Junior helps Pirates top rival North
By: Justin Feil
It took a little persuading, but getting Andy Cheon out for volleyball two years ago has paid off for the West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys’ team.
"I started as a freshman," Cheon said. "My brother kind of pushed me to play."
Eric Cheon graduated last year after playing middle for the Pirates, but fortunately for them, he left behind Andy and his arm.
"He’s an outside hitter," said Pirates head coach Michael Adams. "Last year we mixed him up with middle and outside. He is definitely an outside hitter. He can really hit the ball."
Cheon proved his worth with 14 kills in a 25-20, 25-21 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Tuesday. The win helped the Pirates move a game above .500 before they fell back to 6-6 with a loss to Old Bridge on Wednesday.
"He’s definitely had more kills in games," said Adams, whose team was scheduled to play at Piscataway on Thursday. "But teams weren’t as good. He can put the ball away. That’s definitely a nice thing to have."
Cheon has been a mainstay at outside hitter for the Pirates, who have recently gone through a lineup change. WW-P South kept their starters the same, but they have them in different positions.
"I think this works better," Cheon said. ""here’s a strong hitter playing weak side so it’s better than the lineup we had."
The changed lineup helped WW-P South push top-ranked East Brunswick to a 25-23 decision in the second game of a 2-0 loss Monday. The Pirates are still looking for the consistency in play from team to team.
"We’re kind of struggling with good teams we’re playing," Cheon said. "We have to be mentally stronger. We lost to Old Bridge (Wednesday). We couldn’t serve tougher than usual and we had to close our blocks and be stronger on defense."
Added Adams: "Jae-Hoon Moon, he played great defense. We’ve been having trouble playing defense against guys that can chip and roll. He did a good job of reading.
"Jin-Sung (Kim), our opposite, he’s doing fantastic for us. He made our block much better. And he can really hit a ball too."
WW-P South needs to bring the play it had against the Knights on Tuesday to more of its matches. The Pirates were in good form against their rivals.
"It was a big win. We beat them, 2-0," Cheon said. "We were serving tough that day and we had better defense than other days. We were stronger.
"I think I played solidly," he added. "I started jump serving that day and it turned out to be fine. I’ve been practicing during practice. I was going to do it. (Tuesday) was the first time I tried jump serving."
It was a good time to bring out the strategy. With players familiar with each other on both sides, it was another advantage that benefited WW-P South.
"They’re a good team," Adams said. "For us to win was good. They’re our rivals. It was good.
"Offensively, we were very aggressive and served tough. That made life a little easier for us."
And having Cheon at outside hitter made life a little easier for the Pirates. Cheon delivered when called upon throughout the contest.
"Andy Cheon, he had a good game," Adams said. "He played well. He stepped up. And it was spread out among the other guys."
Cheon has picked up where he left off last year. In his first year as a starter, Cheon became a reliable offensive force. He’s been even more reliable in his second year as a starter.
"My role got bigger this year than last year," Cheon said. "I’m comfortable with it."
The Pirates, too, are comfortable and confident with Andy Cheon back in their lineup for another year. In two years, he has developed into the steady contributor that they need.

