Seoul KIXX beat IBK Altos to win 2023 KOVO Cup

GS Caltex Seoul KIXX players pose for a photo after winning the 2023 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup at Park Chung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi, North Gyeongsang on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Defending champions GS Caltex Seoul KIXX won the 2023 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup on Saturday after a win over the Hwaseong IBK Altos at Park Chung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, becoming the winningest team in tournament history with six victories.

The KOVO Cup sees all seven V League teams participate ahead of the regular season. This year’s edition included eight teams in total, as Supreme Chonburi of Thailand joined the tournament — the first international invitee to compete since 2018.

The KIXX first beat Chonburi 3-0 in Group B on July 29, before reaching the semifinals with a 3-0 loss to the Altos and a 3-0 win against the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders in the group stage.

The defending champions displayed a remarkable performance in Friday’s semifinal game against Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate — the side that had managed three consecutive wins in the group stage — beating them 3-1.

Captain Kang So-hwi was the key behind that win, managing 23 points alone.

Kang carried that momentum through Saturday’s final against the Altos, who had handed the KIXX a 3-0 loss in the group stage.

She led the team’s attack alongside Yoo Seo-yeun and scored a number of points throughout the game, before managing 21 points in total and winning the game 3-1.

That win marked the KIXX’s sixth KOVO Cup victory — the most number of titles by a V League team. It was also head coach Cha Sang-hyun’s fourth KOVO Cup title with the KIXX, having won the trophy in 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2023.

Kang was named the MVP of the tournament after scoring the most points in four out of five games.

None of the teams’ performances at the tournament were their best, however, as they all competed without foreign players due to International Transfer Certificate (ITC) — a required document to play in the KOVO Cup — issues. None of the foreign players were issued the ITC for the tournament.

The regular 2023-24 season will start on Oct. 14, but Kang and 15 other V League players have a busy schedule before the season begins, with multiple international events set to take place through fall.

The Korean women’s volleyball team will first jet off to Thailand on Aug. 28 to take part in the Asian Championship, before competing at the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers and Hangzhou Asian Games, both scheduled in September.

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