*This content was translated by AI.
It's been a long time since a rookie who hasn't even graduated from high school has received so well. The main character is Park Yeoreum (19), a rookie in Jeong Kwan-jang who stands out at the end of the regular season.
Jeong Kwan-jang was completely defeated by a set score of 0-3 (19-25, 24-26, 17-25) at home against GS Caltex in the fifth round of the regular league of the Jin Air 2025-2026 V-League at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on the 7th. Jeong Kwan-jang, who lost eight consecutive games, still ranked last in the women's V-League with 6 wins and 21 losses (18 points). It was a total crisis with an attack success rate of 35.34% and 12 mistakes.
Nevertheless, Jung Kwan-jang's fans can laugh a little thanks to Park Yeoreum's performance as a starter for two consecutive games. Park Yeoreum, who played as an outside heater, scored the most points in the team with 13 points, including one serve and one blocking. They also struggled with attack success rates and attack efficiency of 39.29% and 25%, respectively.
Another impressive thing was the defense, which was proved by 28.57% receiving efficiency. The defense is the reason why high school graduates stay in the backup for more than three years every year. However, Park Yeoreum kept the court until the end with not bad defense for two consecutive games.
There was one person who watched it proudly. It is manager Jang Yoon-hee (56), who is Park Yeoreum's teacher at Chung-Ang Girls' High School and a Korean women's volleyball legend. Jang Yoon-hee, a legendary outside heater who led Korean women's volleyball in the 1990s, took the helm of Jungang Girls' High School from 2021. Last year, in his fifth year in office, he produced three professional players, including Lee Ji-yoon (19, Korea Expressway Corporation), the first-round seventh-ranked Park Yeoreum, and the third-round first-ranked Park Yoon-seo (19), in the 2025-2026 KOVO Women's Rookie Draft.
Coach Jang Yoon-hee recently told Star News on the phone, " (Park) Yeoreum was also a player with a wide range of sub-receiving and defense in high school. "Now I have short professional experience and it will be difficult to set up a new system with my sisters, but I was basically a player with a sense of stability in receiving," he said.
Park Yeoreum is one of the ones who started volleyball relatively late. According to director Jang Yoon-hee, Park Yeoreum gained a lot of experience from middle school, even though she first started when she was a sixth grader at Ssangyong Elementary School in Cheonan. Coach Jang said, "(Park) Summer didn't have a separate Libero in middle school, so he played an ace by himself. Since then, he has had a sense of defense," he said.
The greatest strength was sincerity. There was also the secret to winning the first round nomination despite entering volleyball at a late age and having ankle surgery at the end of the second year of Jungang Girls' High School.
Coach Jang said, "I remember (Park) Yeoreum was a player who got nervous when he didn't work out. Even when resting, he was always a running machine player. Unfortunately, I underwent ankle surgery ahead of my senior year of high school, but I have endured rehabilitation well and am holding up until now." He continued, "It's different from other players who are good even when they rest. Yeoreum is anxious when she takes a break from exercising. That's why if you stay on the court for a long time, you're a shining player," he added.
The recent match between the Korea Expressway Corporation and Jeong Kwan-jang was also the first match between rookies from the two Jungang Girls' High School, Lee Ji-yoon and Park Yeoreum. Coach Jang said, "I'm grateful for (Lee) Ji-yoon and (Park) Yeoreum, who play their roles well when the opportunity comes even though it's their first season. I'm still doing well, but it doesn't end here, so I hope I can become a player who tries more and thinks more and plays volleyball," he said.
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*This content was translated by AI.
