"Yang Hyo-jin, I didn't want to play with him."" The leaving V-League legend is also praised by the Japanese national team [the site of a water source]

*This content was translated by AI.

Japanese women's volleyball national team Haruyo Shimamura (34, Pepper Savings Bank) also praised leaving V-League legend Yang Hyo-jin (37, Hyundai Engineering & Construction).

Pepper Savings Bank beat Hyundai Engineering & Construction with a set score of 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 27-25) in the sixth round of the women's regular league of the Jin Air 2025-2026 V-League at Suwon Indoor Gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do on the 8th.

As a result, Pepper Savings Bank secured an absolute advantage of 5 wins and 1 loss against Hyundai Construction, advancing to fifth place in the regular league with 15 wins and 19 losses (44 points).

On the other hand, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which failed to earn a single point, failed to narrow the gap between the top-ranked Korea Expressway Corporation (23-11, 66 points) with 21 wins and 13 losses (62 points), making it difficult to determine the top spot on its own.

It was also the last home game of the regular season between Korean women's volleyball and living legend Yang Hyo-jin of the V-League. Yang Hyo-jin also did his best to win the last home game, scoring 17 points with the team's highest attack success rate (53.85%). However, Haruyo Shimamura (registered name Shimamura) and Park Eun-seo, who combined for 40 points with frequent mistakes, failed to secure victory.

Shimamura, who played a decisive role in Pepper Savings Bank's victory, told reporters after the game, "I thought Yang Hyo-jin was really the best middle blocker in Korea. No matter how much I played, I didn't want to play with him as an opponent," he praised.

He is also a middle blocker who has been on the Japanese women's national volleyball team since 2013. Of course, he was a player he had encountered every time in international competitions with Yang Hyo-jin. Shimamura said, "There were many times when I was annoyed why I couldn't hold it even though I knew it was paint. That's how much I wanted to imitate Yang Hyo-jin's technical part," he said.

"Still, it was good to play with Yang Hyo-jin at his retirement ceremony and his last home game. I wanted to pour 100% of my ability into it, and I want to say thank you," he said.

Shimamura, who set his first foot in the V-League in the Asian quarter this season, said, "It was a very exciting season. I was able to communicate with the players a lot. There were many good and bad things, but I'm grateful that I was able to challenge myself in Korea after I was over 30. I will do my best in the rest of the game," he said.

He also declared his bid for overseas leagues, including Korea, next year. Shimamura said, "There is nothing scheduled, but I am trying to challenge in a place other than Japan," adding, "If you play volleyball in another country, you can experience not only the country's volleyball but also its culture." I also realized that I was still at a level where I could play, so I want to challenge myself again abroad," he said with a smile.

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*This content was translated by AI.