Home > Sports > Volleyball

AI Peppers wrap up V League season with another last-place finish despite best-ever run

Published: 19 Mar. 2025, 14:51 Updated: 19 Mar. 2025, 17:36

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers celebrate during a V League game against the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Jan. 16. [YONHAP]

The Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers finished at the bottom of the V League for the 2024-25 season, marking their fourth consecutive last-place finish, after a 3-1 loss to defending champions Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate on Tuesday.

The Peppers sit at the bottom of the seven-team V League table, with sixth-place GS Caltex Seoul Kixx one point ahead with a game in hand as of press time Wednesday.

Despite another disappointing finish, this season marked the Peppers’ best-ever campaign, with the team evolving from a perennial underdog into one capable of challenging the league’s better sides.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate outside hitter Laetitia Moma Bassok, right, attacks during a V League game against the Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on March 18. [YONHAP]

Since their foundation in 2021 ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, the Peppers have consistently struggled, finishing in last place in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

They even set the women’s V League record for the longest losing streak at 21 games before extending that record to 23 during the 2023-24 season.

However, this season saw notable progress. The Gwangju club not only surpassed its club record for wins in a season with six by December but also recorded their first-ever run of three consecutive victories in January, finishing the campaign with 11 wins.

At one point, the Peppers were on course to secure their highest-ever finish at sixth, but a late-season slump — losing five of their final six games — saw them slip back to seventh. Meanwhile, the Kixx rebounded with four wins in their last five games to claim sixth place.

Despite falling short, the Peppers’ improvement this season signals their potential under head coach Chang So-yun, who took charge ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

Chang will have an opportunity to strengthen her squad during the free-agent transfer window and the Asia Quota draft in April — a system allowing V League teams to sign an additional foreign player from select Asian countries.

All seven V League teams will have a wide pool of talent to choose from, with 45 players reportedly applying for the draft in the women’s V League.

After showing progress this season, the Peppers will be looking for a strong offseason in recruitment to take another step forward next campaign.

To reach the postseason, they will need to finish fourth or higher. The third-place team advances directly to the playoffs, while the fourth-place team enters the semi-playoffs — provided the gap between third and fourth is three points or less. The winner of the semi-playoffs then advances to the playoffs, where the league runners-up await.

The winning team of the playoffs will advance to the championship to face the league winners. The Peppers reached as high as fifth place in January this season but failed to close the points gap further thereafter.

The 2024-25 regular season will conclude with a head-to-head clash between the Kixx and league winners Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders on Thursday, before the best-of-three playoffs begin on March 25. The winner of the playoffs will face the Pink Spiders starting March 31.

The best-of-five championship series could extend as far as April 8.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]