Vietnam's top female volleyball player achieves historic milestone after latest feat in world's top 5 volleyball league

Wherever she competes, she makes an impact. She has recently won a personal accolade in one of the world's top 5 volleyball leagues and achieved a historic milestone in her career.

With her latest outstanding performance, scoring 13 points and playing a major role in helping Okayama Seagulls defeat Toray 3-1 in Round 20 of this season's national championship, Tran Thi Bich Thuy earned her first individual award in Japan by being selected as the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of that match.

This is a prestigious award honoring the most outstanding player in a match. Typically, main attackers or setters often win this award as they are almost always the highest scorers.

A female volleyball player winning MVP is quite special because they rarely are the top scorers. In fact, Bich Thuy was not the highest scorer in the match between Okayama Seagulls and Toray.

Yet she was still honored, and it was a fully deserved recognition. The best are those who excel even in the most challenging tasks.

Bich Thuy plays in a team with very weak strength. Her teammates have limited professional skills. Okayama Seagulls' first step and setting are always very "unstable".

That greatly affects Bich Thuy's performance efficiency. Nevertheless, she regularly scores 10-14 points per match, sometimes even scoring 1 point. After much effort, the talent and caliber of Vietnam's female volleyball player has finally been acknowledged.

By being selected as MVP for the first time in a match in Japan's national championship, Bich Thuy has now won individual awards in all three volleyball leagues she has played in up to this point.

Previously, the 1.84m tall female volleyball player received the "Best Female Volleyball Player of the Thai National Championship" award in the 2019 season. Furthermore, Bich Thuy was chosen as MVP in the match between GS Caltex and Hyundai (Korean National Championship season 2024-2025). She also once made the weekly standout team while playing for GS Caltex in the Korean National Championship.

Up to the latest point, Tran Thi Bich Thuy has played only 24 matches for Okayama Seagulls Club, just over half the number of appearances of most other players (40 matches). Playing so little and being her first time competing in Japan's national championship, Bich Thuy quickly "got into the groove", played confidently, and maintained both high and stable form.

Statistical figures do not lie. After 24 matches played, Bich Thuy has scored a total of 242 points, averaging over 10 points per match. This is an extremely good scoring average for a female volleyball player. Bich Thuy is the player with the highest performance efficiency at Okayama Seagulls and is the most effective female volleyball player for this team. Among the 242 points Bich Thuy scored, 178 are attack points and 56 are block points.

Remember, blocking was once Bich Thuy's weakness. Precisely because of slow blocking and reluctance to block, she was once removed from the national team by coach Tuan Kiet in 2024.

But after just two months of "training" in Korea early in 2025, Bich Thuy became a completely different blocking player compared to her previous self. Now Bich Thuy blocks quickly, diligently blocks, and makes opponents wary when facing her at the net.

While Bich Thuy's blocking ability has greatly improved, her attacking capability remains as formidable as ever. Still those lightning-fast spikes from position 3, still those high-quality one-foot behind-the-head shots.

After the Thai National Championship, the Korean National Championship, the Japanese National Volleyball Championship is the latest launching pad elevating the current top female volleyball player of Vietnam's women's volleyball team to new heights.

This excellent season promises to put Bich Thuy in the sights of many top Japanese clubs and other strong volleyball leagues next season, and it would not be surprising if she continues to shine.