OK Financial Group defeated Woori Card to become the only ‘undefeated team’ in the 2023-2024 V-League Men’s Division.
OK Financial Group defeated Woori Card 3-0 (25-16 25-18 28-26) in straight sets in the men’s professional volleyball Dodram 2023-2024 V League at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung-gu, Seoul on Saturday.
OK Financial Group, which lost to Korean Air on Sept. 22, avoided back-to-back defeats, while Woori Card, which succumbed to Samsung Fire on Sept. 23, suffered its first back-to-back losses of the season.
Woori Card (22-8 W-3 L) failed to add to its win total and missed a chance to overtake leader Korean Air (25-8 W-3 L). They also suffered their first home loss of the season (5-1).
OK Financial Group swept Woori Card in Game 2 after the first round. In fourth place, OK Financial Group has 18 points (7-4), closing the gap on third-place Samsung Fire (19-7-3), which has played one less game, to one point.
“I asked the players to be careful when attacking because the Woori Card blocking wall is high,” said OK Financial Group head coach Masashi Ogino before the game.
On the court, OK Financial Group players avoided the Woori Card blocking wall and effectively blocked the opponent’s attacks.
On the day, OK Financial Group outscored Woori Card 10-2 in blocked shots.
The wing attack was also dominated by OKFG.
OK Financial Group gunner Leonardo Leyva Martinez (real name Leo) scored a team-high 19 points (56.25% attack rate).
Local wingers Song Hee-chae (13 points) and Shin Jong-jin (9 points) also assisted him.
On the other hand, Woori Card foreign attacker Matei Kok (real name Matei) had a 37.14% attack success rate (13 points). Kim Ji-han (16 points) struggled, but couldn’t save his team.
At 6-7 in the first set, OK Financial Group tied the score with a quick opener from Song Hee-chae, and Woori Card outside hitter Bayar Saihan (registered name Bayar Saihan) blocked an open attack from Han Sung-jung to take an 8-7 lead.
In the ensuing rally, Song Hee-chae landed an open attack to make it 9-7.
At 11-9, Matei’s follow-up attack was blocked by Bayarsaihan and Leo to extend the lead to four points, 13-9.
The second set also came down to blocking.
At 3-3, OK Financial Group middle blocker Jin Sang-heon blocked Matei’s open attack and Song Myung-geun’s open attack in succession.
Then, Leo’s spiked serve hit Song Myung-geun’s hand and crossed the net, allowing Jin to get a direct kill.
Song Hee-chae blocked Matei’s open attack, and OK Financial Group went up 7-3.
After Woori Card cut the deficit to 7-8 through Kim Ji-han, OK Financial Group closed the gap again with a kill from Bayar Saihan.
Afterward, Song Myung-geun made back-to-back attack errors, and Woori Card fell behind 7-12.
OK Financial Group took the third set in a deuce match to complete the shutout victory.
At 26-26, Leo converted an open attack to create match point, and Shin Jong-jin blocked Kim Ji-han’s follow-up attack to end the match.
The match drew a record 3,091 fans to Jangchung Gymnasium, the highest attendance for the men’s program this season. The previous highest attendance in the 2023-2024 men’s season was 3,072 for the October 15 match between Woori Card and Samsung Fire.
Woori Card’s Issei Otake’s parents, Hideyuki and Hideko Otake, also visited Jangchung Gymnasium. Issei’s father, Hideyuki Otake, is a middle blocker for the Japanese national volleyball team and has played against Woori Card coach Shin Young-cheol in “international competitions. 토토사이트