Pink Spiders climb up the table as V League season begins

The first weekend of V League action saw the Pink Spiders climb straight back to the top of the table with a 3-0 victory over Hi-Pass while the AI Peppers immediately headed south with a 3-1 loss to Hillstate

The Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders' Kim Yeon-koung, right, celebrates with Kim Su-ji during a V League game against Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass at Gimcheon Gymnasium in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang on Saturday. [YONHAP]

The first weekend of V League action saw the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders climb straight back to the top of the table with a 3-0 victory over Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass while the Gwangju AI Peppers immediately headed south with a 3-1 loss to Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate.

The clash between the Pink Spiders and Hi-Pass at Gimcheon Gymnasium in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang on Saturday was the first women’s V League game of the 2023-24 season and it was the two sides’ first clash since last season’s championship, where Hi-Pass took the title.

The first set was neck-and-neck with the score tied at 17-17, but the Pink Spiders broke the deadlock and grabbed the set 25-20 thanks to attacks led by ace Kim Yeon-koung.

The second set was rather one-sided with Kim and Jelena Mladjenovic scoring a series of points to make it 10-3, before winning the set 25-13.

Hi-Pass seemed to bounce back in the third set, taking the score to 8-8, but the Pink Spiders denied a comeback and won the set 25-16, sealing a 3-0 victory.

Last season’s ace duo Mladjenovic and Kim scored 20 and 16 points respectively, showing that they will lead the team’s attack this season.

“The final score was 3-0, but I still think it was not an easy game,” Kim said after the game. “There is more to improve on from now on and there will be some tough games as some of our players are injured, but we will continue to develop and work to smile at the end.”

The Pink Spiders won the league title last season and were on the verge of being crowned overall champions, but narrowly missed the title after allowing Hi-Pass to come two games behind to win the five-game series.

The Peppers, who played Hillstate in Suwon, Gyeonggi the next day, on the other hand, showed that they need to improve a number of factors to seriously challenge the older V League teams.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate players celebrate during a V League game against the Gwangju AI Peppers at Suwon Gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Sunday. [KOREA VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION]

The Gwangju side made multiple errors both in attack and defense throughout the game. After losing the first set 25-9, the team grabbed the second 25-18, but lost the third set 25-15 and fourth set 25-18, losing the game with a final score of 3-1.

The team’s attack lacked overall, including former Hi-Pass outside hitter Park Jeong-ah, who only managed nine points during the game. Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani scored 17 for the Peppers, but it was still well behind the 26 managed by top scorer Laetitia Moma Bassoko of Hillstate.

The stats are concerning for the Peppers as they come despite attempts to reinforce the squad this season with the likes of Park and Bedart-Ghani, in addition to new head coach Joseph Trinsey.

The Peppers have only secured eight wins since their foundation in 2021.

The V League will continue Tuesday, with the newly-dubbed Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks — formerly known as Daejeon KGC — facing the Hwaseong IBK Altos at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon.

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