Kixx ends Pink Spiders' winning streak as V League race remains hot

GS Caltex Seoul Kicks [YONHAP]

The V League race got even hotter last week. GS Caltex Seoul Kicks ended league leaders Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders’ nine-match winning streak on Saturday, narrowing the gap between the Pink Spiders and second-placed Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate to just one point.

Team Kixx showed a dominant performance against defending champions Pink Spiders at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon thanks to an attack led by Gyselle Silva and Kang So-hwi.

The capital team won the first set 25-20 and lost the second set 25-16 due to several errors, but it rose up to win the third set 27-25. They won the fourth set 26-19, achieving the final score 3-1.

Kixx’s victory on Saturday brought things full circle. Incheon’s winning streak began with a 3-0 win over Kicks on October 31 and ended when Kikes denied them win No. 10. This was the Pink Spiders’ second loss of the season after their 3-2 loss to Daejeon. Jungkwan Gang Red Sparks on October 26th.

The Pink Spiders are still at the top of the standings despite Saturday’s loss but are now just one point behind second-place Hillstate as of Monday.

Hillstate, on the other hand, extended their winning streak to six games last week, defeating the fast-paced Gimcheon Korea team Hi-Pass 3-1 in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Thursday.

If Hillstate continues to dominate on the field, this season could be an opportunity to make amends after Suwon conceded first place to the Pink Spiders midway through last season and finished without a league or championship title.

Last season’s championship winner Hi-Pass has been struggling this season, having registered just three wins – two over Red Sparks and one over Gwangju AI Peppers – in 14 matches so far.

Hi-Pass now sit sixth in the seven-team table and are just six points behind the bottom-placed Peppers.

The Peppers struggled again last week, losing 3-1 to the Red Sparks on Friday, extending their losing streak to seven games.

Competition is also fierce in the middle of the table, with just two points separating fourth-placed Hwaseong IBK Altos and fifth-placed Red Sparks.

The Red Sparks could clinch fourth place as they have played one game less than the Altos as of Monday.

The V-League will continue this week with Hillstate taking on Peppers in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday, followed by Red Sparks taking on Hi-Pass in Daejeon on Wednesday.

Written by Baek Ji-hwan [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]