Women’s professional volleyball team GS Caltex is changing its head coach.
GS Caltex announced on Friday that it will end its eight-year partnership with head coach Cha Sang-hyun after this season. The club discussed the future of the organization with coach Cha Sang-hyun, who has led the team for a long time and made GS Caltex one of the strongest teams in the league, and decided not to renew his contract after deliberating for mutual development.”
Coach Cha said, “I was happy to coach in a good environment. I am very grateful to the fans who have always supported me even in difficult situations, and to the club for their unwavering support for the team. I will continue to support GS Caltex in the future.”
“We express our respect and gratitude to Coach Cha for his hard work in rebuilding the team into one of the most prestigious organizations in professional volleyball, and we will continue to support him in his volleyball career,” said GS Caltex.
Cha began his professional coaching career in December 2016, in the middle of the 2016-2017 season, when he was named head coach of GS Caltex. His unique communication skills and strong charisma earned him the trust of his players. He brought a young, dynamic, speed volleyball style to GS Caltex and led the team’s transformation.
Since then, Cha has won five championships with GS Caltex, including one V-League title and four cup titles. In his first year in charge, the team finished fifth in the 2016-2017 regular season. In the 2017-2018 season, they finished fourth. In 2018-2019, the team finished third and qualified for the postseason for the first time. They advanced directly to the playoffs, where they lost to Korea Expressway Corporation in a best-of-seven series.
In the 2019-2020 season, they finished in second place. The team could have won the championship, but the regular season ended early due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The 2020-2021 season was a triumph. They became the first team in women’s professional volleyball to complete the KOVO Cup, regular season, and championship ‘triple’. GS Caltex topped the regular season for the second time in franchise history after the 2008-2009 season, and won the championship for the third time in franchise history after the 2013-2014 season. It was the first time in the franchise’s history to win the overall title. Best season ever
GS Caltex finished third in the 2021-2022 season. They did not play spring volleyball due to the early end of the women’s regular season once again due to COVID-19. Last season, they finished in fifth place.
This season was another unsuccessful spring volleyball season. They finished the regular season in fourth place with 51 points (18 wins and 18 losses). The team 토토 could have hosted the semifinals if it reduced the gap with third-place Jungkwanjang (61 points, 20 wins and 15 losses) to three points or less, but the gap was already too large.
GS Caltex lost the final match of the regular season against Heungkuk Life 0-3 (17-25 16-25 18-25) at the Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium on Nov. 15. Immediately after the loss, the team issued a press release to formalize the parting of ways with Cha.
After the 2023-2024 season, GS Caltex promised to “fulfill the expectations of our fans by making every effort to appoint a successor coach who can match the team’s development and renew the atmosphere.”
Meanwhile, Heungkuk Life, which earned three points by beating GS Caltex, finished the regular season with 79 points (28 wins and 8 losses). They leapfrogged into first place. If Hyundai E&C, which has 77 points (25 W10 L), fails to pick up three points against Pepper Savings Bank on Saturday, Heungkuk Life will take over the top spot in the league. Even if the two teams are tied at 79 points, Heungkuk Life will have the advantage because they have a higher win percentage.