Willow Johnson, daughter of MLB legend Randy, makes V League debut
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American baseball legend Randy Johnson’s daughter Willow Johnson made her V League debut on Tuesday, scoring 17 points in Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders’ 3-0 win over Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass.
Randy Johnson is one of the best players in MLB history, having played for six teams, including the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Willow Johnson joined the Pink Spiders last week and clearly did not need much time to adapt to the V League, scoring multiple points from the start of the game at Gimcheon Gymnasium in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang to win three sets 25-22, 28-26 and 25-19 for a perfect 3-0 victory.
The 25-year-old opposite spiker stepped onto the court with the No. 51 jersey, which was the same number her father wore when he played for the Diamondbacks.
Johnson’s impact was clear even alongside ace Kim Yeon-koung and Reina Tokoku, who have led the team’s attack this season.
Tokoku was the team’s top scorer of Tuesday’s game with 22 points and Kim managed 17 points to tie with Johnson.
Randy Johnson was not at the gymnasium to see his daughter make her V League debut, but he may visit Korea soon to see her in action.
“He might be able to come at the end of the season,” Johnson said during a postgame interview. “He just got surgery on his knees, so he is recovering from this right now. If he can’t come this season, maybe next season.”
Johnson’s form is a bright sign for the Pink Spiders, who are looking to reclaim the top position on the league table from Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate.
The Incheon side were the league leaders in the early days of the 2023-24 campaign, but they ceded the top spot to Hillstate in December last year and have struggled in attack against other teams.
The Pink Spiders ended up replacing former opposite spiker Jelena Mladjenovic, who had struggled this season, with Johnson.
Tuesday’s 3-0 victory gave the Pink Spiders three points, which narrowed the gap with the league leaders by five points as of press time Wednesday.
The Suwon side have played one game fewer, however, and were due to face last-place Gwangju AI Peppers later on Wednesday.
BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]
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