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Bottom-dwellers no longer? Peppers set to record winningest V League season ever

Published: 17 Dec. 2024, 15:50 Updated: 17 Dec. 2024, 17:27

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers celebrate during a V League game against the GS Caltex Seoul Kixx at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Dec. 6. [YONHAP]

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers are on the verge of recording their winningest V League season ever in the 2024-25 campaign, potentially breaking with the club's perpetually basement-dwelling past.

The Peppers, who have chalked few wins but plenty of losses since their foundation in 2021, have improved in their ongoing campaign with five wins in their opening 14 games. They sit in fifth place on the seven-team table as of Tuesday.

The fifth win has already tied the Peppers' single-season record set during their previous two campaigns.

A sixth victory — and avoiding a last-place finish — may erase lingering doubts about whether the Gwangju club had what it takes to compete in the pro league.

How have the Peppers performed since their foundation, and what results have they produced?

Humble foundations in the 2021-22 season

Founded in April 2021, the Peppers joined the V League as the league’s seventh team and competed in the 2021-22 season that began in October 2021.

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers wearing jerseys pose for a photo during the foundation ceremony at Gwangju City Hall in Gwangju on Sept. 30, 2021. [YONHAP]

Going up against older pro teams in the V League proved to be a tall order for the Peppers, with the club losing all five opening games and securing their first win against the Hwaseong IBK Altos only in their sixth game.

However, that was the only win the Peppers would claim until two more wins against the Altos and Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders at the end of the season.

The Peppers finished at the bottom of the table with only 11 points from 31 games, demonstrating a significant level gap with older teams, with the sixth-place Pink Spiders finishing 20 points ahead.

New coaches, same poor results in the 2022-23 season

The Peppers began the 2022-23 season after revamping their coaching staff, but little changed on the court.

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers react during a V League game against the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Jan. 15, 2023. [YONHAP]

After picking up three straight 3-0 wins in the 2022 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Cup, the Peppers piled up loss after loss, enduring a 20-game losing streak.

However, the Peppers clinched a much-needed win in their last game of 2022 against Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass on Dec. 31, 2022, marking their first victory against the Gimcheon side.

Had the Peppers not won that game, they would have set the longest losing streak in women’s V League history.

That win gave them confidence in the campaign's second half, during which the Gwangju club recorded four more wins. However, even their best record placed them far short of other clubs again. By the end of the season, the Peppers only had 14 points from their five wins, 34 points behind sixth-place GS Caltex Seoul Kixx.

Longest losing streak in the 2023-24 season

The Peppers reinforced their squad by signing multiple free agents ahead of the 2023-24 season, including outside hitter Park Jeong-ah, who led Hi-Pass to a championship victory in 2023.

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers react after losing a V League game against the Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Feb. 16. [YONHAP]

The new signees did not bring significant changes to the squad, however, with the Peppers stacking up losses again to set the longest losing streak in the women's V League game at 21 on Feb. 10 this year, before extending the all-time record to 23 on Feb. 20.

The losing streak ended with a 3-2 win over Hi-Pass on Feb. 23, but by that point, the Peppers had already locked up a last-place finish again. That was also the last game for coach Joe Trinsey, who was sacked for his lackluster run with the club.

The Gwangju club ended the 2023-24 campaign with five wins again from which they claimed 17 points, 22 points behind sixth-place Hi-Pass.

New life in 2024-2025?

Under new head coach Chang So-yun, the Peppers started the 2024-25 season on the right foot, winning their opening game in the league against Hi-Pass 3-0 in October, although they have picked up more losses than wins since.

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers celebrate during a V League game against Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Nov. 22. [YONHAP]

The Gwangju club still won two games in a row, besting Hi-Pass and Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks last month, demonstrating that they might be in for their best finish yet.

A win against Hi-Pass on Thursday would mark the first time the Peppers have notched six victories in a single season and could allow them to finish in sixth place or higher for the first time.

The Peppers, sitting in fifth place, have already enjoyed a better run than No. 6 Hi-Pass and last-place Kixx. Finishing in fourth could secure them a ticket to the postseason for the first time.

In the V League, league winners directly reach the championship, while the runners-up and third-place teams face each other in a playoff to decide who goes to the tournament.

If the point gap between the third and fourth-place teams is three points or less, the two sides play a so-called semi-playoff to determine the team that advances to the playoffs to face the runners-up.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]