V League returns after All-Star break with a battle for the middle ground

Volleyball

Published: 31 Jan. 2023, 17:08 Updated: 31 Jan. 2023, 17:30

V League returns after All-Star break with a battle for the middle ground

Elizabet Inneh-Varga of Daejeon Korea Ginseng Corporation in action during a V League game against the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Jan. 25. [NEWS1]

The second half of the 2022-23 V League season kicks off Tuesday, promising more competitive action in the middle of the table where three teams are separated by just five points.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate return from the All-Star break in first place with 57 points, three points more than their biggest competitor, the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders.

The race is more competitive in the middle of the table where Korea Expressway Corporation Hi-Pass are in third place with 38 points, Daejeon Korea Ginseng Corporation are in fourth with 35 points, and the GS Caltex Seoul KIXX are fifth with 33 points.

Only five points separate the three, meaning they will switch spots on the table back and forth as the rest of the season goes on.

The third spot is especially coveted among the lower-ranked V League team, because the team that takes third gets to play the runners-up in the V League playoff. The winner of that match will then be eligible to play the league leaders in the V League finals for the chance to be crowned champions of the league.

Finish below third place, however, and the season ends early.

The first match after the break will be between the Hi-Pass and KGC at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon on Tuesday.

The Hi-Pass will be looking to cling on to third place while extending the gap with the Daejeon side.

Hi-Pass have beaten KGC four times this season and are on a two-game winning streak after beating league leaders Hillstate and the KIXX. They will want to carry that momentum to the next game.

KGC, however, will not be an easy opponent this time as they have won the past three games in a row after knocking out the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers, Hwaseong IBK Altos and even the Pink Spiders.

The KIXX will then play next against Hillstate at Suwon Gymnasium on Thursday.

The Seoul team managed to pull off a win against the league leaders last time, 3-2 at their home stadium on Jan. 20. Repeating that feat will be the top priority on Thursday as the KIXX look for a much-needed three points.

The players’ stats will also be worth paying attention to in the second half of the season.

KGC’s Elizabet Inneh-Varga is currently the player with the most points in the V League, at 689 in 23 league games.

Her record this season has even surpassed the entirety of the previous season, when she scored 598 points in 30 matches.

At this rate, Inneh is in with a slim chance of surpassing KGC legend Madelaynne Montano’s all time record of 1,076 recorded in the 2011-12 season.

While that record might be out of her reach, Inneh does have a chance of breaking Korean volleyball royalty Kim Yeon-koung’s personal best season, the 2005-06 V-League season, in which she scored 756 points in 28 matches.

Kim, who has scored 446 points in 23 matches, is unlikely to challenge her own record, but her class has not waned much as her attack success rate is the highest at 45.96 percent.

Kim Yeon-koung of the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders in action during a V League game against Daejeon Korea Ginseng Corporation at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Jan. 25. [NEWS1]

Kim will continue to compete with her teammate Jelena Mladjenovic for the highest attack success rate, with Mladjenovic currently at 43.74 percent.

The duo’s formidable attacks are also the reason behind the Pink Spider’s success this season.

The V League is set to end regular scheduled games on March 19, with the playoffs beginning on March 21. The championship will begin on March 29 and could run to April 6 at the latest.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]