Persuade with numbers... IBK Coach Manabe’s Data Volleyball Magic

IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, a women's professional volleyball team, has established itself as a sensational team in the early part of the 2026-2027 season thanks to the 'data volleyball' of coach Masayoshi Manabe (63).

IBK Industrial Bank defeated SOOP Supers with a set score of 3-1 on the 10th and took the lead with 3 consecutive wins and 9 points.

IBK Industrial Bank of Korea easily defeated Hyundai Engineering & Construction 3-0 in the first game of the season, then defeated defending champion GS Caltex 3-1.

In the game against SOOP, the attack shares of IBK Industrial Bank foreign main foreign striker Victoria Danchak (registered name Victoria, 15 points), outside hitter Asian quarter Miwako Osanai (registered name Miwa, 15 points), and middle blockers Choi Jeong-min (19 points) and Lee Joo-ah (17 points) were very high at 27%, 22%, 25%, and 11%, respectively, like the score distribution. It was harmonious.

In particular, Choi Jeong-min attracted attention by hitting more open attacks like a two-wing striker than his main job, fast breaks.

An IBK Industrial Bank official explained on the 11th, "Choi Jeong-min is a middle blocker, but he is good at open attacks, so Coach Manabe hires him as an aposite spiker. Coach Manabe's method is to use players by judging their skills and condition based on the current standard."

This official continued, "Every time we play a practice game, we pull out data and clearly present the goal to the players. We emphasize that 'We will win only if you do this,' and show it in numbers so that they can immediately see how much they are currently lacking, so the players understand it quickly and seem to be highly satisfied."

The essence of data volleyball that coach Manabe pursues is that if the coach persuades with finely adjusted numbers, the players can easily accept it.

Coach Manabe is a master coach who led Japan to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He thoroughly analyzes every game and coaches his players through a systematic system that quantifies the opponent's attack pattern, defensive position, and the setter's toss tendency.

Another official close to Coach Manabe noted the close relationship between Coach Manabe and statistics and power analysis expert Keita Watanabe, which has continued since his days with the Japanese national team.

Watanabe, known as 'analyst', is said to be one of the world's leading volleyball power analysts and is currently running a related company.

At Coach Manabe's request, he visited the IBK Industrial Bank of Korea's team before the start of the regular season and lectured on data volleyball to the players, and after the opening of the season, he visited Hwaseong Sports Complex again to observe IBK Industrial Bank's performance in person.

Although IBK Industrial Bank of Korea did not stand out significantly in offensive indicators, it is cruising by rising to 1st and 2nd place in the V League in non-scoring areas such as receiving, defense, and dig. Attention is being paid to whether he will show off his evolving skills in the home game against Heungkuk Life Insurance on the 13th.