Hillstate and Pink Spiders in repeat fight for V League crown

Just three points separate league leaders Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate and Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, and each team has four games remaining as of Monday to rack up more points.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate players celebrate during a V League game against GS Caltex Seoul Kixx at Suwon Gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Feb. 28. [NEWS1]

It won't be much longer before a team is crowned the winner of the 2023-24 V League, but it's unclear which team will leave champions.

Just three points separate league leaders Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate and Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, and each team has four games remaining as of Monday to rack up more points.

Hillstate thrashed GS Caltex Seoul Kixx 3-0 at home on Feb. 28 but lost to the Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks 3-2 on Saturday, adding four 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 earns one point.

The Pink Spiders played one game last week, earning three points from Friday’s 3-1 win over Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass.

The Incheon side still have a chance to snatch the frontrunner position and repeat the results of the last season, when they went on to win the league after ousting Hillstate from the top spot.

The Red Sparks, meanwhile, locked in a spot in the postseason for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign after their 3-2 win against Hillstate and 3-1 victory over Hi-Pass on Feb. 27.

The Daejeon side are seven points clear of fourth-place Kixx and may secure a ticket to the playoffs instead of the so-called “semi-playoffs.”

Semi-playoffs will run if the gap between the third and fourth-place teams is three points or less. The winner then reaches the playoffs to face the league runners-up.

At the bottom of the table, last-place Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers suffered a 3-2 loss against the Hwaseong IBK Altos on Thursday and a 3-0 loss to the Kixx on Sunday.

Gwangju Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers' Park Jeong-ah, left, attacks during a V League game against the Hwaseong IBK Altos at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The losses came after the Peppers cut the longest single-season losing streak in the V League, winning their first game after 23 consecutive losses last month.

The Gwangju side could have a tough time in the last days of the season, as they lost veteran libero Oh Ji-young, who was suspended by the Korea Volleyball Federation for bullying her teammates, last week.

The club also terminated then-head coach Joe Trinsey’s contract on Feb. 28, leaving interim head coach Lee Gyeong-su in charge for the rest of the season.

The V League will continue this week with the Pink Spiders facing the Altos in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi on Tuesday, followed by Hillstate’s clash against Hi-Pass in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang the next day.

The regular season will end on March 17, with the postseason running through April.

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