Hillstate clinches fifth KOVO Cup title with 3-1 win over Red Sparks

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Hillstate clinches fifth KOVO Cup title with 3-1 win over Red Sparks

Published: 06 Oct. 2024, 17:19

PAIK JI-HWAN
paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate celebrate during the 2024 Korea Volleyball Federation Cup final against the Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks at Tongyeong Gymnasium in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang on Sunday. [KOVO]

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate defeated the Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks 3-1 in the 2024 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup final at Tongyeong Gymnasium in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, on Sunday, claiming their fifth cup.

The KOVO Cup is a preseason tournament in which all seven V League teams compete ahead of the regular season. The tournament has invited a foreign team a few times previously, with this year’s edition including Japan’s Prestige International Aranmare.

Aranmare failed to make it to the knockout stage, with the final turning out to be an affair between last season’s regular season and championship winners, Hillstate, versus the Red Sparks, who finished in third place last season.

The Red Sparks got off to a good start, grabbing the first set 25-23. However, the Daejeon side failed to ride that momentum in the remaining sets.

Hillstate bounced back to take the second set 25-15 and claimed the third set 25-14 before winning the fourth set 25-18 for a 3-1 victory.

Hillstate outside hitter Laetitia Moma Bassoko was the hero of the game, scoring 19 points as she shared the title of top scorer with the Red Sparks’ Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate's Laetitia Moma Bassoko, right, attacks during the 2024 Korea Volleyball Federation Cup final against the Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks at Tongyeong Gymnasium in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang on Sunday. [NEWS1]

“I feel really happy — it was a really tough game,” Moma said after the game. "Jung Kwan Jang did a really good job, and I’m happy that our team did our job and we ended up with a good victory. What matters is we just focused on our style and our skills, and it really worked. Now [that] we won we are just going to celebrate and get ready for the championship."

Sunday’s victory brings Hillstate’s total number of KOVO Cup titles to five, one behind the winningest team, GS Caltex Seoul Kixx, who crashed out in the semifinals this year. It also marks head coach Kang Sung-hyung’s second KOVO Cup title with Hillstate after winning it in 2021.

“We were unable to dominate the game in the beginning, but I think my players did well,” Kang said. “I feel the same way as the players. I get nervous at the start, but it gets easier as my players perform well. It is important that we won, but it’s also good that our players’ fitness levels have improved.”

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate head coach Kang Sung-hyung, center, instructs his players during the 2024 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup final at Tongyeong Gymnasium in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang on Sunday. [NEWS1]

Defending champions GS Caltex Seoul Kixx missed their third straight KOVO Cup this year after losing to the Red Sparks in the semifinals.

Last season’s championship runners-up, Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, failed to make it to the knockout stage.

Sunday’s KOVO Cup win for Hillstate comes nearly two weeks before the 2024-25 season begins on Oct. 19, where they will start their quest to defend their league and championship titles.

Last season was the first time Hillstate swept the league and championship titles in 13 years.

Defending the league title in the upcoming season would mark Hillstate’s first time doing so since 2011. The Suwon side has won the league five times and the championship three times.

Hillstate is one of the first two teams to be in league action, with the game between the defending champions and Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders scheduled for the opening day. The Red Sparks will then face Kixx the following day.

The men’s V League will also start on Oct. 19, with reigning champions Incheon Korean Air Jumbos facing Ansan OK Savings Bank OKman in Incheon. The Jumbos have swept both league and championship wins for the past four seasons.

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