined the team training after enjoying some rare free time during an overseas trip.

On the 16th, she attended the 'celebration of victory' event held together with the men's division champion Hyundai Capital to reflect on the past season and share her thoughts ahead of the new season.

Lee Go-eun said, 'This was my first time achieving an overall victory,' adding, 'I consider it a gift to myself and went on an overseas trip to recharge.' Lee Go-eun spent her break traveling around Italy and Switzerland for two weeks.

Upon returning, preparations for the new season began under the new head coach Tomoko Yoshihara (55).

Heungkuk Life announced on April 10 that Tomoko Yoshihara was appointed as the new head coach. Coach Yoshihara has led the renowned Japanese V League team JT Marvelous from 2015 to 2024, achieving impressive results with two league championships and three runner-up finishes over nine seasons.

She led the team's promotion to the first division in the 2015-2016 season and was recognized for her leadership by setting an incredible record of winning all regular season games in the 2023-24 season. During her playing career, she performed as a middle blocker and has also played for the Japanese national team. She played professionally between the Japanese and Italian leagues from 1988 to 2006.

Heungkuk Life stated, 'It is a time when we need to build a new team identity and revamp the roster due to the retirement of player Kim Yeon-koung,' and explained the rationale for appointing Coach Yoshihara as someone who possesses extensive leadership experience and communication skills to lead the team's leap forward.

Players who went on vacation with the joy of the overall victory have now returned and begun preparing for the next season with Coach Yoshihara. Lee Go-eun remarked about Coach Yoshihara, 'He trains us to play volleyball as we think. I'm going to focus on training for the fast combination play that the coach desires.'

Coach Yoshihara is meticulously overseeing everything from breakfast to the training schedule. He insists that breakfast must be taken seriously. Lee Go-eun said, 'I usually make sure to have breakfast, so it’s fine for me.' She added with a smile, 'The training is so intense that I have to make sure to eat breakfast.'

Lee Go-eun carries a significant sense of responsibility for the upcoming new season. As the starting setter who led the team to an overall victory last season, she needs to grasp the new changes better than anyone in a team without a key player like Kim Yeon-koung. She noted, 'A big player like Kim Yeon-koung has left,' stating, 'The remaining players will have to come together.'

During the season, Lee Go-eun is also careful about her food intake. She is cautious with raw foods like sashimi, explaining, 'I might get a stomach ache.' Therefore, on this day, during the off-season event meant to boost the mood, she enjoyed raw foods like sashimi. She didn't even look at any alcohol, only drinking water while reflecting on the joyful moments of the overall victory and reinforcing her resolve for the upcoming new season.

Lee Go-eun mentioned, 'The coach wants fast play and combination plays. I think if I can keep up with the focused training in this direction, we will achieve good results. Rather than feeling pressured, I think we can fill that gap with training.'

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