V League to resume on March 20 after Covid-19 delays

A health official disinfects Suwon Gymnasium in Suwon on Feb. 22 after a match between Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate and the Industrial Bank of Korea Altos. [YONHAP]

The women's V League will resume on March 20 in time to complete the 2021-22 season, although the postseason will be shortened following a series of Covid-19 disruptions.

The V League was initially postponed until March 16 after Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate, GS Caltex Kixx and Korea Ginseng Corporation were unable to field the required 12 players. However, the V League has now been postponed four more days after the number of Covid-19 cases surged in the women's V League.

According to the Covid-19 countermeasures announced by KOVO, if the league is postponed for between 14 and 23 days, teams will be able to play all 36 regular season matches but the number of postseason matches will be reduced.

If the league is postponed for between 24 and 28 days, the regular season will end after the sixth round and the postseason will be canceled.

If the league is postponed for more than 28 days, the season will immediately end.

When the league resumes on March 20, it will have been postponed for a total of 26 days. Technically that means the regular season should be shortened and the postseason canceled.

However, the KOVO decided Friday to finish the regular season in full and continue with a shortened postseason. The best-of-five final will be reduced to a best-of-three series, while the playoffs, which normally played as best-of-three series, will be reduced to a single match.

In the women's V League, seven teams play a total of 36 matches during the regular season, facing the six other teams six times each.

Then in the postseason, the winner of the regular season will advance to the championship series to face the winner of the playoff between the runner up club and the third club of the regular season.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate are currently on top of the table, just one win away from securing their season title. That coronation, which could have come on March 4 against the Kixx, will have to wait as both teams are unable to field the required 12 players.

Hillstate are looking to win the V League for the first time in 11 years. The last time the team took home the trophy was in the 2010-2011 season, when they won 20 out of 24 matches.

Hillstate missed out on their chance at winning in the 2019-2020 season, which was cut short after the first five rounds. They had topped the table that season after winning 20 matches and losing seven.

Last season, Hillstate finished at the bottom of the table, winning only 11 of their 30 matches.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]