Kim Yeon-koung, Heo Su-bong drive V-League title hopes

[Anchor]

In the fiercely competitive professional volleyball league of 2024, the standout players in the first half were indeed Kim Yeon-koung and Heo Su-bong.

Can these two players, who are leading their teams to the top, fulfill their earnest dream of winning in the new year?

Reporter Park Sun-woo has the story.

[Report]

Kim Yeon-koung soaring high and executing back-row attacks feels like witnessing her prime once again.

With her performance still ranking first in both domestic player scoring and overall attacks, she has been the driving force behind Heungkuk Life's remarkable 14 consecutive opening wins.

Praise for Kim Yeon-koung comes as she has helped maintain the team's first-place position after a brief slump due to an injury to a foreign player.

[Han Yoo-mi/KBS Volleyball Commentator: "(Since the last match Kim Yeon-koung won), there hasn't been a moment where she has been this happy and smiling."]

Since returning to Korea, Kim Yeon-koung has led her team to the championship finals every season but has never lifted the trophy.

After contemplating retirement at the end of last season, she is once again challenging for victory, making her wish for an overall championship in the new year all the more urgent.

[Kim Yeon-koung/Heungkuk Life: "I think it's good to maintain first place. We need to prepare well for the second half to keep this ranking."]

As can be felt from the passionate support of the home fans in Cheonan, Heo Su-bong has now grown into a representative ace of Korean men's volleyball.

With scoring power that rivals foreign players and a strong serve, he is being praised as a complete player.

Heo, who has become stronger with his synergy with Leo, finished the first half with a terrifying nine-game winning streak, raising hopes for a return to the top after six seasons.

[Heo Su-bong/Hyundai Capital: "Of course, (the goal is) to win. It seems like we are getting closer step by step. Happy New Year!"]

Kim Yeon-koung and Heo Su-bong, recognized as the best players representing the V-League, are once again racing towards their earnest dream of victory in the second half of the season, which is set to kick off vigorously in 2025.

This is KBS News, Park Sun-woo.