Pink Spiders remain undefeated in second week of V League action

V League defending champions Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders continued to dominate the league and topped the table with two wins over Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate and the Gwangju AI Peppers last week.

The Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders celebrate during a V League game against the Gwangju AI Peppers at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Sunday. [KOREA VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION]

V League defending champions Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders continued to dominate the league and topped the table with two wins over Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate and the Gwangju AI Peppers last week.

After starting the 2023-24 season with a perfect 3-0 victory over Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass on Oct. 14, the Pink Spiders faced one of the strongest competitors Hillstate in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Wednesday in what turned out to be a very close contest.

Last season’s league runners-up Hillstate dominated in the first set, winning 25-15, but the Pink Spiders flipped the script to win the second set 25-12.

The Pink Spiders then won the third set 25-21, but lost the fourth 25-21.

It came down to a fifth-set decider, and the attack led by Pink Spiders ace Kim Yeon-koung and Jelena Mladjenovic sealed the deal with a 15-12 win for a final score of 3-2.

Kim was the top scorer of the game with 23 points on her own — well above Hillstate’s Laetitia Moma Bassoko and Yang Hyo-jin, who both managed 17 points.

The Pink Spiders then faced the Peppers at home on Sunday and thrashed them 3-0, winning the three sets 25-19, 26-24 and 29-27.

The Incheon side’s three consecutive wins so far allowed them to top the table with eight points.

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 also earns one point from the game.

The Peppers secured a win three days before Sunday’s game, however, beating last season’s championship winners Hi-Pass 3-2 thanks to an outstanding performance by Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani, with 27 points, and Park Jeong-ah, with 19.

The Gwangju side could be on for their strongest year ever with the newly-reinforced squad starting to look competitive. The club only secured eight wins in the past two seasons after being formed in 2021.

Over at Jangchung Arena in central Seoul, the GS Caltex Seoul KIXX played their first game of the season against the Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks on Friday and secured three points after a perfect 3-0 victory.

The KIXX’s new signee Gyselle Silva’s impact was clear, scoring 30 points on her own.

The Red Sparks’ new opposite hitter Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi — who joined the squad ahead of the 2023-24 season through the Asian Quota Draft — also displayed a strong performance during the game, scoring the most points by any Red Sparks player, with 21.

The Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks' Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, right, attacks during a V League game against the GS Caltex Seoul KIXX at Jangchung Arena in central Seoul on Friday. [NEWS1]

Mega was also the top scorer of the team’s first game of the season against the Hwaseong IBK Altos on Oct. 17, also managing 21 points.

The V League will continue this week as the Altos play their third game of the season against the KIXX on Tuesday at Hwaseong Gymnasium in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.

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