Volleyball spring season: The two pillars of CheongKwanJang

"I always felt a sense of bitterness while watching 'Spring Volleyball' on TV. Now, I'm excited to experience that pressure firsthand. Being on the court will be exhilarating," expressed Jeong Ho-young (23, CheongKwanJang) as she enters the postseason stage five seasons after her professional volleyball debut. CheongKwanJang is the first team in professional volleyball women's history to secure three victories. However, they faced a setback, failing to reach the postseason in consecutive seasons from the 2017-2018 season to the last season. This season, the team achieved a 3rd rank, marking their return to spring volleyball games for the first time in seven seasons.

Jeong Ho-young, a promising player, gained attention early, earning a spot on the adult national team during their third year at Gwangju Sports Middle School. In 2018, while a second-year student at Jinju Myeong Girls' High School, Jeong, along with Park Eun-jin (25, middle blocker), led her school to four national championships. When CheongKwanJang selected Park Eun-jin as the second overall pick in the 2018-2019 rookie draft and Jeong Ho-yeong as the first overall pick in the following season, it seemed like 'spring day' was just around the corner.

However, securing a postseason ticket seemed elusive even after the two players joined. In the previous season, the team fell just one point short and missed the invitation to the 'Spring Banquet.' Park, meeting with Jeong at the club’s practice gym in Daejeon, expressed, “Ahead of this season, I promised myself, ‘Let’s not leave any regrets like last season.’ I won't be content with advancing to spring volleyball; I'll prepare more diligently for the postseason game.”


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com