Despite many limitations, main spiker Pham Quynh Huong remains a future star of Vietnam women's volleyball.

During her debut for the national women's volleyball team at an international event, Pham Quynh Huong put on praiseworthy displays even though she still had many limitations.

At the age of 18, the young attacker from Binh Chung Thong Tin scored a total of 45 points in the second leg of the 2026 SEA V.Cup in three matches against Indonesia (25 points), the Philippines (14), and Thailand (6).

In the two matches against Indonesia and the Philippines, Quynh Huong not only scored many points but also had very stable reception (no errors). In the match against Thailand, the opponent's serves were very difficult, so she became nervous and made many reception errors.

Quynh Huong scored relatively many points, but her jumping power and hitting strength were not yet really good, and she was blocked often. Her ball-handling skills were still relatively one-dimensional.

But these are limitations we could foresee in the young talent of the military women's volleyball team, and actually they are unavoidable.

Looking back at the famous main spikers of Vietnam women's volleyball in both the past and present, it is very difficult to name anyone who performed better than Quynh Huong at the age of 18.

Remember, at that age, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy did not even know how to receive serves. Even the best attacking hitter of the current women's volleyball team, Vi Thi Nhu Quynh (born 2002), had erratic reception until 2023 (when Nhu Quynh was 21). Therefore, Quynh Huong's weak reception is understandable and cannot be blamed on her.

We also cannot expect her to be confident and maintain composure at age 18 when facing far more experienced stars of the Thai team on the other side of the net.

All we should and need to do is encourage her and give her praise because she truly deserves it after what she has achieved at age 18, in her first time playing for the national team.

Everything starts with difficulty, but what she has achieved today will serve as a stepping stone and an important foundation for Quynh Huong to reach new, higher milestones in her career, which is still very long and full of promise ahead.

Her potential is huge and very clear. All she needs is to continue to strengthen her physical condition and be given regular playing opportunities to accumulate experience, build composure, and improve her ball-handling skills.

Ahead, of course, there are still many challenges, and Quynh Huong still has a long way to go; she must still make great efforts to truly inherit the senior spikers and become a top attacker of Vietnam women's volleyball in the future.

But with the second leg of the 2026 SEA V.Cup, she has started that journey in a promising way, and we wish her to reach even more memorable new milestones in her career.