*This content was translated by AI.
The end of men's professional volleyball Woori Card's 2025-2026 season journey has been marked. He was eliminated from the playoffs (PO) after being defeated twice in three days by the so-called "reverse sweep defeat," in which he won two sets first and then gave up three sets down. However, Woori Card's home fans, who filled the stadium, applauded the team with their heads bowed instead of regretting the futile reverse sweep loss or PO elimination.
Woori Card, led by acting head coach Park Chul-woo, suffered a 2-3 (25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 39-41, 12-15) upset loss to Hyundai Capital in the second round of Jin Air 2025-2026 professional volleyball V-League men's PO (two wins out of three) at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on the 29th. In the first game, he also experienced another "reverse sweep defeat" nightmare in two days after winning the first and second sets and suffering a painful upset loss.
Even before the game, acting coach Park Chul-woo expressed confidence, saying, "It has become a situation where we can be completely 100%." The first game was held two days after Woori Card played a semi-PO against KB Insurance, but if the physical inferiority was clear, the second game was worth trying because the situation was the same. Acting Park Chul-woo said, "Both teams play five sets, take a day off and play. The fatigue level is the same now. I think I can play well enough if it's the same situation," he said.
In fact, Woori Card won the first and second sets against Hyundai Capital. The flow was cut off by giving up the third set relatively easily, but it once led by seven points in the middle of the fourth set, increasing the possibility of the third round of the last PO in Cheonan. However, while his concentration fell after the middle of the fourth set, it was shaken as Hyundai Capital's strong counterattack unfolded. He managed to make a deuce and then lost four sets after a fierce game that turned the tables.
The four sets were played for 57 minutes with 80 points between the two teams. The longest game in a set of postseason history came out on the same day. As the accumulated fatigue added, Woori Card eventually lost the last five sets and suffered another "reverse sweep." Unlike Hyundai Capital, which showed concentration at important moments, Woori Card bowed its head without overcoming its physical ups and downs.
Even before the shock of the painful reverse sweep defeat, he was defeated in the same pattern once again, and even faced the result of PO elimination. Woori Card players were also forced to lower their heads one by one after the game, and some players even shed tears. Moreover, it was also a game where as many as 3,510 spectators visited and sold out.
However, fans who filled the stadium gave such Woori Card players a warm round of applause, not a voice of criticism. This is because the magic of acting coach Park Chul-woo, who achieved "spring volleyball," which was difficult to expect until the middle of the season, was a meaningful season in itself.
In fact, Coach Mauricio Paes left Woori Card at the end of last year, and Coach Park Chul-woo took over the role of acting coach. At the end of the third round, it was 6 wins and 12 losses (19 points) and was in sixth place among the seven teams. However, since Park Chul-woo's acting coach, Woori Card has become a "completely different team." Under Park Chul-woo's acting system, he boasted a winning rate of 14 wins and 4 losses and 77.8% in the regular league.
In particular, in the last six rounds of the regular league, they beat all the first to third-place teams, including Korean Air, Hyundai Capital and KB Insurance. SBS Sports commentator Choi Tae-woong described Woori Card's advance to spring volleyball as "a miracle made by Park Chul-woo Magic" during the postseason media day, and predicted the possibility of a PO confrontation between Hyundai Capital and Woori Card, saying, "After Park Chul-woo's acting system, I think it will be 50-50."
Although it was not a perfect happy ending, he showed a completely different appearance during the season and even enjoyed the PO stage, so it was worth applauding for the journey itself this season rather than regretting the second consecutive victory of reverse sweep. Furthermore, fans' applause also includes expectations for next season, when the possibility of playing under "Coach Park Chul-woo's system" is high.
Acting coach Park Chul-woo, who finished the season's journey, said, "It is entirely my responsibility to lose the first and second games of the PO. We should have made a direction so that we could focus more and play well," he said, blaming the disappointing result only on his own responsibility as an acting coach. At the same time, he said, "The players have fought well so far, and they have been so good. I'm grateful that I spent the season with good players. "I thought, 'It's getting better' when I saw them not wanting to collapse to the end," he said, adding, "I haven't thought about the next job (promotion as a coach). I just want to go to the meeting room quickly (after the press conference) and say to the players, 'I'm really proud, I was happy to be with good players'. The result is unfortunate, but the process was very happy," he said.
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*This content was translated by AI.
