The "next Lang Ping" they called her. For Sun Yue, that's quite an honour. Sun Yue began playing as a starter at the Barcelona Olympics, where China failed to make even the quarterfinals. She was still young at the time, but despite her height, youthful energy, and good skills, it was the lack of technical unison that prevented the team from living up to its expectations in Spain. Sun Yue had a brief taste of success at the first edition of the Women's Grand Prix in 1993, where they made the final in Hong Kong against the Cuban Olympic Champions. China, however, was pummeled 3-0.

China went into the 1994 World Championships in Brazil in lukewarm condition. They ended up in a disappointing 8th place in Brazil, losing to Korea and causing indignation throughout China for losing to a supposedly "lesser" regional rival. Their second loss to Korea at the Asian Games didn't make things any better. Sun Yue was there as the team changed from one coach to another, experimenting with different players, trying to overcome many mishaps, but eventually so much instability and pressure wore the Chinese team down. It was then that the Chinese Federation resorted to the wisdom of the past to try to cure their ills, and for that they went to a name held sacred by all Chinese: Lang Ping.

What Lang Ping did for this new Chinese team is really beyond words, it's almost a fairy-tale story. I was speechless when I saw Sun Yue slicing even the highest Cuban block like warm butter, very confident of herself, a transformed player. He Qi resembled classical Yang Xilan with her looped shoots to Sun Yue and Li Yan (another overachieving rookie sensation for China). The legend of the Chinese middle attack was re-awakened by Lai Yawen, and all of the players were scrambling for every ball as if it were their last. Even Cui Yongmei ceased to be the clumsy lefty of the team, using her wits to dink balls in the most unreachable of places. Though China struggled against South Korea in pool play again (proving that it still has problems playing against styles like their own), they squeaked through with a 5-game victory. Overall, China deserved the trip to the final, overcoming Karpol's Russia, though I would have preferred to see them play Brazil in the final.

Sun Yue was brilliant in the final against Cuba. The Caribbeans were coming out of a controversial semifinal with Brazil in which punches, shouts, shoves and near criminal charges were exchanged. After such an unsportspersonly match, the final was not as tense, and China lost in four sets to a Cuban team that did not seem invincible. The Chinese were still too young, too inexperienced with Lang Ping's methods for them to be unstoppable. However, Lang Ping added every positive quality she could to this rejuvenated team, but she could not add the seasoned serenity of experience. In the end, that is what won the gold for Cuba: they converted at the crucial points of the match. Sun Yue exploded into tears after the handshakes. Her face was buried in her towel at the end, thinking how close they were to pulling a major upset had they been a bit less nervous and tentative. But deep inside she knew that she lost with dignity against the best team in the world. And when she heard someone speak of her near resemblance to Lang Ping, she must have been flattered by the comparison.

Lang Ping and Sun Yue continued their quest for gold at the 1998 World Championships in Japan. In the meantime, China maintained its standing as one of the top three teams in the world, doing well in international competitions, and crediting Lang Ping for this revival. At the '98 World's, China used Wu Yongmei as their starting middle blocker (she had become the world's best hitter of the quick slide along with Russian Yelizaveta Tishchenko). Li Yan and Wang Lina shared one of the outside positions, and Cui Yongmei had been replaced by the new sensation of the moment: Qiu Aihua, a young but extremely effective opposite hitter who added an awesome back row attack to China's offence. He Qi also shared time setting with Zhu Yunying, who was more milimetrically precise but less creative than He Qi.

Together, this team pulled another surprise by reaching the World Championships finals after steamrolling over Russia again in the semifinals (just like in Atlanta). But whereas China had added three new, inexperienced players to their scheme, Cuba had lept beyond all the other teams of the world by diversifying their attack (as if they needed any more improvement in that skill). The defending World Champions were too much for China to handle, beating them in straight sets. Once again, Sun Yue had to relive the consolation of being the second-best team in the world. A year after the World Championships in Japan, Lang Ping resigned as head coach of the Chinese national team and her legacy faded quickly in the hands of Hu Jin, the same coach who had led China to disaster prior to Lang Ping. Going into the Sydney Olympics, Sun Yue assumed Jiang Ying's role of 1988 as the rookie-turned-team-leader, but it wasn't enough. China qualified last for Sydney and didn't even have a good Olympic experience, even losing to Croatia to stay out of the final four. After Sydney, all of the players from the outstanding Lang Ping-schooled generation left the team, except for Wu Yongmei (who played sporadically in the back row) and Wang Lina, the only one who transitioned well into the new and more successful generation coached by Cheng Zhonghe. Nevertheless, Sun Yue had a brilliant time under the spotlight, and deserves to be remembered for her vitality and her powerful and intelligent play that led China back into the top echelons of world volleyball.