Hillstate win V League title, fending off Pink Spiders upset by one point

Volleyball

Published: 17 Mar. 2024, 14:15 Updated: 17 Mar. 2024, 18:10

Hillstate win V League title, fending off Pink Spiders upset by one point

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate players celebrate winning the 2023-24 V League title after a 3-1 victory over the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate won the 2023-24 V League title in their last game of the season with a 3-1 victory over the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers on Saturday, booking a direct ticket to the championship.

Hillstate had to secure three points in Saturday’s game at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju to lift the trophy, which would have been possible with a 3-0 or 3-1 win.

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 earns one point.

As the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders were two points above Hillstate after finishing their last game on Friday, a 3-2 victory for Hillstate would have allowed the Pink Spiders to tie the points with the Suwon side and snatch the title by more wins — the second deciding factor when two teams are tied on points.

Hillstate were off to a shaky start in Saturday’s contest against last-place Peppers, losing the first set 25-23. The Suwon side, however, bounced back immediately to win the following three sets 25-15, 26-24 and 25-19 to seal a 3-1 victory and their fifth league title.

Opposite spiker Laetitia Moma Bassoko was the hero of the game, scoring 35 points alone. She was an integral part of Hillstate’s success this season, recording 886 points in total as the fourth top scorer in the league as of press time.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate's Laetitia Moma Bassoko, right, attacks during a V League game against the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Fellow ace Yang Hyo-jin scored 23 points in Saturday’s game and ended the campaign as the ninth top scorer with 546 points as of press time.

“I feel like winning [the league] is extremely difficult,” Yang said after the contest. “But the players today worked with cohesion, and we had a strong desire for the victory. It really showed on the court.”

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate's Yang Hyo-jin, center celebrates winning the 2023-24 V League after a 3-1 victory over the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Hillstate’s league victory came after snatching the frontrunner position on the league table from the Pink Spiders in December last year. The competition between the two sides remained competitive afterward, with the Incheon side continuously narrowing the points gap and blocking Hillstate from locking in the league title with a 3-0 victory in a head-to-head clash last week.

The hard-earned league victory sent Hillstate directly through to the championship for the first time since the 2010-11 season when they won their second league title.

Despite winning their third and fourth league titles in the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons, the Suwon side could not play in the championship, as the postseason was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year may be the first time since 2011 that Hillstate walk away with both the league title and the championship.

“Since we accomplished our first goal, we will not step back and only look forward in the championship,” Yang said. “We will work in harmony to do well.”

The last time Hillstate won the championship was in 2016, beating the Hwaseong IBK Altos.

The best-of-three playoffs between league runners-up Pink Spiders and third-place Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks will begin on March 22. The winner of the playoffs will reach the best-of-five championship that starts on March 28.

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