Gwangju AI Peppers tie V League record for longest losing streak

The Gwangju AI Peppers lost 3-2 to GS Caltex Seoul Kixx on Tuesday to record a 20th straight loss and tie the V League record loss streak set by the Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks, then called the Daejeon KGC, in the 2012-13 season.

The Gwangju AI Peppers react after losing a V League game 3-2 to GS Caltex Seoul Kixx at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The Gwangju AI Peppers lost 3-2 to GS Caltex Seoul Kixx on Tuesday to record a 20th straight loss and tie the V League record loss streak set by the Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks, then called the Daejeon KGC, in the 2012-13 season.

The Peppers seemed to have a chance of cutting their 19-game single-season losing streak at the beginning of the game held at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju, winning the first and second sets 25-21.

The Gwangju side, however, failed to ride that momentum through the end, allowing the Kixx to win the third set 25-20, fourth set 25-22 and fifth set 15-7 for a 3-2 loss.

The loss was not only the Gwangju side’s 20th consecutive loss, but it was also their 25th loss of the season, having recorded two wins and 25 losses as of Wednesday. One more loss will give the Peppers the longest losing streak in V League history.

The Peppers’ struggle this season comes despite multiple changes brought to the squad ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. The team signed former Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass ace Park Jeong-ah and new head coach Joe Trinsey, but their impact on the team has not been clear.

Founded in 2021, the Peppers finished their first two V League seasons — 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns — at the bottom of the table. Their run this season will likely see them repeat that again this year.

With a little over a month to go until the end of the regular season, the Peppers still sit at the bottom of the seven-team table with just eight points — 20 behind sixth-place Hi-Pass and a huge 54 points behind first-place Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate as of press time Wednesday.

With nine games left this season, the maximum number of points the Peppers could possibly win is 27 — and that's assuming they win every game — taking them up to a pipedream 35. That might be enough to get them out of last place if the Hi-Pass continue to struggle, but it is statistically highly unlikely.

The Peppers will next face the Hwaseong IBK Altos on Saturday in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.

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