Song Myeong-geun of Woori Card is happy after winning the match between Korean Air and Woori Card in the 6th round of the Dodram V-League Professional Volleyball Men’s Division held at Incheon Gyeyang Gymnasium on the afternoon of the 6th.
A ‘substitute player‘ who was not often seen in games until just a month ago took the leap to become an ‘ace’ at the end of the season. On top of that, it created a situation that would lead the team to a come-from-behind victory, so it was an amazing twist. This is the story of Song Myung-geun (31), who emerged as Woori Card’s ‘hero’ at the end of the season.
Song Myung-geun scored 19 points, the most for both teams, in the Dodram 2023-24 V-League Men’s match against Korean Air held at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on the 6th, contributing to the team’s 3-0 victory.
On this day, Song Myung-geun recorded 4 serve points and shook up Korean Air’s receiving performance. Coach Shin Young-cheol ordered a ‘strong serve’ before the game, and by accurately executing this, he played a key role in the complete victory. He acted as a ‘solver’ at every important moment in the attack.
Song Myung-geun, who was traded from OK Financial Group to Woori Card ahead of this season, was not often seen in games until the middle of the season. He did not meet the expectations of coach Shin Young-cheol, who values stable defense, and showed ups and downs in attack, failing to meet his expectations.
Han Seong-jeong and Kim Ji-han took the starting outside heater positions, and the one-point server position was also assigned to Jeong Seong-gyu. Song Myung-geun played in only 9 of the 24 games the team played until the 4th round, and never played full-time.
The season may have ended like this, but Song Myung-geun also got a chance. In early February, foreign player Matej Kok, who was the team’s main striker, suffered a serious injury and was out for the season.
Woori Card, which had a huge gap in its offensive power, had no choice but to increase the role of Song Myung-geun along with Issei Otake before recruiting a replacement foreign player. As a result, the bad news that occurred to the team turned into a disaster.
Even though Artem Sushko was recently brought in as a replacement, Song Myung-geun’s moderation continues. On the 2nd, at the Korea Electric Power Corporation, he started the first set for the first time in almost a year and played full time for two consecutive games. This is because Artem needs time to adapt to the team, and Song Myung-geun has also improved to a level that Coach Shin is satisfied with, not only in offense but also in defense.
Coach Shin said, “(Song) Myung-geun has the best offensive swing in Korea as long as he gets the rhythm right. “However, the rest was a bit disappointing,” he said. “I told Myung-geun that he needed serve reception and defense to prolong his volleyball career. “He is able to play now thanks to his hard work,” he said.
Song Myung-geun also said that he had special feelings about his recent starting appearance. He said, “The feeling and mindset are completely different when preparing behind the scenes and when playing as a starter,” and added, “I am learning well from the coach about receiving, which is not good, while making use of my offensive swing, which is my strength.”
In fact, the past few years have not been easy for Song Myung-geun. Song Myung-geun, who debuted in the 2013-14 season, played a key role in OK Financial’s two consecutive losses in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. In the 2014-15 season, he was even selected as the MVP of the championship game.
However, he experienced ups and downs due to a knee injury, and even after enlisting in the military, he was unable to recover his performance. The trade to Woori Card and the fact that he had to be benched even after the trade were bound to be difficult days for Song Myung-geun.
Still, I persevered. He said, “It was important how I accepted (the changed situation),” and reflected, “I had to admit that the reason I couldn’t go to the game was that I was lacking in skills.”
He added, “Now that I am part of the senior team, I couldn’t have a negative impact on the team by not being able to play,” adding, “I prepared hard off the court and worked hard to motivate my teammates as well.”
Woori Card, which turned a ‘crisis’ into an ‘opportunity’ thanks to Song Myung-geun’s performance, is now in a situation where it is possible to win on its own. If they win all three remaining games, they will win the regular season regardless of the results of Korean Air’s remaining two games.
Song Myung-geun said, “The opportunity is in our hands, so I don’t want to blow it in vain,” and expressed his determination, “I want to thoroughly prepare for the remaining games and seize the opportunity.”
As he hasn’t played many games until the middle of the season, he still has plenty of stamina left.
He expressed his desire to be helpful to the team, saying, “It’s a little difficult because I’ve played so closely in the last few games,” but “the other players have done well so far, so if I do well at this point, it can be an opportunity to build up their stamina.” hinted. 스포츠토토