Hillstate extend winning streak to 14 games, one off league record

Yassmeen Bedart-Ghani of Hyundai Hillstate, left, attacks during a match against the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers on Sunday at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju. [YONHAP]

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate are one win away from tying their V League record 15-win winning streak after shutting out the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers in three sets on Sunday.

Sunday's results marks Hillstate's 14th consecutive win and the Gwangju club's 15th straight loss.

The AI Peppers fought hard against the top club, pushing the second set on Sunday to 28-26, but were unable to win a single set.

Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani proved crucial for Hillstate as the top scorer of the match with 38 points on Sunday.

Hillstate keeps their top position despite the absence of veteran Yang Hyo-jin. Yang tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the match against the GS Caltex Kixx on Thursday, missing two matches so far.

A veteran blocker, Yang has been one of the most popular players in the league for over a decade and a national team regular. Korea's fourth-place finish at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games last year has only added to that popularity.

Yang turned professional in 2007, debuting with Hillstate, and has played for the club ever since. Not only is she a franchise star, she has topped the board for the most blocks for 12 consecutive seasons. This season she has made an average of 0.66 blocks per set and is sixth on the table in terms of the number of blocks per set.

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

Hillstate was able to set that record on Feb. 22 after beating the Hwaseong Industrial Bank of Korea Altos at Suwon Gymnasium with a 3-1 set score, 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 taking the trophy, KOVO canceled the remaining scheduled games of the 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 match their record winning streak of 15 matches against the Korea Expressway Corporation on Thursday.

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