Suwon Hillstate win 12th match in a row, 3-2 against Seoul Kixx

Yassmeen Bedart-Ghani of Hyundai Hillstate, left, attacks during a match against GS Caltex Seoul Kixx on Thursday at Jangchung Arena in central Seoul. [NEWS1]

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate is looking like the team to beat, winning their 12th match in a row 3-2 against GS Caltex Seoul Kixx on Thursday.

Thursday's match was only Hillstate's fourth match that went to a full five sets. They won four matches in compete 3-0 shutouts and another four matches 3-1.

Against the Seoul club on Thursday, Hillstate were able to swiftly take the first set 25-18, but after the Kixx put up a fierce fight in the second set, the Seoul club was able to equalize the scoring to 25-23 then go on to take the lead in the third set, beating Suwon 25-21.

Just when it looked like Hillstate's winning streak would be cut to 11 matches, Hillstate came back strong to beat the Seoul club 25-11, pushing the match to the fifth set that Suwon won 15-10.

Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani was the one who did it for Hillstate once again as she was the top scorer of the match with 38 points while veteran and Olympian Yang Hyo-jin scored 22 points. Yaasmeen is the third-highest scorer in the V League so far.

The Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders, who had been close behind the Suwon club, is now three matches away from the top club.

After the Pink Spiders lost to the top club on Nov. 25 in three straight sets, it seemed they had lost their edge as they lost the next match against the Kixx 3-2.

On the Nov. 25 showdown between the No. 1 Hillstate and No. 2 Pink Spiders, Hillstate breezed past the Pink Spiders in the first set, taking it 25-19. The Incheon club pushed the second set to 27-25, but the Suwon club outplayed Incheon to win the last two points of the second set. With 25-18 on the scoreboard for the third set, Hillstate grabbed the all-important three points, tightening their grip on their pole position.

While winning their next three matches, on Dec. 2 against Industrial Bank of Korea, on Dec. 7 against Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers and on Dec. 12 against the AI Peppers, they are still two wins away from the Suwon club.

For Hillstate, the start of this season looks a lot like last season. In the 2021-22 season, Hillstate recorded the longest winning streak in the history of the V League, at 15 games.

Hillstate was able to set that record on Feb. 22 after beating the Altos at Suwon Gymnasium with a set score of 3-1, beating the previous record of 14 consecutive wins set by Seoul GS Caltex Kixx in the 2009-10 season.

Not only did they win 15 matches in a row, but they also won 45 sets, conceding only 10 in total, meaning that they pulled off a 3-0 complete shutout in seven of their matches and had to play only two five-set matches.

Hillstate will this season have their eyes fixed on the title after missing out on the trophy for the last two years despite topping the standings.

Last season, with Hillstate just one win away from winning the trophy, KOVO canceled the remaining scheduled games of the 2021-22 V League season and the postseason as the number of Covid-19 cases was climbing at the time.

The premature end to the season meant that for the second time in the last three years, Hillstate were unable to win the V League title despite dominating the entire season and being just one win away from the trophy.

Hillstate also failed to win in the 2019-20 season, which was cut short after the first five rounds. They had topped the table that season after winning 20 matches and losing seven.

Hillstate will be looking to extend their winning streak to 13 matches against the Industrial Bank of Korea on Friday.

While Hillstate tops the standings with 32 points, the Pink Spiders are No. 2 with 30 points, Korea Expressway Corporation are third with 21 points, Industrial Bank of Korea Altos are fourth with 18 points, the Kixx are fifth with 17th points, Korea Ginseng Corporation are sixth with 13 points and. The bottom club Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers have yet to win a match this season.

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