Reporter Kim Kyung-yoon = Striker Song Myeong-geun (30) of OK Financial Group in the men’s professional volleyball team was the team’s signature striker.
Until he enlisted in July 2021, he made a name for himself as the team’s best native striker.
This is why many volleyball fans expected OK Financial Group’s leap when Song Myung-geun returned last month after completing his military service.
However, Song Myeong-geun did not play at the expected level.
Perhaps because of his absence of 1 year and 6 months, his appearance before enlistment has disappeared.
In particular, the defense problem was big. He did not reliably receive strong serves from his opponents.
When Song Myeong-geun showed weakness, the opposing teams dug in more tenaciously.
Song Myung-geun’s receiving efficiency reached 33% in the 2020-2021 season before enlistment, but this season it dropped significantly to 19.35% before the match with Woori Card on the 8th.
Seok Jin-wook, manager of OK Financial Group, said on the 8th, “The opposing players hit Song Myung-geun with a target, and it seems that his mentality was shaken.”
His broken defense also affected the offense.
Song Myeong-keun, who lost confidence, could not hit a powerful serve or spike like before.
Serve aces per set halved from 0.27 before enlistment to 0.13.
Song Myung-geun’s sluggishness had a great impact on his team’s performance.
OK Financial Group fell into a swamp of 4 consecutive losses from the KB Insurance match on the 17th of last month.
No sharp numbers were visible. There was no player to replace Song Myeong-geun.
Jo Jae-seong, who was the main striker, was involved in a military service corruption and left the team, and Cha Ji-hwan was out of power due to a knee bruise ahead of the Woori Card match on the 8th.
Director Seok Jin-wook had no choice but to trust Song Myeong-geun.
Coach Seok said, “Song Myung-geun’s skills are not bad during training,” and “I am waiting for him to overcome himself.”
Coach Seok Jin-wook’s patience process of trusting and waiting for the player was not meaningless.
Song Myeong-geun, like a veteran, stood up from sluggishness on his own.
He led the team to victory by scoring 15 points in the match against Woori Card on the 8th. His attack success rate was 57.89%, which was not inferior to that of his prime.
He showed concentration in each match and caught 3 blocks.
In the 5th set, 14-13, he blocked the attack of the opposing team, Riverman Agamez (registered name Agamez), and put an end to the match. 안전놀이터
His receive efficiency was still not high at 18.75%, but his attacks seemed to have returned to their former form.
After the game, Song Myeong-geun said, “I tried not to think too much about the receiving problem,” and said, “Actually, I’m hectic after being discharged, but time will solve it.”
In addition, he said, “The team will not be shaken unless I am shaken,” and “I feel a sense of responsibility.