Hillstate stay atop of V League as Peppers break 23-game losing streak

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate players celebrate during a V League game against the Hwaseong IBK Altos at Suwon Gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Thursday. [NEWS1]

V League leaders Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate kept their spot at the top of the table last week as last-place Gwangju AI Peppers snapped the longest single-season losing streak with their first win in 23 games.

Hillstate remained the league leaders despite only securing two points, as second-place Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders salvaged just three points from two games.

Hillstate played one game against the fifth-place Hwaseong IBK Altos on Thursday in Suwon, Gyeonggi and won a deciding fifth set for a 3-2 win, securing an important two points for the V League table.

In the V League, the margin of victory determines how many points a team takes from the game, with a 3-0 or 3-1 win earning three points. If the score ends 3-2, the winning team takes two points and the losing team also earns one point.

The Pink Spiders, meanwhile, took three points from a 3-1 win over the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers at home on Feb. 27 but failed to add a single point on Saturday after a 3-1 loss to third-place Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks in Daejeon.

As Hillstate have played one game fewer than the Pink Spiders as of Monday, the Suwon side could stretch their two-point points gap if they bag a win this week.

As for the Red Sparks, it was a week of success. Before that 3-1 win over the Pink Spiders, the Daejeon side thrashed the GS Caltex Seoul Kixx 3-0 on Wednesday.

With five regular league games remaining, the Red Sparks’ successful run may lead them to the postseason for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.

At the bottom of the table, last-place Peppers cut their 23-game single-season losing streak with a 3-2 win over sixth-place Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass on Friday.

Before Friday’s contest, the Peppers held the longest single-season losing streak record in women’s V League history at 23 games.

The V League will continue this week, with Hi-Pass facing the Red Sparks in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang on Tuesday, followed by a clash between league leaders Hillstate and fourth-place Kixx on the following day in Suwon, Gyeonggi.

The regular season games will last through mid-March, with the postseason consisting of playoffs and a championship taking place through April.

The season could also run so-called “semi-playoffs” if the gap between the third and fourth-place teams is three points or less. The winner then reaches the playoffs to face the league runners-up.

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